I’m not a Regressor - Chapter 235: A Hero for the Downtrodden (5)

“…” A death-like silence fell over the area, and the candidates turned whiter than the snow piled outside as they looked at the knight in fear. To be more precise, they were looking at the ruined black necklace at the knight’s feet.

“The necklace…”

“Did it bre… huh?”

The necklace both served as a safety device for the civilians and provided psychological comfort for the participating candidates—it was a sign that it was all just a competition to pick the new members of the Seven Stars.

The necklaces were why they’d been able to act like everything was a game, though the monsters were as real as ever.

“Ah, ugh.” With the necklace being removed, they realized things were no longer a ‘game.’

“D-damn.” Fear spread like poison, and the candidates stared into the knight’s eyes as they stepped back on their pitifully shaking legs. The monster had defeated Jason Hardy and Orlando Bale, the most favored candidates, and it hadn’t even taken so much as a scratch.

Would they be able to beat it when it had even lost the necklace’s constraints?

“Sa-save m-me!”

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

It didn’t take long for them to run away and decide it was hopeless.

“…” The knight stared into the distance and ignored the fleeing candidates. Thanks to its indifference, they were able to distance themselves without anyone falling behind.

“Haa, haa! You damn council bastards! How the hell were you managing monsters?” Namgung Hui dropped his usual, gentle tone and cursed.

As if in response to his terrified yell…

[E-emergency announcement!] The panicked voice of Olivia, the one who’d explained the tournament’s rules, came from the silver bracelet on each of their wrists.

[Due to an unidentified malfunction, all of the necklaces controlling the monsters have stopped functioning!] Was it really the same Olivia as before? Her cold and clerical tone was full of fear.

[We are temporarily suspending the competition as of now! Candidates, please return!]

“…What?” Ohjin’s face stiffened. ‘You want us to leave?’ What would happen to the civilians still in the safe zone if they left?

“W-wait, what about the civilians?” one of the other candidates asked. Unexpectedly, it was none other than Namgung Hui. “The civilians should be saved, at the very least!” The man, at least, seemed to have a conscience.

Olivia’s slightly subdued voice came from the bracelet again after a brief silence. [The safe zone has a barrier installed.]

‘Bullshit.’ Ohjin frowned at the silver bracelet. Even if the safe zone had a protective barrier, that was only a temporary measure. The blue-armored knight would easily be able to smash through such a barrier with its sword and slaughter the civilians before they could run.

[All civilian participants pledged to follow the council foremost in an emergency.] In other words, the civilians had signed liability contracts. If they died during the competition, the council would be criticized, but they wouldn’t be in legal trouble.

“But…” Namgung Hui’s voice trembled as he prepared to argue, but a loud noise interrupted him.

-Kruuunng! Kuuuuuu!

Strangely enough, the noise came from the silver bracelets.

[M-monsters are coming from the warp device!] Faint screams and groans reached them through the bracelets. [Hurry up! Candidates, leave the dungeon and protect the hotel!] Olivia shouted.

“…” The candidates looked at each other. Even Namgung Hui looked conflicted and anxiously chewed his lips.

[I’ll deprive you of your qualifications as candidates if you don’t leave!] Olivia bellowed. [Didn’t you see how many people gathered to watch this competition? I’ll take responsibility for anyone in the safe zone. Hurry up!] she howled.

“Ugh…”

“L-let’s go! There are also people outside!”

The council said they’d take responsibility for everything!”

The candidates pleaded their case to the hesitant Namgung Hui, who continued to worry as he nodded and raised his fan. “Oh, wind! Clear the way!” A road of wind led away from the safe zone to the warp device that led out of the dungeon.

“Hurry up! We’re running out of time!” Namgung Hui and the other candidates quickly moved along the road and toward the exit.

In the end, only one person stayed behind…

Ohjin.

“Ha.” Halting laughter left his mouth as he remembered how the crowd outside had gathered like clouds around the warp device. When he recalled how packed the banquet hall had been with famous international politicians, celebrities, and journalists, it wasn’t hard for him to imagine what kind of chaos there would be if the monsters got free.

“Now…” Of course, it only made sense that Olivia was in a panic. As the one in charge of the council, she’d be held responsible if any of those international figures were harmed due to one of the council’s mistakes.

‘Are they sacrificing the people in here to protect the ones outside?’

It was, in a way, the most logical course of action.

* * *

* * *

Powerless civilians who’d signed liability contracts, or celebritieswho’d gathered and paid large donations to see the new Seven Stars in person… It wasn’t hard to figure out which of the two groups was more ‘valuable’.

“…” Contrary to what anyone might have said, human lives did not hold equal value. That’d never been the case, and there were always those who were more valuable than others.

-Didn’t your parents say anything?

-I don’t have any.

-…

-I heard that they left me and traveled far away.

They didn’t believe it was worth it to protect the life of a little orphan girl. If faced with either throwing away a bag of trash or a bag of expensive jewelry, of course, you’d throw away the bag of trash.

The lives outside couldn’t even be compared to hers. If he left the dungeon and defeated the rampaging monsters, he’d be praised and treated like a hero by all of those celebrities—he could even win a Seven Star title.

It was dangling right in front of him—undeniable fame and power, the dragon veins, and the Milky Way Spring, but…

But…

If he took it…

“Ha, haha.” His shoulders shook as he covered his face with his hands. He knew… He had known for as long as he could remember…

There was no hero for the downtrodden.

Protecting the weak wouldn’t make you a hero—the world was not a cartoon or a novel. Picking up trash wouldn’t make you famous.

“Fuck it.” He wasn’t a hero, anyway. Being the ‘Hope of Mankind’ or the ‘Heaven-defying Star’? Please, he was only a con artist who knew how to lie.

-Really, Uncle?! You promised!

He remembered NT’s bright smile and her pinky promise. Though promises shouldn’t matter to a con artist…

“Sometimes, it’s okay to be whimsical.” He smirked and ran toward the safe zone. ‘Stigma of Bufo.’ The stigma amplified his power, and blue lightning crackled around his legs.

Kzzzt, kzzzzzzzt—!

Crash—!

He leaped forward with enough force to split the ice; the cold wind whipped across his cheeks.

“Keeeeeekkk!

“Krrrrk! Keeerrkkk!”

He ran into monsters hiding in the snow that all rushed toward him—not a single one had a necklace on.

“I don’t have time to deal with you bastards.”

Ta-ang!

A wire fired at a towering glacier was all it took for him to soar over them. In the distance, he saw the rock wall that’d collapsed from Hui’s earlier attack. ‘Lightning Shadow Steps.’ The wind tore at his clothes as he rushed through the air toward the safe zone.

Kzzzzzt—!

The cold wind soon vanished and was replaced by the warm, caressing wind of Spring.

“Kyaaaaaaa!”

“Sa-save me!”

He heard screams below, and a familiar voice reached him from the chaos…

“E-everyone, get ready to run! The barrier is about to break!”

“Krrrrrrrrrk! Krrrrrrrrrk!”

“Kruuuuuu!”

Thump, Thump, Thump—!

A group of monsters was attacking the green barrier, screaming and violently striking it with everything they could—excited to eat the prey right in front of them.

“Charge.” A raging blue lightning formed at the end of his reverse-gripped spear as he soared down from the sky. One was not enough. “Charge, Charge, Charge, Charge.” Two, three, four… He condensed a total of five Charges.

“It… it’s over. Ahh, we’re all dead now!”

“Calm down! You’re an adult!”

“How could I be calm?!”

“S-someone will come to help if we just hold on a little longer!” NT cried out to the other confused civilians.

“Who?! Who will help?! You heard the announcement!” They also each had a silver bracelet on their wrist, though slightly different from the ones the candidates wore. “Who do you think we have here?! Orphans, homeless nobodies, and people buried in debt! We’re all bottomfeeders to them!”

The others flinched and seemed to lose hope.

“No one cares about us!”

“That’s…” NT couldn’t finish her sentence and bowed her head as her small hands clenched. She knew nobody would come to their aid—a hero for the downtrodden was nothing but a fairytale.

“Discharge.”

Ruuummmble—!

Lightning struck from the sky and swept away the monsters in a wave of electricity.

“Ah.” NT turned to look with her small mouth open in shock. A young man holding a black spear stood tall within the torrential blue lightning storm. “Un… cle?”

Ohjin raised his pinky towards NT, who looked back at him through the cracked barrier. “I kept my promise.”

That time…

He hadn’t lied.