The Regressor and the Blind Saint

༺ Gorgan (3) ༻

Vera gulped as he faced the boy in the realm of consciousness he found himself in.

Without having to think hard, he could tell.

That boy was Gorgan.

The feminine arm that had been exposed this entire time belonged to that boy.

‘He’s out of his mind.’

Whether it was the ring’s effect, or whether it was the nature of this realm of consciousness, Vera couldn’t tell.

However, the cold hatred he felt just from facing him told Vera enough.

In the tense atmosphere, Gorgan raised his body.

“Elf…”

The words uttered softly confirmed Vera’s suspicion.

‘…Is he seeing me as Friede?’

His eyes narrowed.

Based on the vision he had seen, it was too clear who the object of that hatred was.

What should I do?

How should I bring Gorgan back to his senses?

As he contemplated, Gorgan’s manifestation suddenly faded.

It was a sight similar to the dispersal of a fog.

Vera stopped breathing at that, and the moment he tensed up his entire body…

Clang—!

Vera swung the Holy Sword behind him as he suddenly noticed a presence, and he blocked the incoming attack.

Clash—

It was a clash between a blade and a hand, but the sound was sharp.

Vera gritted his teeth and tensed up.

‘First, I need to subdue him…!’

Deciding that getting Gorgan to calm down was the first priority, Vera summoned his divinity.

‘He’s coming.’

Though it was the realm of consciousness, the rules were the same as the outside world.

Shiing—!

Having pushed Gorgan away, Vera swung his sword again.

Obviously, his attack didn’t work.

Despite the fact that he was in the realm of consciousness and that his opponent was not in right mind, Gorgan was still an ancient species.

That meant that Gorgan’s innate reaction speed and accumulated strength were enough to overcome him.

The nerve-wracking moment went on.

In an instant, dozens, even hundreds of attacks were exchanged.

If he hesitated for even a moment, threatening attacks that could turn into fatal blows loomed.

There was a sharp, heavy metal clash and a shock that reverberated throughout the body.

It was afterward that something changed in Vera, who had been swinging his sword in a defensive stance.

Clang—!

Along with the sharp noise, Vera’s sword changed forms.

It slashed slightly across Gorgan’s cheek.

He had finished adapting.

It was a skill that was only possible for Vera, whose talent for wielding a sword was acknowledged even by Vargo.

Intuition for the speed he couldn’t match, and technique for his lack of power.

Vera read the attack pattern, countered it, and began to strike at the openings.

Slash—

He slashed at Gorgan’s wrist.

Then, aiming for the thigh and waist, he parried a flying fist with his shoulder. As Gorgan attempted to bite his neck, he offered his left arm as a distraction and plunged his blade into the center of Gorgan’s abdomen.

Vera continuously slashed, stabbed and dodged.

The roles were reversed.

Vera’s sword grew fiercer, and confusion flashed across Gorgan’s face.

Soon, there came an opening.

Vera’s eyes glowed, and he thrust his sword toward the exposed lower half.

Suddenly…

— …Karel.

A certain voice reverberated in his mind, and Vera’s sword halted.

There was no counterattack.

Gorgan, too, had heard the same voice.

The voice rang clearer.

— All of you are Karel. Yes, I decided so.

The voice was familiar.

There was no need to think far.

The was the very voice of the boy who was now attacking him.

— Nice to meet everyone…

It was a voice with a hint of a smile.

Vera felt his heart ache.

Gorgan, too, flinched at the sudden memory as he exchanged blows with Vera.

Gorgan, who had completely stopped attacking, pulled away from Vera.

He gritted his teeth.

“Elf. You’re playing a trick, aren’t you?”

Tears of blood flowed from eyes that couldn’t be any redder.

“…Typical of that bitch’s child.”

The manifestation faded, then reappeared vividly in front of Vera.

An arm stretched out like a ray of light.

Vera raised his sword obliquely and parried it.

Clash—

— I’ll teach you one by one. Uhm… You, you’ll do. You’ll be the leader from now on.

The sound was getting clearer.

Along with it, a scene emerged in his head.

A vast plateau.

Young beasts with black fur.

And a hand extending out of a rock.

Vera recognized it.

This was a memory of the time Gorgan first created the Karels, a view revealed by the bond of the ring.

Clang—!

— …Leader, will you allow me to possess your body? This body is too inorganic to stay awake for too long.

The largest of the young beasts in the memory stepped forward.

Then, it licked Gorgan’s arm.

— Thank you. In return, I’ll give you a name.

Gorgan’s hand stroked the beast’s head.

— Hyria…

Then, he disappeared as if seeping into the beast’s body.

— Hyria, my first child.

Clank—!

With that, the memory came to an end.

***

As the battle went on, the two people exchanged unseen things in addition to their attempts to attack each other’s hearts.

Their memories and emotions were exchanged through the ring as a medium.

While memories were flooding into his mind, Vera thought to himself.

The ring indeed had a power befitting the word ‘bond’.

It allowed the unthinkable, such as an impossible thing as ‘understanding others’.

— …You can’t eat this yet. Ardain said so. These flowers are necessary for the insects to develop.

One by one, the memories of the days when Gorgan was at his happiest, which were crushed beneath the weight of his hatred, burned into Vera’s mind.

— Let’s go to the western end. The things Ardain made are too delicate, so they can’t grow when you guys are around.

His heart clenched at the memories of moments filled with warmth and fullness.

— We will wait there…. Until Ardain’s children grow, until Aedrin’s elves, Locrion’s dragons, and Nartania’s kin grow.

It became Vera’s.

— When that day comes, let’s go together…. We will travel on this completed land. And we’ll make many friends.

Clang—!

Because they were so precious, the moment when they were lost brought about a bitter despair.

It began to make a visible difference.

The attacks became less frequent.

Thoughts dispersed.

Vision blurred.

Vera felt hot water cascading down his cheeks.

He felt his heart go cold.

The hatred that had become his was causing that phenomenon.

He couldn’t continue his attacks.

The sadness that he couldn’t turn away from was too numbing.

Slash—

Vera just took that hatred.

His gaze dropped.

A white arm piercing his stomach filled his view.

When he looked up again, he saw a boy crying tears of blood.

He opened his mouth to speak, but the attempt failed.

Blood spurted from his mouth.

“Blech…!”

The limp body tilted downward.

Plop—

His body tilted, crushing Gorgan.

Through his blurred vision, Vera could see.

Something transparent trickled down behind Gorgan’s bloody tears.

It was something that could only be called sorrow.

The thought process didn’t last long.

Gorgan looked so pitiful that Vera reached out his trembling hand.

He placed his arm around Gorgan’s shoulders.

Then, he patted his back.

It was an action he did because the conveyed emotions were so sorrowful, so heartrending.

Gorgan’s body trembled at that.

Slowly, the arm piercing Vera’s stomach was pulled out.

Vera forced himself to open his mouth.

“It’s… O…”

He shouldn’t pass out, but his strength kept draining from his body.

He tried to hold on, but even that was not enough.

No, there was something he realized he had to do more than that, so Vera patted Gorgan’s back again.

“It’s…”

Vera knew the results of acting on one’s negative emotions.

He knew the consequences of letting his emotions get the best of him.

And so, Vera wanted to stop Gorgan.

His hatred was justified, but it would surely lead to his destruction.

It would become another burden for someone who was already finding it hard to bear their sadness.

The fact that this boy was a transcendent who had lived since the beginning of time did not matter to Vera now.

Hatred and anger were not emotions that could be dulled by having lived longer.

Gorgan’s eyes turned to Vera.

His ears focused on the voice.

“It’s…”

Suddenly, a voice from the distant past echoed in Gorgan’s mind.

— It’s okay.

It was the voice of someone he loved, someone who was truly great and free.

— You can do it too. Isn’t it the first for all of us? It’s not easy to be experienced as a parent at once, and we all learn by making mistakes.

The tears transparently streaming down from both eyes seemed to be washing something away.

At the edges of his gaze, the green hair resembling a luscious forest turned black.

The once white skin had turned pale.

The jawline became more pronounced, and the ashen-white pupils blurred as they met him.

“It’s…”

The voice grew rougher.

Buzz—

An unknown resonance shook Gorgan.

Gorgan suddenly realized.

The person he was facing was not the elf.

That there was something else involved in his hatred.

And.

“Aru….”

…No, it wasn’t him.

The Ardain he knew was not someone with black hair like this, not someone who handled a sword so well, nor did he look this pathetic.

He always stood tall and proud.

Even though he couldn’t be Ardain, Gorgan, who had been staring blankly at Vera for some reason, sobbed.

Buzz—

With a very nostalgic echo, Gorgan was able to break free from his long illusion.

***

There was a warm glow.

Feeling it, Vera slowly opened his eyes.

“He’s awake!”

It was a familiar voice.

Vera’s gaze snapped to the source of the shout, which somehow managed to irritate him despite the beauty in it.

There was a man with gorgeous blond hair, golden eyes, a beaming smile, and an impressive array of pearly white teeth.

It was Albrecht.

Vera blinked.

He couldn’t understand the situation.

While Vera took a moment to collect his thoughts, a white hand cupped his cheek.

“Vera, are you okay?”

The voice singing to his ears was of someone he knew better than any other.

Vera’s head turned.

White color entered his vision.

“…Saint?”

Squeeze.

Renee’s hand clutched Vera’s cheek.

“You’re awake.”

Renee’s lips quivered.

Her unfocused eyes were slightly moist, making Vera uncomfortable.

Then, something dawned on him.

He was lying on Renee’s lap.

And the light that warmed and enveloped his body was Renee’s divinity.

Vera slowly lifted his hand.

He brushed away the tears that threatened to fall at any moment.

Meanwhile, Miller spoke.

“It’s over.”

He said it with a smile on his face.

“We won. Gorgan came to his senses.”

“…What?”

“It’s when you were clutched in Gorgan’s hand, Sir Vera. Gorgan suddenly stopped his movements. After that, we got really confused, so we just stood there and watched. After a while, Gorgan started to shake. And then he put you down here…”

Miller gestured with his chin.

Vera’s gaze shifted in that direction.

Flinch—

Immediately, Vera’s body shuddered.

It was understandable since the scene at the end of his gaze was too bizarre.

A beast the size of the fortress was squatting there. Its one eye on its forehead stared straight at him, panting with its tongue sticking out.

Miller added to his explanation.

“He’s been like that ever since. What should we do about him?”

Vera couldn’t answer.

Looking blankly, he stared at Gorgan for a long moment before responding.

[Are you awake…?]

The white hand swayed from side to side.