Regressor Instruction Manual

Chapter 997: You Reap What You Sow (4)

“Scatter!” I[1] ordered.

“Bahamut is cooooming!” Templar Simon shouted.

“Crazy bastard!” Park Yeon-Joo yelled.

“Bahamut is coming! AAAHHH! AAAHHH!” Templar Simon repeated.

In times of emergency, there was only one thing rangers could do.

If fighting was impossible, then a ranger ought to deliver as much information as possible to the command center. Of course, survival was the top priority. I was sure the command center was aware of our situation, and the nearest reinforcements were definitely on their way here.

"This is Commander Jian of the special ranger unit. We encountered Templar Simon two minutes ago, and we are currently retreating."

— We’re checking your location. If you can provide more detailed information…

"Unconfirmed, but we believe that Templar Simon has transformed into a spider-type monster. No, it’s more like… he became a demon… rather than a monster. We’re currently trying to get a sample of his flesh."

"Negative. As I mentioned earlier, we are retreating. Please help us secure a way out."

— Copy that.

"Additionally, we discovered an unknown catalyst."

— Please give me the details.

"It’s a feather. Templar Simon is obsessed with this feather, and he keeps yelling that Bahamut is coming."

— Understood.

"How long will it take for the reinforcements to rendezvous with us?"

— We sent the nearest ranger unit. They’re expected to arrive in about three minutes…

"A ranger unit? Did you listen to what I said at all? Please send us troops; a ranger unit will not be helpful at all."

— It will take about an hour and forty minutes for a strike squad to arrive—

"We’ll all be dead by then!"

‘Damn it.’

We could have a chance if we were in a forest or somewhere else, but we were in an enclosed secret room, so we were at a disadvantage.

What I saw upon leaving the large cavern was what looked like a maze. Rangers with a good sense of direction wouldn't get lost, but they'd struggle to avoid Templar Simon's detection.

The rangers scattered, but I could still hear screams everywhere. This was Templar Simon's domain, and regardless of his intentions, we had entered the spider lair on our own.

‘Did everyone manage to escape? Who got attacked?’

"Can you… do it quicker?"

— I’m trying to find the fastest escape route. If you wait just a bit longer…

‘Damn it. They’re so slow.’

I knew something like this was going to happen. I had been living a life equivalent to dancing with death, so I was not really afraid of dying. The problem was the members of the unit.

‘They shouldn't die in a place like this.’

"Is there no other way?"

— Right now, wait! Father Lee Ki-Young… I mean, the Commander of the Strike Squads is going to lead your escape by himself.

‘Father Lee Ki-Young?’

Afterward, I heard static as if notifying me that someone had joined the communication channel. Then, I heard a familiar, yet not-so-familiar voice. I heard his voice many times from afar, but it was my first time speaking directly to him.

— Tell me more about your unit.

"I’m Commander Jian of the special ranger unit. Right now—"

— Number of members?

"Four members are with me. In emergencies, we are to move in groups of five—"

— I’ll send you the coordinates.

"What? We’re currently…"

— Move now.

“W-We’re moving,” I ordered. I could see a path that I couldn’t see before, but of course, I wasn’t sure about it. The map and the route were on the hand mirror, and they arrived so quickly that I became kind of suspicious.

‘Was the operation a success?’

Father Lee Ki-Young’s presence was proof that Commander Jin Cheong’s plan was a success. However, why did it feel like he had taken the lead because he was aware of our current situation? Was that really the case?

Unfortunately, I had no other choice to make. It was an order from the commander, and I had to follow his path, even if it would lead to my death.

“Run! Run!” I shouted.

“Bahamut is cooooooming!!!” Templar Simon yelled.

Boom, boom, boom!

Loud noises echoed; something was pummeling the ground. Soon, the noises faded away, but I knew better than anyone that it was too early to feel relieved.

— Change route.

"What?"

— Change your route. Hurry up and acknowledge.

‘Damn it, at least give me an explanation…’

“We’re going back,” I commanded.

“What?”

I had no time to explain to the members.

When I tried to move to the place where I heard his voice earlier…

Kaboom!

The ceiling fell, and I saw Templar Simon’s legs.

His large and sharp legs almost grazed the tip of my nose.

‘If we had ignored him and moved forward…’

Those legs would have skewered us.

Goosebumps broke out all over me.

‘How did he know?’

How come he knew that Templar Simon—no, the spider had moved past us through the ceiling? And how come he knew that the spider was going to attack us?

‘Can he see the future or something?’

It didn’t really matter.

The important thing was that there was hope.

My tiny suspicion was replaced with hope.

“Bahamut is coooooming!!!” Templar Simon yelled.

“Run!” I shouted.

‘We can live.’

It wasn’t hard. We just had to follow the coordinates on the hand mirror, and we could escape.

— Change route.

"Understood."

Boom!

— Change route.

"Understood."

Kaboom!!!

I could hear rumbling noises above us. I thought he was only following us, but it did not seem to be the case. His sharp legs were longer than I thought, and we could be within his attack range.

‘Does he have eight legs? No, he might have more than eight. How are the others? Are they running away, too?’

And that was when we encountered the remaining rangers…

“Huh?”

I noticed they had receivers in their ears as well. Just like us, they were moving according to the coordinates shown on the Goddess’ Hand Mirror. I thought they were receiving orders from other commanders, but…

“Understood, Father Lee Ki-Young.”

They were gone in a flash as soon as I heard that.

They were moving to a route that was different from ours.

‘That can’t be. Damn it.’

“It can’t be…” I mumbled.

Was he really moving every single ranger unit? Was he controlling all fifty rangers that were divided into ten units by himself?

— Stay there.

I stopped moving.

“I-It’s a trap, Commander.”

BOOM!

The wall collapsed with a thunderous boom. The trap…

‘I checked it, too.’

The problem was that the trap was installed where our allies were located. It was an explosive trap that each unit possessed. It was highly likely the units earlier had installed it for us.

— Move.

“W-What the hell is going on?”

We moved toward the path that our allies’ explosive trap had created for us.

— Install a trap. Coordinates… sent. Set the time of the explosion to two minutes and ten seconds.

"U-Understood!"

“I-Install a trap!” I ordered.

“What? O-Okay!” someone exclaimed.

The trap we had just installed could be an exit for our allies.

Two minutes and ten seconds later, I heard a loud explosion.

“It’s done!”

“Thank you, Father Lee Ki-Young! Haha!”

I heard the same voice earlier, and I saw spider legs blocking their path.

— Forward.

His order was shocking, but I didn’t question it. Boom!

There was another explosion, and I saw Miss Park Yeon-Joo of the Black Swan Guild bursting out of the wall next to us. Templar Simon’s legs were chasing after her, and a space for us to move forward naturally opened up.

‘I don’t understand… what the hell…is going on…’

We were the ones who had entered the spider lair, but the one who got caught in a spider web was probably Templar Simon.

“I guess there's a reason everyone calls him a genius,” I remarked.

“Bahamut is coming!” Templar Simon yelled.

Boom! Kaboom!

He dropped down from the ceiling and started crawling toward us.

‘Are we the last ones?’

— Follow the route, Commander Jian.

Boom! Kaboom!

The large maze was falling apart.

I could no longer see the smart hunter from before, as Templar Simon tried to shove his colossal body into the narrow passageways. In the end, he destroyed everything in his path to move forward.

Templar Simon had become nothing but a monster who only cared about fulfilling his desire.

“You annoying rats! You rats!” Templar Simon shouted.

“Run! Ruuun!” I yelled.

“You rats!” Templar Simon shouted.

“Ruuuuun!” I screamed.

I saw a small passage emitting a faint light. I didn’t receive any other orders. I was on the brink of collapsing from exhaustion, but I gnashed my teeth and marched on.

'I’m almost there… almost there…'

Boom! Boom! Boom!!!

“I’ll sacrifice you to Bahamut! All of you!” Templar Simon yelled.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!” I roared and took my final steps. It was a roar that one wouldn't expect from a ranger. Afterward, I immediately looked back.

“Ahhhhhhhhh! Ahhhhhhhhhh! Bahamut!” he shouted.

He had trouble getting out of the narrow passage, but the walls before him eventually collapsed.

Boom!

I saw his colossal body, and I despaired at the sight of him.

And that was when I heard a voice from the receiver.

“Start the spider hunt.”

“Yooou… yooou… you… Bahamut! Bahamut!” Templar Simon shouted.

“Bahamut?” I said.

“AAAHHH! Hahaha! Ahahahaha! The time… has come! Bahamut!” Templar Simon screamed.

“...”

“...” “Who’s Bahamut, you dirty-looking demon bastard?” I questioned.

“What?”

“Is he a demon, too?” I asked.

With that, a large amount of holy power manifested before me.

1. Commander Jian’s POV ☜