The Regressor Wants to Become a Hero

The Garmadon landed on the ground with a thunderous impact, its guttural roar asserting its presence.

Grrrrraaahhh!

Yet the cannons continued to aim at the Outer Gate. They held faith that someone would take care of this single large monster, but if their numbers increased, there would be no way out.

The situation was already dire. Even as the Outer Gate closed, it kept reopening.

Huff… huff…

Seemingly infuriated by being ignored, the Garmadon exhaled heavily and charged at the fortress, crashing its massive body into the wall.

The defensive magic embedded in the wall immediately activated, but it couldn’t withstand the creature’s sheer weight, shattering as part of the wall crumbled.

“Where are the knights?”

Ian, observing the scene, looked to see who would respond, but no one stepped forward.

It wasn’t out of fear; the soldiers didn’t have the leeway to leave their positions. If even one knight left, the monsters pushing up from within the fortress would overwhelm the soldiers.

Scowling, Ian dashed along the wall, channeling his mana into the air around him.

Bane of Evil

Flame Prison: Multi Deployment

Using Dior’s technique, flames blossomed in the air like flowers, then shot forward like arrows, striking the Garmadon rising from the rubble of the broken wall.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Amid the flames that engulfed it, the Garmadon let out a groan of agony.

From afar, Ian seized control of the intense heat. The flames responded to his will, condensing inward to engulf the Garmadon.

Although the creature’s fur showed some resistance to the flames, it eventually hit its threshold and began to burn from the edges, charring black.

Roaaargh!

Its flesh melted away, filling the air with a sickening stench. The Garmadon, hideously disfigured, collapsed after only a few steps.

Though the large monster that had broken the wall was defeated in moments, there were no cheers. This was no time to celebrate.

Monsters were pouring in like waves, inside and outside the fortress.

Worse, the gate that had opened within the city had no clear way to close, rendering the fortress defenseless.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say it was on the brink of falling.

Holding out until reinforcements arrived, signaled by the beacon, was practically impossible.

“Not good.”

Even if they had one more superhuman of higher rank, the situation would have been much more manageable. But being so far from the main defensive line, in the third line fortress, no such person was here.

And even if one had been, deciding which Level 6 superhuman would act as the fortress lord would have been its own issue.

Regardless, lamenting the lack of resources wouldn’t change anything now.

For now, Ian was satisfied with having bought them some breathing room.

Just as he turned his back, he heard an unbelievable sound.

In the sky above, a tearing sound echoed as three more Garmadons descended.

Grrrrraaahhh!

The soldiers and knights who saw this had despair etched across their faces in an instant.

Fort Helrem had no chance. The fortress’s fall was a certainty; there was no hope.

In the looming fear of death, soldiers let go of the weapons clutched in their hands.

“Heh… hahaha.”

They let out hollow laughs.

The Level 5 knights tried desperately to rally morale, but in a situation like this, it was useless. Unless they possessed some unique power, like the Red Spear Knights or the Blue Flower Knights, merely being “skilled” at wielding a sword wouldn’t be enough to stand out. Only those exceptionally skilled made any impact.

Their strength was still limited to the individual—they could only hold out a bit longer than others.

Kyaaaaah!

Ian was making a flashy show of flames, trying to close the Outer Gate that had opened inside the fortress and cut down the monsters pouring through, but it was endless.

“…Damn it.”

Was this all I could do?

Panting, he stuffed a mana stone into his mouth to replenish his dwindling mana. Gritting his teeth to resist the urge to chew it, he forced it down his throat.

As a mere Level 4, he couldn’t shift the tide of battle.

He needed a skill effective in chaotic combat. He had a technique in mind, but it frustrated him that he couldn’t execute it at his current level.

“Sigh.”

Exhaling, Ian watched a golem in the distance being torn apart by monsters. Its limbs were ripped off, and its head was crushed underfoot, spilling its contents as the helmet crumpled.

Ian’s eyes widened as he looked on indifferently.

“…?”

What is that? Something pale and mushy oozed out from inside the helmet.

Thinking he must have seen wrong, he rushed over, turning the monster to cinders to get a closer look. It was one of Garavan’s golems.

“This is…”

It was brain matter. Among the precise mechanical components, he saw broken glass shards mingled with a clear liquid.

Ian felt his heart pound. It was like uncovering a hidden secret.

Suddenly, he understood Garavan’s actions.

When sparring with the golems, Garavan had warned not to aim for their heads. And that was also why he couldn’t bring his golems to the Green Mage Tower.

“Was it because he used people to create them?”

The golems had exhibited human-like habits during their duels. It was as if he’d found the last piece of a puzzle, and everything clicked into place.

Then, could Garavan be behind all of this?

But why?

If Garavan was responsible for everything, why would he have openly taught him the intricacies of golems?

Why was he fighting so desperately to protect Fort Helm?

“To stage a death?”

If that were the case, he could have simply abandoned the fortress and left.

Ian looked up at the sky. Beneath a sky tinged with a violet hue, brilliant mana traces spread out like branches, covering the fortress.

It was awe-inspiring. This was something he’d never seen before his regression, now visible to his eyes.

Level 6, Celestial Rank

An honorific title bestowed upon those who amassed achievements or accomplished feats worthy of a star in their mental realm.

This spectacle was the creation of one who held that esteemed rank.

Following those traces of mana, Ian found Garavan, commanding the golems stationed throughout the fortress from above, fully aware of the danger he was placing himself in by becoming a visible target.

Was it for human sacrifice?

The fortress population was far from small. Thousands of soldiers resided here, and tens of thousands of people were concentrated within.

If he sacrificed them and offered their blood and souls, he might gain something from the Outer Gods. But…

‘Wouldn’t that be too inefficient?’

Opening an Outer Gate demands tremendous resources.

Even Riorg Ribella, the necromancer of the Ten Thousand Demons Battlefield, could only manage to open a single Grade 3 gate.

No matter how long Garavan had been preparing, opening this many gates would be impossible for him alone.

Furthermore, even from a distance, Garavan’s rigid expression was clearly visible—too genuine to suggest he was merely putting on an act.

“Aaaaargh!”

He screamed, releasing his pent-up fury, and drew out his mana explosively. Buildings collapsed and monsters were sent flying in every direction, as if he was willing to accept a certain level of sacrifice to protect the fortress.

“Damn you bastards! How dare you!”

Could this really be an act? It seemed far too sincere to be called deceptive.

Ian swung his holy sword, bringing down a monster that had just emerged from the shadows.

He moved his sword to extract the mana stone, collected it, and shifted positions before calling out.

“Garavan—!”

Amid the thunder of explosions, monstrous cries, and screams, his resonant voice couldn’t be ignored.

While Garavan had been working to protect the people in the fortress with anger but without losing his reason, he lowered his gaze at the sound of his name being called.

He seemed inclined to ignore it, but as Ian shouted his name again, he descended sharply, as if falling.

“This won’t end like this.”

“You didn’t call me over here to spout obvious nonsense, did you?”

“We need to find the catalyst.”

“…What?”

“It’s impossible to open Outer Gates consecutively in the same region. No matter how powerful the Outer Gods are, our world is still protected by the Lords.”

“Yes, faith is important. But how do you explain the reality we’re facing now?”

“That’s exactly my point. This is happening because they’re using a catalyst as a medium to open the gates.”

“Then we need to find it!”

“That’s why I came here, to confirm.”

“…Are you saying you came here to ask me about the catalyst? Wait a minute, are you implying that you suspect I’m connected to this phenomenon?”

“Yes.”

Garavan flinched at Ian’s confident reply.

“Why do you think I don’t know? You’ve shown enough signs to make it obvious. If you’d like, I could detail every suspicious thing I’ve noticed, including the matter of the golems.”

“……!”

“So let’s not waste time. If this wasn’t intentional on your part, then share what you know.”

There’s no time. Even now, people are dying.

Ian was fully prepared to strike if Garavan acted suspiciously.

But Garavan seemed uninterested in fighting and only let out a faint scoff.

“You… Haven’t you ever been told you have no sense of fear?”

“I hear that quite often.”

“I thought so. To approach me so nonchalantly, knowing I’m connected to the Outer Gods. You might want to act a bit more cautiously.”

“In a situation like this, how much more cautious could I be? Garavan, if you’re the culprit, then taking you down would resolve everything.”

“You’re arrogant. Thinking you could kill someone of my rank with a mere Level 4.”

“…….”

“Relax. It wasn’t my doing.”

“Then do you know anything about the catalyst?” Ian asked.

Garavan smirked bitterly, almost in defeat.

“A statue. Likely one without a face and with four arms.”

“Where is it?”

“No idea, we’ll have to find it. But before that, I have something to ask you.”

“Right now?”

Ian’s expression showed his frustration. What could Garavan possibly want to know at such a critical moment? But Garavan’s serious gaze left him no choice but to nod.

“What on earth have you been up to? The Outer Gods themselves mentioned you, demanding that I offer you as a sacrifice.”

“To whom?” Ian’s voice was tense.

“To me!” Garavan shouted, frustration evident in his voice.

Ian flinched. The suspicion that had crept into his mind was proving to be true, and he felt a surge of indignation.

What had he done to deserve this? He wasn’t even a hero or someone who’d ascended to such a high level.

Compared to those at incomprehensibly higher ranks, he wasn’t worth their attention. Sure, he’d disrupted the grand scheme of a Dark Mage or two, but that was a common occurrence.

There were countless heroes overflowing with a sense of justice who did far more. Even when he’d accompanied heroes, he’d rarely garnered such persistent interest from the Outer Gods.

“Did you accept it?” Ian asked, wary.

Garavan raised his voice indignantly.

“Am I mad? That would’ve been a blatant breach of contract! I may have made deals with the Outer Gods, but this was never what I wanted… No, no, this isn’t the time for that kind of talk. Don’t worry. I turned them down. But this is the result. The Outer Gods vanished, mocking me.”

“The statue that disappeared—is it the catalyst?” Ian pressed.

“Exactly. If it’s acting as a catalyst, it’s likely emitting mana periodically to signal the Outer Gods in the outside world.”

“Then…”

“It would be releasing a steady stream of mana, directed skyward or pulsing like a ripple. We should start searching.”

Garavan began channeling his mana, preparing a spell.

Vroom!

As the magic circle formed under Garavan’s feet, Ian lifted his gaze.

If Garavan’s theory was correct, the statue would be located somewhere high to avoid interference from the surrounding terrain.

Through the chaotic mana traces scattered above, Ian noticed an unusual flow extending wide, something out of place.

Ha.

How could he have missed it? It blended in so naturally.

Back when he was with the heroes, his companions were always so competent—far too competent, in fact—that he never had to worry about such things. If something seemed suspicious, they would immediately cast search spells and bombard the area from afar.

And it wasn’t just magic; their martial skills were so advanced that a single swing would send shockwaves across the ground, reshaping the terrain with ease.

At the time, he could only stare in awe, too stunned to do more. But looking back, he felt a pang of regret.

If he’d honed his senses to perceive mana flows like he did now, he could have learned and absorbed so much more.

He might have gained stronger insights.

Following the odd mana flow, Ian’s gaze led him to the spire of the cathedral.

At first glance, there was nothing. But as he focused, the air shimmered, and a faint silhouette came into view.

“Found it.”

———