Regressor, Possessor, Reincarnator

Chapter 26

Rachael and Cathleen had no reason to stay any longer, so they left for home after only one night. Allen had asked Rachael to give him some time to speak with her sister before they left.

Why did you ask for me?

About my brother Im truly sorry.

Her eyes looked empty. She had done so much for Juliuss sake, yet the result was her getting dumped. It was logical that the shock of it all lasted more than just one day. 

Rumors may go around if we, a grown man and woman, stay alone with each other any longer, sir.

It seemed that she still felt bad about it.

Allen smiled a little when hed decided that he could sway her a little.

Miss Cathleen

If you dont have anything else to say, then

When she looked as if she were about to get up and leave, he threw away his pretense.

The breakup.

She froze.

Dont you want to go back?

As if insulted by his words, she trembled and looked at him with venom in her eyes.

You need to take responsibility for what you just said. For insulting me

How would you feel

Allen interrupted her. Her face was stained with anger, but he didnt care.

...If I told you that my brother may not be real?

What? What are you talking about?

Cathleen quickly turned her head around.

If I said that a demon had possessed his body

He saw her eyes. Astonishment, doubt, anxiety, and a splash of hope swirled around. Those perplexed eyes, reminiscent of a flower bud yet to bloom

...Would you believe me?

Not knowing what exactly would bloom.

Please, sit. I believe we have quite a bit to discuss.

Her eyes darted back and forth. She looked at the door for a moment before clenching her teeth and sitting down.

Tell me, sir. What are you talking about?

Allen looked at her and smiled.

* * *

It wasnt until an hour had passed that she left the drawing room. Rachael didnt question the length of their conversation

Mister, tell me the truth.

Or so it seemed.

She whispered to him while glaring holes into him.

She seemed convinced that something had happened when her sisterwho had entered the drawing room still distraughthad come out with a happy expression.

I just told her some nonsense.

Fortunately, Allen was relieved to have been questioned in a different way than hed expected.

Shes already having a hard time, so you cant get her hopes up, okay? Like telling her that she can get back together with that bastard Julius.

Its nothing like that. Just that I was sorry about his behavior and grateful for her efforts, and I asked if there was any way I could help make it up to her.

Thats good, but

She looked troubled, as if she felt something. Allen changed the subject to avoid her detection.

Rachael, you take such good care of her. Did you say that shell go to the Academy?

Luckily for him, the conversation switched without question.

I was just thinking about that too. Honestly, I dont know how well shed be able to adapt, but Ill do my best to try to help her.

Im sorry, too, but Im afraid I wont be able to go with you all.

She blinked with innocent eyes and laughed.

Its okay. You said youd come at some point, right?

...Yeah.

Allen replied with a bitter smile and backed away. Rachael couldnt talk for long, since Cathleen was waiting in their carriage. She gave him a hug before turning around and waving.

Well, then. Ill see you next time!

She made her way into the carriage. Greeting Cathleen with her eyes, she promised:

The next time we meet, shell be ready.

Whether for herself, or for her.

* * *

After seeing Rachael off, Allen immediately left for the city. Linbelle and Inellia were to be trained by Laurahis mothers handmaidwhile he was out.

If Mother gets bored, she can also help with their training.

Moreover, the knights would be busy with no time to rest while he was away since he entrusted Linbelles special training to them.

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Allen smiled and waved his hand as Linbelles expression came to him. 

Pang!

The head of a gnoll with its teeth sticking out was crushed.

Hed taken down dozens of gnolls before theyd even come into arms length, and those who came into his arms reach were swifty decapitated.

Rank 1.

It was a result too small to be considered an achievement that hed accomplished decades ago in his past life.

Allen was of a rank unworthy of the strength that hed gained by making a deal with the devil before he died. It was as if he had a disparately large ring for someone who was only Rank 1.

The reason behind which was simple.

It was because the power he received still wasnt enough.

Allens target was Julius before the regression. An opponent who was literally walking in the footsteps of a hero, quelling disasters all over.

For such a person, would it be right to walk a path leading to failure once again?

An opponent that he couldnt even face head-on?

The difference between them was vast.

It was a result obtained in a proper, yet unusual way.

Using elixirs and objects from ancient texts, his growth rate is embarrassingly fast compared to mine.

Of course, unlike in his previous life, he didnt know what would happen now. Unlike back then, Allen didnt suffer from the side effects of magic use. If he focused on using magic again, he might produce more results.

When was that?

Magic wasnt something that could be understood by only studying. In order to see if one could use magic, one would first need to learn about a certain type of magic. Additionally, it must be similar to the type of mana that one could already perceive.

For example, in order to use flame-attributed magic, one must already have extensive knowledge of fire, and the sorcerers mana must already take a similar form.

This was because the forms of magic that an individual could perceive varied per person.

Allen had threads, Prindal had hot winds, Francisca had sticky darkness, and his brother

Particles.

Prindal, who perceived mana in the form of a light wind, was able to use magic in a wind system. Francisca perceived mana as a form of sticky darkness and was able to use that to create new systems of magic.

If Juliuss circle hadnt been destroyed

What kind of magic would he have used?

Unlike Allen who could only see mana materialized in threads, Julius had said that he could recognize every form of mana in the world, as if they were made up of smaller particles. 

Something Allen wasnt able to understand fully.

He shook his head. It was too late to learn a new form of magic, anyway. So he had no choice but to do something else.

I need to keep up.

In order to make progress in finding a way to save his brother while staying by his side the whole time, Allen had to be physically prepared enough to join him on his journey.

He paused. 

He spotted a large entrance.

* * *

* * * 

The ancient ruins of a giant.

Allen didnt know much about it.

It was an ancient monument located between the Great Desert in the Dukes southwestern and eastern territories and the Michellant Mountains in the northwest. 

There werent many records of it, even from before the Golden Age of Civilization, before the ancient empire vanished into history during the Great Fall.

It was a time when dragons and giants ruled the earth, when the fantastical creaturesthat were now found only in the texts of ancient bookswere many.

The one thing that Allen knew was that it was here that Julius had found that sword. And after that bastard acquired that sword

He began to improve at an incredible pace.

Additionally, the remains of many dragons and giants were buried underground there. Allen thought of seeking out an ancient technique, deemed impossible by most, using those remains.

His reasoning for choosing the sword was also simple.

Up until he found the sword, Juliuss growth rate was significantly slower.

Allen remembered. The way that he grew so quickly No, the way he improved so rapidly that it seemed as if he had teleported through time.

Although his ability to manipulate magic advanced quickly, his swordsmanship skills were average.

In fact, magic ability was passed down throughout the Reinhart family. Compared to other aristocratic families, the Reinhart family appeared to be at a lower level in terms of swordsmanship.

However, Julius obtained that sword and showed tremendous growth, as if spiting Allen.

If it were something to do with the sword, then it must have some ability to compensate for physical weakness. Or maybe he needed to come to this site specifically to use some secret skill. 

Allen could have a chance to weaken his opponent now, so why wouldnt he go in?

The entrance to the ruins was concealed in darkness.

How long has this been left undiscovered?

It didnt matter.

It would never be discovered again after this.

Allen stepped in without hesitation. The inside of the ruins were quiet and dark. There werent any wild animals in sight. The monsters that had been attacking him before entering the ruins had disappeared at some point. The walls were covered in murals that faded over time, and small bugs decorated the halls, flying away in surprise at his approach.

How far had he gone along that lamp-lit path?

Step, step, step

Is it here?

There was a giant cavity right ahead of him. It was filled with pitch-black darkness, exuding a feeling of silent, lonely gloominess.

Introducing light into the space, he revealed the remains of numerous giants and dragons. The shadows brought about by the lamp light stretched and contorted, as if welcoming him.

A dragon with a cracked skull, a giant with two severed arms, a dragon leaning against the wall, and a giant kneeling on the ground. The numerous bodies intertwined with each other, creating an elegant composition. And in the center of those messy remains laid not a pillar, but

Is that the sword?

The giant sword, reminiscent of a classical pillar, bloomed in the center of the chamber.

However, rather than approaching the sword, Allen sat near it on the ground.

I dont know how long it will take, but

A month would be enough.

The ring around his heart began to spin rapidly. Threads furiously sprang out into the space around him, hovering.

One of the questions that sorcerers often asked was Since when has the Circle Magic System existed?

Why did sorcerers have rings around their hearts? Was there any other way?

There were countless ways to store mana in the body and use it. Aristocrats could come to acquire and use their own styles, and wealthier mercenaries could get access to more secret techniques.

Even so, why was there a unified system for magic?

Many sorcerers with a ring around their heart had thought of such a question. The answer to which was, of course

There is one.

A different way.

What Allen was about to do came from one of many forgotten styles.

The Draconic Magic System.

A system of magic born from the curiosity of why a sorcerer could use a dragons magic if they turned the dragon heart into a jewel.

Turning their hearttheir magical core through which their energy flowedinto a solidified gem. 

The necessary materials were few. Just jewelry or another medium with high magic conductivity. The more, the better.

This method was overwhelmingly simple. The starting point was similar to the Circle Magic Systemcreating a ring around the heart.

However, after that

You dont increase the number of rings.

This method wouldnt circulate mana throughout the body. It would just steadily increase the size of that one ring. And if a sorcerer continued growing a ring like so 

Crack.

Allens ring shook. He heard something crack in his ear.

The mana flowing out from the broken ring would circulate around its caster, forming a sort of magic storm. Then, if the chosen medium was destroyed and collected by the resulting storm and absorbed into the body

Ill do it.

However, the outcome for those choosing this route wasnt typically good. Obviously.

Artificially damaging the heart, that ever-important organ.

It wasnt easy to maintain a large ring, and the quality of the chosen medium was of the utmost importance as well.

If one wished to use a dragon core, they would need dragon bones and the bodies of other fantastical creatures as well as conductors for those materialslike orichalcum.

And even if the process were successful, the body often couldnt withstand the work forced onto the heart. In many cases, the casters body would burst or perish from the tremendous pain accompanying the process.

It was clearly an impossible task.

Regardless

Bang!

His ring shook again, a crack forming on it.

His ringhis life as a sorcererbegan to fracture.

He felt fear.

Not from the fact that failure here would mean death, but that he could miss the opportunity he was granted.

Yet, now that hed come all this way

I already knew it.

Even though he had been preparing for this moment since his regression. Even though hed already realized that magic alone was not enough.

He wanted to quit.

At that very moment, he was still unsure.

Was it really necessary to use such a risky method? Hadnt the chimera sorcerer warned him already that he was pursuing the impossible?

The chimera sorcerer would have known more than him about all this. His words must have been more rational than his own, regardless of whether it were a lie or not.

What about looking for another way, then? Wouldn't it be better to just continue using the Circle Magic System and go to the Academy to learn new things?

Then he could break through to Rank 5 or Rank 6, maybe even Rank 7. 

Thoughts, addressed to him, arose.

Allen.

His voice.

I got my hands on this new grimoire

He heard his little brothers voice.

His ring shook.

Bang!

His one and only brother. 

The brother whose circle was broken because of him.

The brother who had turned into a scoundrel, who he had sworn to save.

Wasnt he eager to save that very same brother?

Was it easier for him to just forget about it and return to the comfortable path?

No.

Bang!

He couldnt do that.

How could he give up now after all that he had been through? Was that all he was determined to do? Could Allen really just avoid Julius as the younger brother waited for him?

No.

Bang!

Was he going to give up if he wasnt gifted a chance on a silver platter?

How long would he keep saying that he couldnt do it because it was impossible or scary or hard?

I know Im not good enough

Bang!

He wanted to save his brother, so he sacrificed countless citizens to reach that goal.

Now that hed gotten to try again, did he think that it was all just a thing of the past?

No. I felt it in the chimera workshop.

Bang!

There was a way to trail him. A way to follow after him existed, right here and now.

How could I

His ring

Bang!

...give up on him?

shook.

His body began to tremble from the tremendous pain as his eyes began to bleed.

Allen chuckled. He found his consciousness from the metallic smell arising from the blood of his bitten lips.

The cracks within his ring vanished, yet they shook as if shattered. Mana began to build up within the remaining space.

He made up his mind.

He ignored the fear.

Hed had plenty of time to come here before going to Hibelle, yet he did not go.

No, it was right to have ignored it at the time. Before dealing with the chimera sorcerer and seeing all the slaughtered citizens, had he been faithful to them? Was he noble?

No.

He became keenly aware of it. He had to face his own contradictions. He had abandoned those people in order to utilize his flimsy knowledge of the past.

How was he any different from that bastard?

Then what should he do to make up for it? Lock himself up in that room again? Just like back then?

Then, an answer came to him.

No. Now

Shatter.

I wont run.

Crash!

A massive roar echoed inside his head, and his ring shattered.