I ran like crazy with Yoo Joonghyuk slung over my back. My ragged breathing climbed up to my throat, and the balls of my feet kicking off the dirt started to sting.

「There was no need to go this far.」

I know. What I’m doing right now is pointless. This scene is just a virtual ‘40th regression’ staged by a ‘horror.’ Whether I save Yoo Joonghyuk here or not, the story that’s already been decided will be recorded either way.

But I couldn’t shake a chilling thought.

「Is it really recorded?」

What if this ‘horror’ is real.

If, by some chance, Yoo Joonghyuk dies because I don’t save him right now.

If history could end up changing, like the 1,863rd regression Kim Dokja visited.

“Over there! That guy!”

Yoo Joonghyuk of the 40th regression wasn’t destined to die here, at least.

And right now, the only one who could save him was me.

“Snap out of it! Hey! You bastard!”

I yelled at Yoo Joonghyuk over and over, but he didn’t respond.

After fleeing for hours, I could feel my stamina and magic power steadily draining.

Damn it, did this Cheon Inho bastard not even raise his overall stats properly?

With a body like this, how the hell did he earn nicknames like ‘Sophist of Evil’ or ‘The One Who Deceived the Stars’?

“Enough.”

Along with that familiar line, a terrifying storm of magic power swept in from ahead.

It was obvious who it was.

Blood Demon.

A legendary master of the martial world who was said to have once fought together with the Heavenly Demon to face even that ‘Heaven-Shattering Sword Saint’ was standing right in front of me.

A true transcendent.

An incarnation with strength that at least approached hero-grade constellations.

I wondered why a big shot like that had suddenly shown up, but—

“Cheon Inho. Why did you suddenly betray us?”

It seemed this big shot had a prior acquaintance with Cheon Inho.

I hurriedly put on a smile and opened my mouth.

“I didn’t exactly betray anyone.”

“Put down the Tyrant King.”

“That’s going to be a little difficult. I have somewhere I need to use this guy.”

“You’re planning to dig out the true identity of the Regression Great Art.”

Regression Great Art.

Blood Demon seemed to know that Yoo Joonghyuk was a regressor.

“Weren’t we going to pursue the research together? Wasn’t that the plan?”

What the hell was this Cheon Inho bastard even doing in the 40th regression?

I could roughly guess what was going on.

That greedy Blood Demon probably wondered why Yoo Joonghyuk was so strong. Then, after investigating, he learned Yoo Joonghyuk was a regressor, and he set a trap with Cheon Inho to steal that ability.

If so, the line I needed to say was already decided.

“I’ll dig out the Regression Great Art and tell you. So, Blood Demon, please step back for a moment.”

“How can I trust you?”

“The Tyrant King is already at the end of his breath. If we leave him like this, he’ll regress before we can learn the Regression Great Art.”

“…….”

“As you know, I have [Incitement]. If I restore Yoo Joonghyuk a little, then, taking advantage of the moment his mental barrier weakens, I [Incite] him… we might be able to learn the secret of regression—”

“I’ll count to three.”

Blood Demon’s voice was cold.

“Drop the Tyrant King and get lost. Then I’ll spare your life.”

As expected, this kind of persuasion doesn’t work.

I compared the pressure I felt from Blood Demon’s entire body to the power I had. No matter how I looked at it, with a weak body like this I couldn’t face Blood Demon.

The only way to deal with Blood Demon was to wake Yoo Joonghyuk, but a guy who’d even used [Return from Death] had a probability of waking up that was close to zero.

No, in the first place, why did this bastard come all the way into an area crawling with Blood Cult bastards and make things complicated…

「Why did Yoo Joonghyuk come all the way here?」

Sparks flew in my head.

I carefully moved my hand behind my back and checked a wooden case tucked inside his clothes.

The moment I read the raised Chinese characters carved into the case, I understood immediately why Yoo Joonghyuk had come this far.

「Blood Spirit Pill.」

A panacea on the level of the ‘Clear Sky Stone Oil’ of <Martial World Zero>, or the ‘Doll Snow Ginseng.’

A legendary divine object that could grant more than a hundred years of magic power just by taking a single pill.

Yoo Joonghyuk probably came all the way here to get this item.

Why?

I don’t know. He might have intended to take it himself, or he might have been planning to give it to someone.

As I slyly took the Blood Spirit Pill out of the wooden case, Blood Demon smiled.

“Do you think eating that will change the situation?”

Putting on an innocent face, I said,

“At least I can take the Blood Cult’s divine object. If I eat this, you won’t be able to absorb the Blood Spirit Pill’s magic power.”

The Blood Spirit Pill was a divine object for the cult leader passed down through the Blood Cult for generations. A horrific item created by sacrificing more than ten thousand masters so that a mortal human could reach the stars.

If I remember right, even Blood Demon— who killed the Heaven-Shattering Sword Saint— was in a state where he had absorbed this ‘Blood Spirit Pill.’

So if I threatened him with this item, no matter how much of a Blood Demon he was—

“Eat it.”

I sensed a dense, rippling demonic art in Blood Demon’s grasp.

Absorbing Star Art.

An atrocious demonic art that directly absorbs magic power from inside an opponent’s body to strengthen one’s own internal energy.

Only then did I read Blood Demon’s aim.

The moment I secured magic power with the Blood Spirit Pill, Blood Demon planned to use [Absorbing Star Art] to steal my magic power.

“Eat it right now.”

Curses bubbled up inside me, but there was no other way now. If I was going to die either way, then—

“Then I’ll enjoy it.”

Without hesitating, I poured the Blood Spirit Pill from the wooden case into my mouth.

Blood Demon’s eyes flashed red as he burst into wild laughter.

“You idiot. If you eat that as-is—!”

I know. The Blood Spirit Pill has side effects. The moment you ingest it, the ten thousand vengeful spirits embedded in the pellet assault the user’s mind all at once.

—Hahahahahahaha!

—So you finally ate it!

—I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you!

—Cult Leader! At last, we repay a hundred years of resentment!

—Ugh…?

[Exclusive Skill, ‘Fourth Wall’ activates!]

The voices of the vengeful spirits vanished in an instant.

While the shocked Blood Demon widened his eyes, I felt an intense pulse of magic power surging through my entire body.

[Item, ‘Blood Spirit Pill’ resonates with your attribute.]

[You are a ‘villain’ who can fully acquire the Blood Spirit Pill’s divine ability.]

I wondered if I’d just ended up making only Cheon Inho stronger for nothing, but if I wanted to live right now, I had no choice.

Blood Demon, barely pulling himself together, stammered,

“How…?”

“Blood Demon. Did you forget who I am?”

“You—”

“I am the ‘Sophist of Evil’ and ‘The One Who Deceived the Stars’.”

I didn’t even know if Cheon Inho was still called that now, but I spouted whatever came out to draw Blood Demon’s guard down.

Alarmed, Blood Demon tried Absorbing Star Art first.

“Die!”

I barely dodged his palm strike and manifested my only specialty.

[Exclusive Skill, ‘Incitement Lv.10’ activates!]

[Due to the effect of the item ‘Blood Spirit Pill,’ the power of Incitement is enhanced!]

It felt completely different from my [Incitement] up until now.

Was it because the body I’d possessed was ‘Cheon Inho of the 40th regression’?

In my head, the commands [Incitement] could use and the commands it couldn’t use were being neatly sorted out.

「A ‘command’ to die is impossible.」

「First, use a word of power that can be used on an opponent of similar rank.」

「The key is stacking Incitement.」

「Raise the intensity step by step, starting from Stage 1 Incitement.」

It was like someone was teaching me how to use [Incitement].

I calmly steadied my breathing and spoke to Blood Demon.

“Are you nervous? Because you’re afraid I might be stronger than you?”

“Shut up! You’re nothing—!”

“Let me tell you one important fact. Even if you obtain the Regression Great Art, you will never become as strong as the Tyrant King.”

[Exclusive Skill, ‘Incitement Lv.10’ is activating.]

Blood Demon, eyes bulging, shouted at me.

“How would you know—!”

“A petty third-rate villain by origin. On your first trip into the martial world, you happened to recover the remains of a previous generation’s demonic master and obtained the ‘Blood Spirit Divine Art.’”

It was a secret history of Blood Demon that even appeared in ‘Ways of Survival.’

Blood Demon’s eyes widened.

“H-how do you know that—”

“You know too. That your talent can’t even properly digest the Blood Spirit Divine Art.”

“…….”

“You trained for a full hundred years and still couldn’t digest that one martial art, you couldn’t even endure the ‘time stratum’ and ran out, and you dare covet another martial art?”

“That’s—”

“With willpower like that, you’re going to dream of ‘regression’?”

[‘Incitement’ is strengthened.]

Blood Demon staggered and shouted.

“I can do it too. If I regress, if I can regress like him—!”

“No. You can’t. Regression is useless to a bastard like you who finds even a mere hundred years unbearable.”

“That’s not true. I— I can too—!”

Blood Demon’s gaze was rapidly clouding over. His inner demon was manifesting.

Doubt about talent.

Skepticism about will.

All the history that had made him a transcendent was now becoming his enemy and assaulting his mind.

[‘Incitement’ is strengthened.]

“Just like a loach that endures a hundred years only becomes ‘a loach that lived a hundred years’ and can’t become a dragon, you’re a third-rate martial artist no matter how you struggle. Even if you get a great martial art, even if you get regression, it’s the same. Because that’s how you were born. Because you’ve lived your whole life with a mind that weak.”

[‘Incitement’ is strengthened!]

“There’s no need to struggle. The sky is high, and the stars are far away. <Star Stream> has no place for you. You’re nothing but a speck of dust that can’t even become a supporting character. Accept that fact. Then it’ll be easier.”

“Ah, uh, u—”

“Crawl back into where you lived. And never stick your head out again.”

[‘Incitement’ succeeded!]

A moment later, unable to endure his inner demon, Blood Demon lay on the ground and thrashed, smacking his mouth open and shut like he’d really become a loach.

Even as I watched the process of [Incitement] evolving in real time, it didn’t feel real.

[Incitement] that seizes an opponent’s weakness and collapses their mind.

Cheon Inho had used this devil-like tongue to make countless opponents submit up until now.

I looked down at Blood Demon for a moment, then started running again.

The effect of [Incitement] doesn’t last very long. Before it wore off, I had to get as far away from here as possible.

“My goodness! Lord Blood Demon!”

The Blood Cult group had caught up before I knew it.

“Chase him! Over there!”

I ran and ran, but there was no longer anywhere to flee. A cliff blocked my path.

I stood at the edge of the cliff and looked down.

What I saw at the end of that sheer precipice was a river flowing rough, yet lofty.

Now I had no choice.

“Hold on tight, Yoo Joonghyuk.”

Grabbing his collar, I jumped off the cliff.

This wasn’t Dongho Bridge, and there was no fish-dragon to swallow us.

Even so.

I had a feeling we wouldn’t die.

It was, in a way, like an author’s intuition.

Here, Cheon Inho and Yoo Joonghyuk do not die.

And if the two of them survive here—

[You have intervened in ‘SVRP’.]

They might be able to become companions.

[A portion of SVRP 040’s document is modified.]

[The owner of horror approves your record.]

……

[The ‘horror recorder’ who wrote the previous horror approves your edit history.]

[Your horror is recorded in the blank space of the wall.]

A voice I knew all too well whispered in my ear.

【Good. This is exactly the story I was hoping for, Kim Dokja.】

*

Yoo Joonghyuk was looking up at the night sky of the martial world. A night sky where the stars he hated were hung.

How long had he been looking at those stars like that?

Without realizing it, Yoo Joonghyuk began to count the stars hanging in that sky.

It was strange. He didn’t have any habit of counting stars, so why was he counting them?

「“Hold on tight, Yoo Joonghyuk.”」

A memory suddenly brushed through his mind. A subtle warmth that didn’t suit his life. A sudden bond that shouldn’t exist for him.

“Disciple.”

At the voice from behind, Yoo Joonghyuk snapped out of his thoughts.

The Heaven-Shattering Sword Saint was looking down at him as if worried.

A bright mirror-wood that poured out light.

At last, the Heaven-Shattering Sword Saint recognized his disciple who had reached the 41st regression.

“Which number regression is this where you passed your memories to me?”

“The thirty-second.”

“I understand this regression is the forty-first.”

“There are regressions where I didn’t pass you memories.”

The Heaven-Shattering Sword Saint didn’t ask why he hadn’t passed him memories. He only smiled lightly.

“If you passed me memories, ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) then it means you have a desperate reason, in proportion to that.”

Yoo Joonghyuk’s regression pulls in and devours everyone around it. It destroys them. It dismantles lives and erases existence.

And yet, Yoo Joonghyuk once again dragged the Heaven-Shattering Sword Saint into that vortex of regression.

“I have to become stronger.”

“You are already strong enough. Stronger than the previous regression, stronger than the regression before that.”

“I have to become stronger than that.”

“For what reason.”

Yoo Joonghyuk didn’t answer, but the Heaven-Shattering Sword Saint heard the answer.

Strangely, at that moment, the two of them were thinking of the same face.

“What a strange thing.”

“I don’t really understand it either.”

“Well, even my blunt disciple will have a friend someday.”

“That’s not the reason.”

To Yoo Joonghyuk, who shook his head, the Heaven-Shattering Sword Saint smiled quietly. Then, in an instant, he hardened his expression and asked,

“Are you planning to enter a time stratum?”

“Yes.”

“I know what it means for you to enter a time stratum.”

To most mortals, a ‘time stratum’ is worthless darkness where nothing exists.

In a void where only the density of time is extremely condensed, mortals test their limits and challenge transcendence.

But some ‘time strata’ are different. Inside those time strata, there are fables, and there are stories.

A time stratum with a much more atrocious survival difficulty than a time stratum filled with only emptiness, but if you can clear it, you can obtain rewards you’d never even imagine.

“You have to return to a world you couldn’t protect.”

The Heaven-Shattering Sword Saint knew whose fable that ‘time stratum’ belonged to.

“The more often you visit that place, the more you will go insane. No matter how powerful a mind is, if you repeat something like that, it can’t endure it.”

“Even so, I have to go.”

Confirming that his disciple’s resolve wouldn’t be reversed, the Heaven-Shattering Sword Saint let out a light sigh and asked,

“Fine. Are you going now?”

“Yes.”

“Prepare. I’ll accompany you to the stratum entrance.”

Yoo Joonghyuk nodded.

The Heaven-Shattering Sword Saint asked again,

“Will you use the thirty-second stratum again this time?”

The thirty-second stratum was an atrocious stratum that Yoo Joonghyuk of the 40th regression had used before.

There, Yoo Joonghyuk gained power that could bring even the stars crashing down.

“No.”

Time sleeping, layered like buried fossils.

In some time strata, there are fables left behind that even he hasn’t yet experienced.

After looking up at the sky for a moment, Yoo Joonghyuk spoke.

“This time, I’m thinking of trying the ‘fortieth stratum.’”