EP.4 1. The 10th regression – 04

The Duke of Pendragon.

Aside from the royals, so called descendants of heaven, the Pendragon family, called the most precious, are one of the most noble families of this age. 

Possessing the post of duke, their history that has dominated the top of high society is at least a few hundred years. 

Even if you search the kingdom’s oldest history book, the name ‘Pendragon’ will be mentioned and there’s no need to mention how much value is flowing through their blood.

That wasn’t all. Those who were of Pendragon blood all possessed outstanding abilities, and all had handsome or beautiful faces. 

As if to prove that those with Pendragon blood are different from regular humans. 

Of course, people from the Pendragon family possessing abilities that regular people don’t is something quite natural. 

That’s because, if you trace back the generations of the noble family, it starts with a military family who passed on their abilities to their descendants.  

In other words, since they have remarkable ancestors and inherited their blood, the descendants are also naturally talented. 

However, the Duke of Pendragon family was incomparably excellent when compared to regular people let alone other noble families and was even more outstanding. 

Different from all the average noble families who had at most inherited a few abilities from their ancestors, the ancestors of the Duke of Pendragon family were divine people so you could say that the abilities they inherited were also proof of them inheriting their blood as transcendental beings. 

And they say that even within the Pendragon’s very long history, Erekaya Del Pendragon is the best masterpiece and was born possessing the perfection worthy of a masterpiece. 

Their blood ability, which is similar to or even more efficient than their ancestors, a talent that touches the sky that cannot simply be expressed by the term "remarkable." On top of that, even having a beautiful face that could be called the ultimate beauty. 

Even just the existence of Erekaya Del Pendragon itself is no different to a miracle and so her leading the Duke of Pendragon family as the head can be considered to be something completely natural. 

… that’s right, if only she hadn’t awakened as the third apocalypse and turned the capital into a sea of fire.

‘The third apocalypse, Crimson Dragon, Azidahaka.’

The Crimson Dragon, revealed in the prophecy. The great old snake. The incarnation of calamity destined to devour the world in the end. 

It is said that with one sweep of its tail, the Crimson Dragon can drop a third of all the stars in the sky and that it holds the great power to spit fire from its mouth. 

Jin, who had met the Crimson Dragon Azidahaka in person, knew full well that the portrayal in the prophecy was far from absurd. 

‘She was a really strong lizard.’

As if not enough to turn the capital Ninea, which boasts an area larger than ten cities combined, into a sea of fire in one breath, she was also able to easily massacre over 1000 of the strongest people coming at her as if she were swatting a fly.  

And the person chosen as the ‘vessel’ for Azidahaka to manifest herself into the real world was none other than Erekaya Del Pendragon. 

He didn’t know why. And didn’t have any precise inside information either. 

The only thing he knew was that after Erekaya Del Pendragon massacred the Duke of Pendragon family with her own hands, she plucked out their hearts and used them as a sacrifice to bring Azidahaka. 

“Erekaya Del Pendragon, how exactly are you doing this? Just how are you in my head and do you remember everything that happened before the regression?”

Jin had never really hidden the fact that he ‘regresses’ from those close to him. He just didn’t talk about it because it wasn’t something worth running your mouth about. 

However, there was a big difference between him coming out and revealing information about the regression and with him not saying anything, the other party figuring out that he had in fact regressed. 

Judging from what Erekaya said, it seemed there was no use in hiding anything about the regression now. Because no matter what he says, the other party was the one who referenced the ‘regression’ first. 

‘No way, does Azidahaka have a way to cross time and maintain her memories?’ 

If that’s true, that would be a really terrifying assumption. 

The biggest merit of a regressor is that they know information about what will happen in the future. And they can use this information to change futures unfavourable to them. 

However, if the opposition also had information about the future wouldn’t the information he had instantly be reduced to trash?

Because there’s no way the opposition would sit idly by while Jin benefited from that information. 

At Jin’s words, Erekaya replied in a strange voice. 

- There’s no need to be wary. Because if I had intended to trick you, there would be no need for me to use such a wretched method. Even before that, I wouldn’t need to give you any information, let alone alert you to my existence. If you think about it a bit, you should understand what I’m saying.

“……”

Jin, had no choice but to agree with what Erekaya had said. Whether she knew it or not, she had given him a lot of information. 

Starting with revealing that she was the Erekaya Del Pendragon who had killed Jin, she had revealed that she had regressed and even that she could see the status window.

If really Erekaya had any evil intentions towards Jin, she would have not revealed any information and skilfully tricked him or she wouldn’t have alerted him to her existence in the first place and appeared at the crucial moment and hit him in the back of the head. 

“You never know, right. After getting on my good side, you may turn around and screw me over in the crucial moment.”

Even though Jin answered in his most blunt voice, Erekaya, with no particular bad feelings, carried on in a relaxed voice.

- Hmm, you could think like that. There’s nothing I can do. I mean, since they are crimes I’ve committed. From now on, should we work on our lacking mutual trust step by step?

“…Did I say I would give you my trust?”

- Fool. 

Trust is not for giving. It is something you acquire from others.  As such, trust is impossible to acquire easily and in a short time. Even though traditionally, humans can easily wrap up a moment’s actions in good faith, they cannot cloak the life they have accumulated with lies. 

Erekaya’s words were so honest and upright that Jin ended up momentarily forgetting to speak. 

Is this really something that an immoral person who killed her parents with her hands and plucked their hearts out would say?

- In that case, I will answer all the doubts that you have. However, for me to answer you, I’ll have to first explain how I transform into the crimson dragon. 

“What do you mean transform. Didn’t you kill your family and use their hearts to perform a ceremony to gain power from the crimson dragon?”

There were quite a number of witnesses and the trace evidence left on the scene was so clear there was no excuse. 

Erekaya, who had gained the power of the crimson dragon, definitely went around telling people herself that she had killed her family in order to gain great power.

- …That’s right. I murdered my mother and father with my own hands and plucked out the hearts of everyone in the family of the Duke of Pendragon. I killed everyone from old people to babies that had just been born. You can say this was my inexcusable mistake. 

Erekaya’s voice was shaking a little as she said that. 

 - However, I am the person who committed that act but at the same time it wasn’t me. To be more precise, something from my spirit had been eaten away. 

“Spirit? Do you mean your soul?”

- Yes. But it wasn’t as dramatic a change as losing my sanity. There were no signs either. It definitely not a change in the basis of who I am. It was just a slight change in my way of thinking. It was unnatural and uneasy and an unknown impulse took over me and eventually, I went crazy in my right mind. 

I wonder if ‘crazy’ is the right expression. Because she still did all those actions of her own volition to some extent.

It was just that her self-control had disappeared and she merely couldn’t control the strange impulse in her heart.

- And I ended up not having any will of my own once the ritual had been performed and my body had become the perfect vessel for the crimson dragon. However, in a sense, it was the last chance I had left. 

Because the crimson dragon had completely occupied Erekaya’s body, she became an existence in the corner of her consciousness that couldn’t even lift a finger, however, at the same time, she could also free herself from the devilish nature that had eaten at her consciousness. 

- Do you remember what happened in the last moment right before you regressed?

“Last moment?”

Is she talking about that shitty moment when his heart had been crushed by that damn lizard? 

-Yes. In the moment when I pierced your heart, I could use my ability to transfer my soul deep into your subconscious. I honestly thought it was a chanceless gamble at the time. Because the chance of you surviving after that was the same as being non-existent.  

However, thankfully it missed her concern. 

Because the human she chose in the end, was a regressor who could restart everything even if they met a terrible death. 

- And the reason why I know about your regression… is thanks to my ability. 

“Ability?”

- It’s an ability called Synaesthesia1. Do you know it?

“Roughly.”

I remember hearing about it in an elective class. Did it refer to the phenomenon of sharing certain senses with others?

- It’s similar. However, in my case, it goes over simply connecting senses with other senses, and has reached the level of transcendental cognition and sensing, commonly referred to as the sixth sense. And, the moment my consciousness flowed into your mind I ended up reading all the deep information inside against my will. 

And in that moment, Erekaya realised. 

That Jin was not simply a hero-like existence fighting to oppose the apocalypse, he was nothing but an average man that was struggling to the point of being unsightly, to destroy the apocalypse. 

- However, since I read your information, I didn’t get to know everything about you. I don’t know why but there are restrictions on most of the information that I can read. As if there is information I shouldn’t know. 

He had a rough idea of what ‘information’ it was that Erekaya couldn’t read. It was probably about, everything that happened before he arrived in this world. 

Even if he had heard the explanation of how she came to be in his head and how she knew about the regressions, Jin’s wrinkled expression didn’t straighten. 

Or rather, he sharply shot he a reply in a voice even more blunt than before.  

“So, what is it you want to do then? To sum up your story, are you saying that because you couldn’t have known everything that happened till now you did nothing wrong? So, I should pity you and show some kind of compassion?”

- Not at all. I am not that brazen or have no sense of honour. Whether it was my intention or not, it’s a fact that everything that happened is because of me. If by chance I become unable to confront the things I did directly, all the things I’ve done will end up being anomalous crime. 

As she said that, there was a firm determination in Erekaya’s voice that could not yield on this matter. 

- However, separate from that, I can never sit idly by and watch all the tragedies that will occur soon. Even if you say I am a woman who shouldn’t say anything even if I drop to the deepest parts of hell, I want to save the innocent soul that will die in my hands in the future. 

She thought it was already over. 

Because there was no way for a dead person to return and on top of that that woman’s body having awoken due to the apocalypse, the countdown to the destruction of the world was close. 

However, whether it’s a joke of fate or a miracle, at the ned of various factors crossing, she had once again obtained a chance. 

She had returned to before everything had started, the first and last chance to rectify all the tragedies that will occur in the future. 

If she hadn’t lost her body and hadn’t parasitically entered another’s subconscious, it no different to her wishing to be a being that could not even prove her existenc-

-There is only one thing I need from you. Regressor Jin, use me. Use everything I have, change the past filled with destruction and prevent the tragedy that will occur in the near future. Stop the approaching apocalypse and save this world that is destined for destruction. 

- That is the only hope I wish to leave in this world, even as I am reduced to this wretched form.