The Regressor Can Make Them All

Chapter 225

So this... is her hideout.

Lea looked around and swallowed hard. The long hallway she was in stretched into the distance, completely pristine and white. It was devoid of any signs of life, without even the faint hum from ventilation and lights. The only sound was her own breathing, making the eerie silence deafening.

She intuitively knew—this was no ordinary hideout.

I heard it was supposed to look like a warehouse... but this feels more like a laboratory.

If this truly was an important place to Puppeteer, what could be inside? Tensing, Lea carefully surveyed her surroundings.

“Let's move forward first,” said Se-Hoon softly.

“Got it.”

Matching their strides, the two moved in unison, staying close together. The hallway seemed endless, with no signs of any side paths or doors. It made Lea feel a twinge of unease, half-expecting something to jump out at them.

“...Hmm?”

She suddenly noticed a faint ripple in the air. At first, she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, but a closer look revealed that the entire hallway was subtly shimmering.

Realizing something was off, Lea tapped Se-Hoon on the waist.

“Hey, something's strange about the air around us.”

“Oh, that's probably toxins.”

“Toxins...?”

“You know how Puppeteer and their puppets don't need to breathe, right? Because of that, they likely filled the air with a color and odorless poison.”

Without preparations, any intruders would instantly succumb to poisoning. And even if they were prepared, they’d still need to use magic to filtrate the toxins, making it the perfect trap to eliminate and identify intruders.

They were notoriously difficult to deal with according to stories he heard before he regressed, and such traps were common in major bases.

“That's one nasty trap...”

“It just shows how adept they are at using their strengths to their advantage. Under normal circumstances, we wouldn’t have been able to get in this easily.”

They only got in so smoothly this time because Se-Hoon had the unique talent to handle both dream mana and the power of Boundaries simultaneously. Without that and with just their pure skills, the base was too dangerous to even get close to.

And this method won't work a second time, either.

Once they eliminated the Dream Demon, Puppeteer would undoubtedly realize she had been used. And that meant they had to gather as much as possible since they wouldn’t get another chance to exploit Puppeteer's base.

I hope there's a lot we can make use of...

Surveying the area, Se-Hoon soon began to sense something unusual in the distance.

“Wait, slow down a bit.”

“Hmm? Okay.”

Heightening his senses, Se-Hoon carefully moved toward the source of the strange sensation, stopping in the middle of what seemed like an ordinary hallway.

“We’re here.”

“Here? Are you sure...?”

It looked like they just stopped in the middle of the corridor they'd been walking through, but Se-Hoon clearly saw something Lea couldn't.

Woong-

Before his eyes was a faint ripple in the hallway's scenery. Space had been distorted with magic to loop the hallway endlessly, trapping intruders in a continuous circuit.

However, the ripple in front of them was the junction of that loop.

“That was close...”

Se-Hoon let out a sigh of relief.

If one didn’t notice the junction, like Lea, they would have kept walking in circles endlessly. Se-Hoon, though, was different. If it had been him, his subconscious would have disrupted the spatial magic with dream mana, allowing him to unknowingly head directly into the hidden space beyond.

We would have been immediately revealed as intruders to Puppeteer.

Of course, if they were here to destroy the base then such a course of events wouldn't matter. However, their goal was to plant a device and leave the base undetected, so they couldn’t afford to damage the facility.

Now, let's see...

Mulling over his options, Se-Hoon soon extended his left hand and grasped the empty air.

Swish-

A Veil of Whitespace then formed in his hand, and he hung it in the air in front of them.

Whoosh!

Now the veil completely blocked their view, though unknown to the curious Lea.

“Hmm...?”

She felt like Se-Hoon had done something but couldn't tell what.

And before she could figure it out, Se-Hoon calmly called out to her, “Let's go.”

“Oh, okay.”

Though still confused, she followed him and walked through the Veil of Whitespace.

Whoosh-

The scenery before Lea’s eyes suddenly changed, and now, instead of the endless hallway, a large door had appeared before them.

“Whoa... What did you do?” she asked with wide eyes.

“Just a little trick.”

Brushing off her question, Se-Hoon began examining the spatial magic still present in the hallway.

No signs of the spell being dispelled, and no traces were left behind.

Since the Whitespace was created by the voids between spaces, by using it as he just had, Se-Hoon could bypass spatial magic like it were nothing but thin air.

I had a feeling it would be effective against spatial magic, but after seeing it in action... it's even more impressive than I thought.

With it, he could easily slip in and out of a majority of secure facilities. Satisfied and impressed, Se-Hoon turned his attention to the door.

“Let's head inside.”

“Okay.”

Staying cautious, Se-Hoon wrapped the door in a Veil of Whitespace just in case before passing through it with Lea.

Whoosh-

An empty, white room greeted them. Its ceiling was domed, with lines drawn at regular intervals that formed an oddly familiar pattern.

“Is that...?”

“The Celestial Coordinate System,” Lea muttered, her eyes narrowing upon recognizing the markings. “It uses Celestial Magic as its backbone to observe celestial bodies and mark their positions.”

Lea stared at the Celestial Coordinate System on the ceiling in incredulity. Puppeteer, Reyna Claudel, specialized in Biological Enchantments. She was someone who had no interest in Celestial Magic, even discouraging others from studying it, deeming it too limited.

“That bitch...”

And yet, she was putting her dead husband’s research to use. The sight infuriated Lea, making her want to destroy the facility immediately, but she forced herself to remain calm.

“Whew...”

She hugged her waist tightly and took deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. Noticing her struggle, Se-Hoon gave her time and glanced around the room.

It’s just as I thought...

Although the Puppeteer making use of Celestial Magic was something Lea couldn't have imagined, Se-Hoon had suspected it long ago. He clearly remembered Puppeteer using a similar device to the Sphere during her final moments. Considering its similarity, if that device was based on Celestial Magic, it wouldn't be surprising.

So, she was already using Celestial Magic before she killed Lea...

What could Puppeteer have been thinking, using the very research of her husband whom she had brutally murdered? Se-Hoon fell into thought. And it was at that moment that a voice whispered into his ears.

“Wow...”

The Seeker, who had been silent since they entered the base, murmured in admiration.

“I knew there was something special about him, but... this is beyond my expectations. If he were still alive, I'd even want to take him on as a disciple.”

At the Seeker’s praise, Se-Hoon furrowed his brow, unable to see why.

“What are you so surprised at?”

“What, you haven’t noticed yet? Heh. I guess even a genius can’t know everything...”

Woong-

“The center! Go to the center of the room, and you'll understand.”

Following the Seeker's suggestion, Se-Hoon examined the room's center.

Hmm. I don't see anything particularly special...

Maybe there was some kind of device related to Celestial Magic he didn't recognize? Staying cautious of being deceived by the Seeker, he continued to inspect the area.

“Hey,” Lea called, tugging his arm.

She then pointed to the center of the room, just like the Seeker had.

“Let’s go over there.”

Intrigued, Se-Hoon looked at her and asked, “Is there something there?”

“That's where the observation point is. If she really does know how to use Celestial Magic properly... you'll see something different from there.”

Depending on where you observe from, the same pattern can look entirely different. Pondering Lea’s explanation, Se-Hoon nodded.

“Alright. Let's check it out.”

They moved to the center of the room together.

Whoosh!

The moment they stepped into the center, the white room was engulfed in darkness and the Celestial Coordinate System on the ceiling lit up in blue as stars began to appear, one by one.

Looking up, the ceiling now looked like a perfect reproduction of the night sky—it was breathtaking. However, there was also something unsettling about it. Looking closer, eight larger and brighter stars stood out.

And from those stars... were life-sized puppets hanging from each, all limp and eerily reminiscent of hanged figures.

It was a grotesque sight that contrasted sharply with the beautiful night sky.

“This... is an ancient enchantment, isn't it?” Se-Hoon eventually said, studying the ceiling.

“...I think so.”

The eight puppets represented the planets of the solar system, channeling all of the celestial bodies' power. It was an enchantment on an enormous scale, and its effects were equally significant.

“She’s using the vessel bound with her own soul to mirror Earth and synchronize it as the center of the celestial bodies.... That’s how she’s been able to control her puppets across the world.”

Impressed by the complexity, the Seeker praised the mechanism again.

“This is a truly elaborate magic array,” Se-Hoon mentally commented in awe.

“It has to be. To pull this off, one would have to master both Biological Enchantments and Celestial Magic. If even one of those was lacking, the magic array would have been ruined long ago.”

It was a complex array of magic that was made possible only by the perfect balance of the two.

Se-Hoon glanced at Lea.

“...”

There was a troubled expression on Lea’s face as she stared up at the ceiling. Why had Puppeteer gone to such lengths to study Celestial Magic? It could have just been out of necessity, but if there was any chance of another reason, then it would be impossible for Lea not to feel conflicted.

After all, despite being her enemy now, Puppeteer was once her beloved mother.

“...Phew.”

After a while of staring at the ceiling, Lea let out a long sigh and shook her head slightly.

This doesn’t change anything.

No matter what story or hidden motives Puppeteer had, the events of that fateful day wouldn’t be erased. Puppeteer was now one of the Ten Evils responsible for countless deaths, and no reasoning could ever justify such actions.

With her thoughts finally settled, Lea turned to Se-Hoon.

“So, what should we do next?”

Relieved by the sight of Lea regaining her composure so quickly, Se-Hoon looked around.

“Puppeteer uses this facility to move her soul between puppets hidden all over the world. If we can disable this facility, we'll effectively restrict her movements.”

“Hmm. So, you’re trying to trap her soul inside one of the puppets in the Pleasure District?”

“Something like that, but a bit different. What I'm aiming for is...”

Se-Hoon then proceeded to explain how he planned to use Puppeteer during the campaign to defeat the Dream Demon.

“That... is that even possible?” asked Lea in disbelief after hearing everything.

“I think it’s more than doable.”

“But... I mean... it's a bit far-fetched, but I guess it could work...”

Though Se-Hoon’s plan seemed absurd at first, when she thought it through, it no longer seemed entirely impossible.

Taking some time to deeply think about it, Lea frowned for a bit before making up her mind.

“Alright. Let’s go for it. If that bitch could pull this off, why can’t we?”

“Good. Let’s get started right away.”

Grabbing the Sphere from his void pocket with his left hand, Se-Hoon rested his right hand on Lea's shoulder to maintain their invisibility. He then adjusted his posture for the task ahead, all while watching Lea flex her fingers in preparation.

“There are two main requirements for the enchantment. First, we need a trigger that only activates when we send the signal. Second, it has to be subtle enough that Puppeteer doesn’t notice it.”

The first condition was relatively simple, but the second made it far more complicated. They needed to seamlessly integrate the trigger and the entire enchantment into the existing magic array without raising any suspicion.

“That's one hell of a task.”

“Think you can handle it?”

Since it relied entirely on Lea's talent and skill, Se-Hoon couldn’t be certain.

“...”

Instead of answering directly, Lea reached into the holder on her thigh and pulled out a hairpin, which her father had given her long ago, to secure her hair.

Lightly patting her cheeks, she looked at Se-Hoon.

“Make sure you back me up properly.”

At the sight of her confident expression that declared that she wasn’t going to make any mistakes, Se-Hoon smiled slightly.

“Of course.”

“Then, let’s begin.”

Ready, Lea extended both hands toward the Sphere and a golden aura promptly began to ripple across its surface. She could have used the Sphere’s observation function to instantly analyze the magic array above them, but doing so would leave traces behind.

So instead, Lea carefully examined the magic array by sight, manually inputting the details into the spear.

She really copied everything...!

Reading and replicating such extremely complex magic by eye was essentially impossible, but the circumstances were different this time. The magic above Lea was based on her parents' research, which she had seen countless times since childhood. Knowing the ins and outs of it, Lea could replicate it without too much difficulty.

Woong!

Now bloodshot from intense focus, Lea’s eyes darted around quickly, allowing her to faithfully replicate the magic array onto the surface of the Sphere.

She was fully immersed in her work, a sight that made Se-Hoon smile.

“Wow... she’s pretty good,” murmured the Seeker in admiration.

“Didn’t I tell you? She always gets the job done.”

“You’re really proud of yourself for saying that, aren’t you... oh, you should fix that part over there.”

“Don’t you think this part is also a bit excessive?”

“Yeah, just smooth it out with the rest.”

While Lea replicated the core structure, Se-Hoon and the Seeker fine-tuned the details. Working as a team, the surface of the Sphere was soon covered by intricate symbols, indicating that the replication was completed.

Woong-

Comparing it with the array of celestial magic above them, it appeared like a perfect replica, but theirs had their own enchantments hidden within, all subtly woven in.

“How does it look?” Lea asked.

“Perfect.” Se-Hoon didn’t even hesitate.

Unless Puppeteer lost her mind and meticulously examined the entire array piece by piece, there was no way she would notice.

With everything now prepared, Se-Hoon surveyed the area and said, “When I give the signal, sync the Sphere and apply the enchantment to the Celestial Coordinate System immediately. We need to finish this as quickly as possible.”

“Got it.”

From this point on, it was mostly a matter of luck. No matter how fast they worked, if Puppeteer happened to check the base during this time, they’d be caught instantly.

We can't expect everything to go perfectly all the time.

To take advantage of someone as powerful as Puppeteer, they would just have to accept some risk. Firming his resolve, Se-Hoon started adjusting the dream mana surrounding the spear, pulling it into reality.

“Now!”

“Celestial Synchronization!”

At Se-Hoon’s signal, the Sphere emitted a golden glow as it seamlessly synced with the array on the ceiling.

Whirr-

Its five rings began rotating, shifting their axes, and Lea’s enchantments subtly merged into the array of celestial magic above them. Remaining hyper-aware of their surroundings, the two braced themselves for any signs of detection.

Waiting anxiously, the arrays were fully synched moments later.

“Done!”

At Lea’s shout, Se-Hoon immediately pulled the Sphere back into the dream realm, leaving the room in heavy silence. Anxiously checking her surroundings, Lea let out a quiet sigh upon seeing that there was no immediate reaction.

I really thought something was going to go wrong...

Luckily, it seemed like everything had gone perfectly. Relieved, Lea opened her mouth, but she couldn’t say anything.

Clasp-

Se-Hoon’s hand had suddenly clamped over her mouth.

“...!”

Confused, Lea’s eyes shot wide open, but before she could process anything, she felt something cold and sinister brush against her body.

A shadowy figure had emerged without her knowing and had slowly walked past them. It filled Lea with the indescribable feeling of dread, making her heart race.

The black silhouette crept forward, scanning its surroundings while turning its head slowly.

Creak-

Its face was covered by countless eyes looking in different directions. The eyes all darted around as the black puppet inspected the area, its eyes gradually fixing on Lea and Se-Hoon, one by one.

When its eyes were all focused on them, the towering figure, easily over two meters tall, bent down and locked its gaze onto Lea’s face.

Creak-

Chills went down Lea’s spine. Desperately hoping it hadn’t detected anything, Lea stared back at the countless eyes. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Then, a cold voice echoed through the room.

“Who’s there?”