Regressor Instruction Manual

'Ah. That was a midsummer night’s dream...'

It was a short but intense story.

It was an impactful and beautiful tale of the bond between the Angel of Sacrifice and the twisted hero.

I was sure some would never forget this story.

The story was about the memories they shared together.

It was a short time for the Angel of Sacrifice, who had been asleep for tens of thousands of years, but it had to have been an eternity of waiting for the corrupted hero.

The hero tried to hide his wounds, but the Angel of Sacrifice showed all of his wounds.

They were on opposite sides when they first met.

Although they thought that they would never understand each other… like all stories, they ended up forming a bond, and they eventually understood each other’s pain.

‘There's a reason behind his obsession with that feather.’

The length of their bond did not define its depth.

It was just like a midsummer night’s dream.

The memories were so faint that it seemed like one would forget them by blinking one's eyes. It was a really short time, but it was an unforgettable time.

They enjoyed talking to each other, and they walked while listening to the cicadas crying underground. They had deep conversations and shared drinks under the night sky, enjoying each other’s company.

‘Do you remember?’

The grueling sword training, their first meeting at the social gathering, and the precious memory they secretly made on the terrace.

‘Also…’

Their final moments together resulted in a lot of regret.

There were so many things I wanted to tell him.

I wanted to tell him that it wasn’t his fault and that it was a simple accident.

I wanted to tell him it was all over and that… he could finally rest.

There were regrets when we parted, so our short meeting was meaningful and impactful.

If I had no regrets, we wouldn’t have been in this situation.

‘I thought I was the only one who remembered it.’

That was the setting…

He also didn’t think that I'd remember our short moment together.

Who could have thought that he'd rely on a small feather, hurt himself, and transform into a beast?

I felt so guilty at the fact that I hadn't realized it until now… this beast was Bahamut. I had just realized that fact, and the immense guilt was weighing down on my shoulders.

He looked like a hideous monster, but I could see Bahamut sleeping quietly inside the monster. He looked like there were many things he wanted to tell me. He looked like he wanted to apologize to me.

There was only one person who could reach their hand out to him when no one else wanted to do so. It would be the Angel of Sacrifice, who had been asleep for tens and thousands of years.

I had to tell him before it was too late.

I need to tell him with this sincere voice of mine…

Before I could tell him, I had to talk to someone else first.

‘You bastard. You’re such a troll.’

While I was trying my best to catch my breath, I hopped onto our channel and said, "You really did it."

"Damn it…" Jin Cheong muttered.

"Hey, Commander Jin. I didn’t think you would cause trouble in such a short amount of time."

"It’s not my fault."

"If the person responsible says that it’s not his fault, will that make everything okay? You should’ve approached this with the mindset of taking responsibility for it.

"And the only thing that you can say is that this isn’t your fault? Must be really easy for you to say that. No matter what happened and the reason behind it, the person in charge should take responsibility for any errors or mistakes in the mission."

"That’s not what I meant. You know that as well. There were no variables in the mission. We checked… hundreds of times… about how much force and weight the ground could handle…"

"Then that means you created the variable, damn it. If there were no variables in the mission, then where did that variable come from? What do you think is the answer? The answer is it came from the person in charge! Am I wrong? Am I?" I asked.

"You’re not wrong, oppa," Lee Ji-Hye chimed in.

"…"

"See? Even Ji-Hye noona agrees with me."

"Actually, it might not be Commander Jin’s fault, either."

"Wait, Ji-Hye noona. Protect him right now—"

"You're involved in this mission, too, so don't say that," Lee Ji-Hye interrupted me.

"She’s right."

"Our Commander Jin is experienced and competent. He's also old enough to do things on his own. Even if an unthinkable variable has come up, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to say that this is not your fault when you're the person in charge of this.

"I understand where you're coming from, but this is not like you, Commander Jin," I remarked.

"Damn it…"

"This is why I can’t look away even for a second. This happened because we let you take charge for a moment. Commander Jin, is the raid a joke to you? Is clearing a dungeon a game to you?

"If you want to play games, then go to the casino and play your board games. Or go to that black market and start a duel with the people there… Why are you trying to play games here and mess things up for us?"

"…"

"I knew this was going to happen. I just knew this was going to happen. Get ahold of yourself, Commander. Do you really think that staying quiet will make this go away?

"It doesn't matter whether you make an excuse or apologize; you have to take responsibility for your mistakes.

"If you weren’t confident to take on the task by yourself, you should’ve asked for help or told us that you were tired. You let your pride take over and look at what happened. My god."

"…"

"You—" I started.

"I apologize. It’s… my fault," Jin Cheong said.

"…"

"I’ll make sure to take responsibility and… make up for what I caused earlier."

"This is why you should have been more mindful. Anyway, make sure Kim Hyun-Sung won't get here. Make him wander around; make him think like he’s carrying out an important mission," I said.

Click.

"Oppa, Commander Jin must be mad. He just hung up."

'No, I don’t think he's mad. I’m looking at him right now, and wait… he just threw his chair away."

"Noona, I want you to take care of reorganizing the troops."

"Got it. I was going to rest a bit, but it looks like I won’t be able to. If it gets too dangerous, you should back out as well."

"I have Hee-Ra noona, so it’ll be fine."

"That does make me feel relieved."

Hee-Ra noona looked surprised, but she just went with the flow.

Actually, she seemed happy about being able to confront Bahamut in person.

She wouldn't be able to go in and fight him, as I’d be there with her, but she’d be happy knowing that there was a possibility that she could fight such a terrifying, towering monster.

“Darling, should I carry you?” Cha Hee-Ra offered.

I shook my head. I had to run to make it more meaningful.

It was just a simple jog, but there were a ton of emotions mixed into it.

I was reminiscing about those distant days while jogging toward him.

The summer emotions that had taken my breath away; the time when I could cry without any reservations. I shed tears as I recalled the memories I had been cherishing in my heart for tens and thousands of years.

"Rooooooooooooooooooar!"

Bahamut roared, and he'd soon go berserk because he had lost his precious feather. My voice couldn't reach him. I was too far from him. It was unrealistic of me to think that he'd hear me, but I called out his name again.

“Baha… Bahamut!!!”

He couldn’t hear me, but I did not stop yelling out his name.

'Your name is…'

“Bahamut!”

‘Shit. Can you really not hear me?’

Was he going berserk?

Bahamut's eyes turned red, and large horns shot out from his injured back.

He roared, and everything around him exploded.

His mouth unleashed a dirty and nauseating—no, a trickle of saliva that seemed to represent his wounded soul.

Anyone could tell that he was not in his right mind. He was angry that his treasure had disappeared, and everyone could see how he was going to vent his anger.

He turned his and—

“Bahamut!” I shouted, even though he probably couldn’t hear me.

"Wuah…"

The wounded monster stopped looking around.

“Bahamut!” I shouted again.

The beast that looked like it was going to destroy everything looked around quietly. Had he remembered the memories we shared? Had the Angel of Sacrifice's voice reached the man who had been sucked into the pitch-black void?

Wings burst out of my back, and my golden eye looked up at the wounded beast.

“It’s dangerous, Father!”

“Damn it… Stand-by! Don’t get close to him. It’s an order!” I instructed.

‘You remember me, right?’

I still looked the same as I did tens of thousands of years ago. The Angel of Sacrifice hadn't lost his light as well, and I looked the same as what I probably looked like in our memories on that summer day.

I took a deep breath. I thought I no longer had any tears to shed, but tears rolled down my face.

I was being too emotional, and I couldn’t calm down at all.

"Woo… Uhh…

The monster looked down at my shining wings. He flinched for a moment, but…

“Bahamut. Heuk… Bahamut…”

He could still remember my voice.

‘Please remember our memories.’

“Come back,” I said.

‘Please come back.’

“Don’t lose to the demon’s seed,” I added.

‘You’re not the type to lose. You’re the type to overcome everything.’

"Rooooooooooooar!"

“Heuk… Please come back! Bahamut!” I shouted.

He looked hideous, but he was in pain.

There was a nauseating stench coming from him, but it wasn’t dirty at all.

The monster before me resisted and fought back against the demon’s power, reminding me of that hero on a summer day.

Who would point their finger at a man like him?

Who would look at him and say that he was dirty?

"Wuah…"

“I’m sorry… for making you wait for so long, Bahamut,” I said.

"Rooooooooooooooar!"

He stretched his hand out toward me.

I wasn’t sure whether he was trying to squash the bug that was giving him a headache or he was welcoming the Angel of Sacrifice, but I closed my eyes.

'All right. If that’s my destiny, I’ll accept it. If my death can free him from his pain, I’ll accept that suffering.'

‘Shit. He’s not actually going to kill me, right?’

Craaaaaaack!

‘Kim Hyun-Sung?’

It wasn't him.

I gulped out of nervousness at the thought that Kim Hyun-Sung was here, but…

“I’m sorry for being late, Father.”

I saw a giant wolf standing on its two feet, and it was stretching its remaining paws toward Bahamut.

“Templar… Gen? No—”

‘Did you… turn… to the dark side as well?’

“Templar Genny?” I said.

Kabooooooooom!

'How did you become so strong?'

Craaaaaaack!

'What happened to you?'

“I can still remember everything, Father,” he said.

I had no idea what was going on, but…

“Templar Genny! Watch out!”

I decided to cheer him on for now, as it was the only way to stop the Nauseating Bahamut.

“We need to purify that demon!” I shouted.