The Regressor Can Make Them All-Chapter 554

Se-Hoon’s vision splintered into multiple streams the moment he began his ascent up the Hero’s Tomb. Fields, deserts, swamplands, and urban landscapes simultaneously unfolded in his view before his companions appeared one by one.

“This place is...”

“Huh? Where did the others go?”

Finding themselves alone with no sign of the others besides Se-Hoon, Se-Hoon’s companions scanned their surroundings. Of them, Aria gently stroked the divine glow at her waist and narrowed her eyes at the snowy field she found herself in.

“You all are... nearby, aren’t you?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“What are you even talking about?”

Luize furrowed her brows in confusion, scanning the empty city she found herself in. Likewise, in contrast to Aria and Se-Hoon’s calm, their other companions in their respective scenes shared her baffled expression.

“To explain this entire situation...” Feeling the weight of all of their gazes at once, Se-Hoon endured the splitting headache without breaking composure to explain. “The place you’re all standing is indeed the interior of Lunatic. But due to how a trial works, it appears differently to each of you.”

“If it’s due to the trial’s nature, does that mean this space is being shaped to match our synesthetic mindscapes?”

Glancing at the dense forest surrounding him, Jake locked eyes with Se-Hoon.

“Exactly...”—Se-Hoon paused mid-nod—“ah, that was in response to Jake. You might not see it, but my current situation is... somewhat unusual.”

Se-Hoon took a moment to think, pondering how best to explain it so that everyone would understand, but Terra beat him to it from the surface.

“Administrator. I’ll organize the information and display it,” Terra said to him mentally.

Display it?

Just as Se-Hoon wondered what she meant, something familiar popped up before his eyes.

[Lunatic]

[Tier: —] [Quality: —]

[A mobile puppet theater modeled after the moon.

Originally built as Tuner’s confidential research facility, specialized in subspace erosion and concealment, it was altered by Puppeteer into a structure optimized for reality erosion and isolation.

Currently being eroded by the Tower of Heroes, it has since gained the characteristics of a trial that changes the internal environment based on the synesthetic mindscape of those who enter. The created altered environment is exclusive to each entrant and does not affect the original space unless it is destroyed.

*Corruption Rate: 52%

*Facility Operation Rate: 38%

*Note: The remaining mana is being concentrated at the central point]

As he skimmed the information message displaying a compact summary of Lunatic’s origin, functions, and current status, Se-Hoon’s eyes opened wider and wider.

The system message can also be used like this?

Se-Hoon marveled at the new discovery. Apparently, Terra’s granted permissions were far more expansive than he expected.

Meanwhile, everyone else had also finished reading the message and grasped the situation.

“So we’re all in the same space concurrently, but the surrounding laws and rules apply differently depending on perception.”

Scanning the decrepit apartment hallway she stood in, Meirin also made a fascinated expression. It looked like only she and Se-Hoon were present, yet apparently all the others were nearby.

Even she, who intellectually understood, found it hard to believe because of the lack of sensory evidence.

“I’ll show you with a visual. Terra.”

“On it!”

Heeding Se-Hoon’s command, Terra manipulated the system message again to project a blueprint-like map of Lunatic before everyone’s eyes.

“We are currently here.”

A marker appeared about ten kilometers from the core. It didn’t seem like they had made it that far, but considering Lunatic was one-hundredth the size of the moon, they were practically next door.

“But because of the difference in each of our perceptions, it feels like we’re all in different places.”

Over the spherical blueprint, multiple shapes—tetrahedrons, cubes, and octahedrons—were layered like stacked maps. The markers matched; however, the terrain surrounding them didn’t whatsoever.

“If it’s like this... we shouldn’t move rashly,” Amir muttered, digging his foot into the desert sand.

“Exactly.”

Even if everyone walked in the same direction, one person could end up outside the map while another went off track entirely. Like Ludwig’s research lab, Lunatic was a maze that transcended space.

“So, I’ll first link us all together to prevent separation. Lea.”

“Ohhh. So that’s your plan.”

Understanding what Se-Hoon intended, Lea activated her Sphere and transferred control to him.

Woong-

Upon confirming the appearance of the golden halo above his head—a sign of authority over the Sphere—Se-Hoon inscribed a simple enchantment.

Wooooong-

As each connected and synchronized their senses, a halo also appeared over their heads. And at that moment, faint outlines of the others also began shimmering into view.

“This is fascinating.”

Standing in the swamps, Erika observed the blurry forms with an intrigued expression. Depending on whose senses they focused on, their environment would transform into a different world.

It felt like switching through a stack of transparent photographs at will.

Swish-

While everyone was busy being amazed, Eun-Ha looked toward Se-Hoon from atop the volcano and asked, “Can we move now?”

“Hmm... this should do. Okay, let’s go.”

Leading the way himself, Se-Hoon moved on. At first, everything seemed normal for the cautious followers. But soon enough... distortions emerged.

Jason was walking straight upward into the sky, Erika had flipped and disappeared into the earth, others veered sideways and backwards—bizarre phenomena unfolded constantly, but as long as they followed Se-Hoon, they somehow always returned to formation.

If we’d moved blindly, we would’ve been scattered in an instant.

Initially, they couldn’t even see each other. In such a situation, if they were without Se-Hoon, it would’ve been quicker to destroy Lunatic than to find each other again.

Now that I think about it... why can everyone see that guy?

The thought abruptly occurred to Sung-Ha. Looking at Se-Hoon’s back, Sung-Ha couldn’t help but wonder. Did he know their situation was going to happen? Or was it a coincidence? Curious, Sung-Ha was about to ask when a short notification message abruptly popped up before him.

[He’s concentrating right now, so save the questions for later.]

“...”

Reading Terra’s message, Sung-Ha hesitated before quietly nodding. Although he didn’t know exactly what Se-Hoon was doing, he knew it couldn’t be easy—he was marching through enemy lines, after all.

With similar thoughts and questions being shelved among the rest, Se-Hoon continued forward, keeping his eyes fixed on the changing scenery.

Swish-

The landscape flashed by like pages of a book turning. He was heading “straight,” however, the map showed wild zigzags and sometimes even him teleporting to completely different zones.

Going by the map, it looked like he was lost, but in fact, he was navigating traps with precision.

The core is well-guarded, as expected.

Despite the erosion caused by ascending heroes crippling Lunatic from the outer surface, the deepest point remained relatively intact. Just like the note in the system message Terra had displayed, it was clear all remaining mana was being desperately funneled into the core.

Even so, it shouldn’t be able to hold out for more than five minutes... something’s off.

For the enemy to cling to Lunatic like they were despite their disadvantage, clearly, they had a final gambit prepared. Determined to stop whatever that was before it unfolded, Se-Hoon sped up further.

Then, the moment he finally approached the core....

—Act One, Scene One.

A massive curtain fell down, accompanying the monotonous voice.

Rumble!

Behind the crimson curtain, machines disassembled and reassembled in flawless rhythm, shaking Lunatic violently. When the commotion settled, the curtain parted to reveal a new “stage.”

Screech-

Sky, clouds, trees, earth—everything had been replaced by machinery, creating a surreal, artificial world.

Click-

Right in front of everyone’s eyes full of awe, a spotlight beamed down on the center: the lead actor himself, a lion beastfolk with a gray mane, gazing at them.

—Encore Performance.

Massive claws flew out from Beast King’s fingertips, ripping through the air and leaving ten slashes in their wake that were heading straight for Se-Hoon and his companions, who were all frozen in place.

Because of that, it was already too late. To reduce casualties from Beast King taking the first move, they should have instinctively dodged or countered. Yet none of them moved.

What the...!

Like they were part of the scenery, their bodies were completely immobile. In such a state, they could be wiped out in one blow! Knowing that, Se-Hoon tried to force his body to move—

“I see. So it’s me, then.”

Jason’s fist crossed the gap and crashed into Beast King’s chest.

Boom!

Beast King was launched through the mechanical trees of the stage, and only then could everyone move their bodies again.

“...”

Sure, they could have missed the ambush, but how could they—of all people—be completely frozen afterward? That was no ordinary paralysis. Sensing something strange, Se-Hoon’s group moved to attack but stopped. Jason had raised his hand.

“Don’t. I seem to be the only one who can move freely here. You all would probably just get in my way if you stay here. Go on ahead.”

“Huh? What do you mean...?”

“Ask that guy. I don’t know either.”

With no further explanation, Jason launched himself forward toward Beast King, whose eyes were flashing red.

“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU THIS TIME!”

“As if you can.”

CLANG!

Jason’s fist collided with the Beast King’s claws midair. Seeing that, everyone was left at a loss. Even at full strength, few could interfere in such a battle between a Perfect One and a Ten Evil.

As everyone waited, hesitating, Se-Hoon’s mind was racing to process Jason’s words.

“The trial... are they using its nature to bind us?”

“What? Say that again—”

“There’s no time for further explanations. We need to move before it happens again!”

Yelling urgently, Se-Hoon sprinted off. Seeing his urgency, the rest now also felt a sense of danger, causing them to follow quickly. And once they broke past the mechanical forest surrounding Jason and the Beast King—

Crack!

[You have cleared the one-act play “Beast Hunt”.]

“This is...”

Seeing the grotesquely distorted system message appearing in front of them, everyone connected the dots to the stage tailored to a specific individual and its unusually powerful constraints.

Running at full speed, Se-Hoon used the Sphere to pass along additional information.

“They’re using the trial’s nature to bind us. The entire area is structured like a play, where only the main cast can act. Everyone else is an extra who can’t interfere.”

Because only the designated actors were allowed onstage, only Jason—the main character—could react to Beast King’s ambush.

“W-Wait. Are you saying the Ten Evils used the Tower’s system to launch their attack?”

“Exactly.”

“That’s absurd...!”

The demons that drew their power from the Abyss of Demons, which directly clashed with the Tower of Heroes, had used the Tower’s power to their advantage? Wasn’t it a long-known fact?

Hearing Lea’s doubts, Se-Hoon rushed to answer due to the rapidly encroaching power of the Tower of Heroes from all directions. “Lunatic is still under Puppeteer’s control! She can’t act directly, but she can easily manipulate things indirectly!”

Rather than restoring Lunatic, Puppeteer adapted and exploited its newfound trial attributes as-is. And since it was the same logic they’d used to disable Lunatic in the first place, Se-Hoon’s side had no way to block it now.

—Act One, Scene Two.

Flap-

Once again, a monotone voice announced the crimson curtain that fell to block their path. It then slowly rose to reveal a volcanic crater, where countless automatons emerged from below.

Rumble!

Wreathed in flames, the automatons crawled upward. Seeing that, Eun-Ha, whose body was freed from restriction, immediately stepped forward.

“This time, it’s my turn.”

Again, the others remained frozen, unsure how to proceed. And again, Se-Hoon prepared to step forward, only to be stopped by Eun-Ha too.

“With a structure like this, fighting alone is definitely the most efficient way. Se-Hoon, please proceed to the core with the others.”

Wanting to refuse, Se-Hoon hesitated—but at her insistence, he gave in.

“I’ll come back in no time. Just try to hold on until then.”

The current Eun-Ha—the current group—could definitely survive until he returned. That was what he believed.

Satisfied with his conviction, Eun-Ha smiled.

“I’m counting on you.”

Boom!

Eun-Ha launched herself like a meteor into the crater, Soul Furnace activated, freeing the rest to sprint off the stage immediately.

“From here on, we’re going to charge straight through.”

Even if they had to spend more strength, Se-Hoon resolved to reach the core as quickly as possible.

Rumble!

Again and again, after leaving a stage, a new curtain fell—and the designated main character left their group to charge into the fray without hesitation.

“I’ll catch up soon.”

“I’ll regroup with my sister and follow.”

“Good luck.”

Aria, Jake, and Erika were trapped one after another on their respective stages. But now, the distance to the core shrunk to one kilometer. Because of that, the Demon Force was feeling a sense of urgency, causing them to abandon restraint and sacrifice parts of Lunatic to create a colossal new stage.

Rumble!

Unlike before, curtains surrounded them on all sides before rising soon after to reveal a triple-layered mega-stage.

Boom!

On the staggered stage were a warrior holding a flaming spear, a three-headed mage with dozens of mouths, and an assassin leading an army of ice... which made their targets painfully obvious no matter who looked at it.

Exchanging looks with one another, the three in question sighed.

“Now, this is quite annoying.”

“Couldn’t they have just let us fight separately?”

“I strongly agree with you on that matter.”

Though forced into a three-person team, they formed a formation smoothly. Due to their daily spars with Jason to test the Law of Repentance, their coordination had become second nature.

“Hey, we’ll wrap this up quickly, so...?”

Just as Luize turned to reassure Se-Hoon, she noticed he wasn’t even there.

“Where the hell did he go?”

“He dashed off right after realizing we were the ones targeted.”

“Didn’t even look back.”

“...”

Luize’s face twitched. On the bright side, it meant he must trust them enough to leave immediately... but didn’t basic courtesy matter still?!

“That little punk, I swear...!”

While Luize scowled in irritation, grumbling, the automatons began moving.

Rumble!

The stage moved in sync with their footsteps, amplifying the automatons. From the perspective of the audience, it was as though the very stage was declaring the machines were the true protagonists.

“Tsk.”

Scoffing at the ridiculous notion, Luize gathered her mana. Following suit, Sung-Ha and Amir did the same.

Rumble!

Instead of overwhelming their opponents, the automatons were pushed back. The three had pure, raw power that could deny even the world’s chosen actors.

Luize’s glowing blue eyes flashed.

“I don’t know what kind of farce this is, but... I’m going to shatter you guys to pieces.”

Intimidated by the woman in the center, the automatons trembled and retreated as Luize stepped forward, leading Sung-Ha and Amir with weapons in hand.

“You know, you would make a great villain.”

“Maybe it’s your true calling.”

“Ugh, shut up and kill them all!”

And with that, the Three Dogs rampaged to the point where the stage began screaming as it fell apart.