I’m not a Regressor - Chapter 250: The Thousand Curse Dragon (2)

“What? We’re going to hunt it?” Ha-eun asked in surprise. “I just said I don’t know where the nest is…”

“I know,” Ohjin said.

“What?”

“I know where the nest is.”

“How…?”

Isabella and Ha-eun gave Ohjin incredulous looks, while Vega and Riak looked fairly indifferent and nodded as if they already expected as much.

“Fufu, that’s what happened,” Vega said.

“Grrrr,” Riak growled. “This must be something he already went through.”

Isabella narrowed her eyes when she saw how the two reacted. “What do you mean he already went through it? What do they mean, Ohjin?”

“…” Ohjin hesitated and turned to Vega with a questioning look, as if asking if he could reveal the information.

Vega shrugged and nodded. “Didn’t the celestials find out anyway?”

“That’s right.” Ohjin nodded and turned to Isabella. “I need to tell you something, Isabella.”

“Oh, yes. Go ahead, Ohjin.”

“I…” He lowered his voice. “I am a Regressor.”

“What…?” Isabella’s jaw dropped, but her surprise soon turned to anxiety. “Ohjin, did you drink too much…?”

Vega flew over and said, “It’s true.”

“Wh-what do you mean?” Isabella asked. “If you’re a Regressor… you’re saying you’re from the future, right?”

“That’s right.” Ohjin nodded and slowly revealed what he’d been hiding. Of course, even if he’d avoided telling others, most of it was a lie.

“…” After he finished explaining, Isabella put a hand to her head as if she had a headache. “Wait a minute … wait a minute, give me a moment to think…” Her thoughts were colliding in an incomprehensible tangle. If anyone else had told her something like that, she would’ve dismissed it as nonsense.

“…Are you sure?” she asked. Since it was the person she trusted and had given her heart to, she had no choice but to believe him.

Ohjin nodded silently.

Isabella turned to look at Ha-eun. “Did you also know?”

“Y-yeah?” Ha-eun flinched and scratched her head as she gave an awkward smile. “Well, that’s right.” She supposed she could be classified as ‘knowing’, though she also knew he was merely pretending to be a Regressor.

‘How can this bastard lie like this without a single change in expression?’ she wondered as she gave Ohjin a shocked look. Facial expressions were often the easiest way to tell if someone was lying. Subtle tremors of the pupils, lips, eyebrows, chin, body, and even tonal changes were all things that people would notice.

Didn’t it sometimes happen that you could look at someone else and instinctively realize what they said was a lie? Such times were when you subconsciously picked up on those ‘tells’.

Ohjin didn’t have any of that. From what she was seeing, his lies were so natural that she didn’t notice anything off about his demeanor. Even she would’ve been fooled if she hadn’t known the truth.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?” Isabella asked, her eyes trembling. Since Vega, Riak, and Ha-eun knew everything, she’d been the only one left out. Was it because he didn’t completely trust her? “Is it… because I’m an Awakener of Hirudo?”

“No.” Ohjin shook his head. “I thought you’d dismiss it as absurd and not believe me if I told you.”

“That’s not true…” Isabella was about to deny it but suddenly found herself unable to argue as she remembered her first reaction upon hearing he was a Regressor was to ask him if he’d drunk too much. Would she have believed him if Vega hadn’t confirmed it? Even still, she worried they were making fun of her somehow.

“I can’t really argue…” she admitted.

“Well, that’s a given. I would also assume anyone who said they were from the future was spouting nonsense.” Ohjin laughed. “I can’t hide it forever, can I? Isabella… well, we’re like family now.”

“What?” Isabella’s eyes widened, and her face flushed as she nervously moved back and forth on her feet. “D-did you just propose?”

“What?” Ohjin asked.

“You proposed, right?”

“No, that’s not it. I mean, we live in the same house and are close, so we’re like family.”

“When would be a good time to have the ceremony?”

“Listen to me, lady.” Ohjin flicked her on the forehead to snap her out of her wild daydreams.

In response, she took a deep breath and rubbed her forehead before coming to a realization and exclaiming, “Then… you came to Italy to save me!” She hadn’t thought about it before, but his timing had just been too good. It all made sense if he was a Regressor.

“That’s right.” Ohjin nodded.

Isabella narrowed her eyes and quietly asked, “What happened in my past life?”

“That’s…” Ohjin paused for a moment and gave a deep sigh before he said, “You couldn’t overcome the urge for blood and turned Italy into a sea of fire.”

“…”

He remembered Italy engulfed in flames. Perhaps she wouldn’t have died there if he hadn’t saved her, but things would have changed a lot.

“Then if it wasn’t for you, Ohjin, I would have…” She went quiet as she recalled memories from back then.

* * *

* * *

She’d tried to lure out the Marco family, who were illegally distributing drugs in Italy, but she’d been in a very bad situation thanks to the Purple Forbidden Enclosure. If he hadn’t saved her, then she could’ve gone insane.

“You don’t have to think about it now, for a past life is only a past life,” Ohjin said.

“But…” she tried to argue.

“You’ve found a way to control your urge for blood now, right?” he asked as he reached out to hold her hand. The warmth she felt from his palm washed away her anxiety. “Weird…” she mumbled.

“What?”

She lowered her head and tightened her grip on her hand. She’d thought she was already so into him that she couldn’t fall anymore, but she was somehow still finding new ways to like him… “Fufu. It’s nothing. Thank you for your kind words, Ohjin.” She smiled and shook her head.

She wanted to convey all of her feelings to him, but Ha-eun was his lover. ‘One day…’ She suppressed her simmering emotions and let go of his hand. “Do you plan to ask Valhalla for cooperation against the Thousand Curse Dragon?”

“No. I’m not going to contact them.” Ohjin shook his head.

“Why not…?” she asked. If they were going to hunt the dragon, then it only made sense to have as much backup as possible.

“This is something I have to do,” Ohjin said as he glanced toward Ha-eun.

“Oh…” Right, Isabella remembered hearing something about how Ha-eun had been cursed by the dragon and lived in blindness for several years.

Ha-eun tapped Ohjin on the shoulder and asked, “Why is that your job?”

“Ha-eun?” Ohjin gave her a puzzled look.

“It’s not your job; it’s my job.” Ha-eun’s eyes shone coolly, but her legs were shaking a bit. Of course, she was afraid to confront the being who’d trapped her in that terrible darkness.

“…You don’t have to overdo it, Ha-eun,” he said.

“I’m not.” Ha-eun shook her head and smirked as she calmed her trembling legs. “Thank you for caring about me, but I’m not so weak and soft that I would have someone else get revenge for me.” She clenched her fist and brought out a subtle flame. “I’ll kill that lizard.”

“We can kill it together,” Ohjin said. It’s not like he needed to fight it one-on-one.

“Well, anyway. You’re saying we’re going to catch the lizard on our own, right?” Ha-eun asked.

“Yes. The five of us should be more than strong enough.” Although Vega and Riak were not able to use their full power properly due to the constraints, they were still incredibly strong, and Isabella was also there.

“True. The Thousand Curse Dragon looked like it was a 9-Star, right?” Six years prior, a 9-Star monster was a disaster. Thankfully, Awakeners had grown stronger since then, so 9-Star monsters weren’t as big of a threat anymore. Of course, since it was a ‘named’ monster, it would also have exceptional power and intelligence compared to other monsters of the same rank.

“Couldn’t Isabella defeat it by herself?” Ha-eun asked.

“Why don’t you stay, and just me and Ohjin will go?” Isabella asked.

“Huh?” Ha-eun grunted. “You’re playing tricks again. “I told you, right? I’m going to kill that lizard.”

“Fufu. Okay, I got it.” Isabella smiled gracefully, covering her mouth with her hands.

“The Thousand Curse Dragon… Even the name gives off a sense of evil,” Vega muttered.

“Grrrrr! It’s just a monster.” Riak bared his teeth.

“When do you plan to leave?” Vega asked.

“We won’t have to go in a hurry,” Ohjin replied. The Thousand Curse Dragon had just woken up and was gathering its forces. The sooner, the better, of course, but there was no need to rush to the point of neglecting preparations. “I’m thinking of going to the Association first.”

“Oh, because of what Sihoo said?” Ha-eun asked. He had to examine the Living Armour’s spear, Dantalian, in detail.

“Yeah. It’ll be good to get your gear there, too.”

“Then let’s go tomorrow.”

“Isabella,” he said, “do you need anything else?”

“I’m fine. I’ll be at full power with you, Ohjin.” Isabella smiled deeply as she scanned the back of Ohjin’s neck.

“This lady will have to save as much energy as she can until we leave,” Vega declared.

“Grrrrrr! All a true warrior needs is fighting spirit and skill! Let’s go now, rookie!” Riak hadn’t had a chance to fight in a while thanks to being locked in the sanctuary for so long and only training, so he was eager to get going.

“We haven’t even cleaned up the plates yet, man. What do you mean? We can’t leave right now.” Ohjin got up from his seat and smiled. The Thousand Curse Dragon or whatever could wait, the priority was to clean up the messy table.

“I’ll do the dishes.” Holding up the remaining plates, Ohjin headed to the kitchen.