A Regressor's Bucket List

“Dodge!!!”

Even before Shuten’s urgent voice telling me to get out of the way pierced my ears.

My body had already sensed the abnormality and reacted.

Whoosh-

In an instant, my back bent at a near 90-degree angle, and Shuten’s thick mace cut horizontally through the air before my eyes.

There was no direct contact, but the sharp wind from the mace’s spikes sliced a thin gash across my forehead.

Before I could even right myself, the second blow came.

Woong-

A black shadow instantly covered my entire body.

Shuten’s wide sole stomped down vertically through the same space his mace had just cut horizontally.

CRACK-

I dodged this one, too.

I managed to roll to the side just before his foot could crush my body.

…It was strange to accept it so naturally, without any questions.

Both why Shuten was attacking me, and how I was able to dodge his attacks.

Of course, that question didn’t last long.

‘…Darkwing.’

The fierce pulsation of the Darkwing crest on Shuten’s forearm and Einstein’s subsequent murmuring explained both things.

【Kekeke- Let’s see what you’ve got.】

“……”

【Whether our dear junior is just a puppet with a fancy title, or if he actually has the guts to pull off something like a ‘Demon King Hunt’.】

“…Being… controlled… forced…”

…The chain of command in the Demon King's Allied Forces is vertical and absolute.

It was only natural for ordinary Magical Beasts to obey the lord of the Demon King’s Territory, who was the head of their race.

And even the Titled Demons who reigned as lords of each territory could not refuse an order from the Demon King, the commander of the army.

What allowed this giant organization, which now stood as one of the two great powers of the Upper Plane alongside The Order's Allied Forces, to maintain this absolute hierarchy was…

None other than the Demon King’s authority, .

The best evidence for the existence of this authority called ‘Domination’ was the ‘Darkwing’ crest pulsating on Shuten’s forearm.

Every Titled Demon who received that crest and bore it on their body was forced to obey the Demon King’s commands.

“Kugh— Isaac, you bastard……”

Of course, this didn’t mean the Demon King had directly intervened in this situation and ordered Shuten.

Even the Demon King couldn't exert his authority all the way from the distant Demon King’s Palace to the territory of The Order's Allied Forces.

The one who had activated Shuten’s Darkwing crest now was Einstein.

As the army’s strategist, he had been delegated a portion of the Demon King’s authority, allowing him to partially activate the power of ‘Domination’.

【…For an old has-been, you’ve got too much fight left in you. Should I have beaten you down a bit first?】

The reason I was able to dodge Shuten’s attacks was in the same vein.

Since the order didn’t come directly from the Demon King, Shuten was resisting Einstein’s compulsion, at least partially.

If he had attacked with his full intent, I would have died instantly, unable to even dodge the first strike.

Pfft-

‘…Just when I thought things were going too well.’

Good things attract demons.

That detestable and irresponsible truth of life had proven itself right once again.

…In fact, I knew better than anyone.

That good and bad luck in life don't arrive according to my convenience.

They had always come and gone as they pleased.

It was a familiar occurrence, so I didn't feel much resentment or regret.

Pfft-

…Although a small laugh did escape at the absurdity of it, as if I had expected this to happen all along.

Woong-

Shuten’s attack flew at me again.

This time, his elbow swung horizontally.

Shuten's voice, which had given me a brief warning with sound, was no longer heard, and the Darkwing crest on his forearm began to pulsate even faster.

BANG-!

I tilted my body, avoiding a direct hit, but the heavy wind pressure sent my whole body staggering.

Thud-

I stabbed the thorny spike he had given me into the ground to barely regain my balance and slipped between his legs.

Without a moment's delay, the mace flew at me, and thick veins bulged on the leg I had pinned to the floor.

Every exchange in the ensuing battle was a truly dangerous moment.

The difference in physical power between him and me was a gap so vast that the phrase ‘a graze would mean instant death’ was a perfect fit.

Grind-

In reality, I was taking damage from the wind pressure alone.

Perhaps the successive violent movements had taken their toll.

Along with a sharp pain in my ribs, a clump of blood spurted from my mouth.

It seemed my internal organs, not yet recovered from the shock of the fall, had been damaged again.

I forced down the blood surging up my throat. A metallic taste filled my mouth, and Einstein’s disappointed murmur reached my ears.

【Hmm…… Well. It’s not bad, but…….】

His face said that while it wasn't disappointing, it didn't quite meet his expectations.

It was only natural.

Though not something to be judged at the level of a Hero candidate, they were attacks slow enough for any talented 1-star Hero to react to.

…Catching Einstein’s eye was not as easy as it sounded.

He himself was an exceptional genius, so he wouldn't even glance at someone who was merely at the level of a prodigy, just a little faster than others.

【…It’s just not bad.】

Ssk-

…Of course, that didn't mean I had done nothing during these several exchanges.

Ting-!

[ is activated.]

[Activation of the Mana Circuit is detected.]

[Analyzing the Mana Circuit’s pattern…….]

On the contrary, while dodging Shuten’s attacks, I had been preparing something that would surely capture his attention.

Fwaaa-

[ is activated.]

Dodging his attack, I grasped the clumps of mana I had scattered as if in passing and meticulously wove the mana pattern.

A mass of pure mana appeared in the air.

Along with the message, I shaped those masses of mana, twisting them into several rings.

Compared to the sturdy Mana Chains Einstein had created, it was nothing more than a crude lump of magic.

Still, the shabby Mana Chain I had managed to produce wrapped around Shuten’s body.

And I drove one end of that Mana Chain into the top of Shuten’s foot and muttered.

“…This will sting a bit.”

In truth, at my current level, it was impossible to wound Shuten’s body, which had been hardened over eons.

It wasn't my Mana Chain that was piercing his body.

The thorny spike from Shuten attached to the end of my Mana Chain pierced the top of his foot and pinned it to the floor.

[ is linked to the body of .]

[Temporarily deactivates the target’s Mana Circuit.]

【That…….】

An irrepressible smile twitched on Einstein’s lips.

It was only natural.

In reality, ‘Mana Chain’ was not a skill I should have been able to use at my level.

Though it didn’t require much mana for the complexity of its pattern, it was a skill that demanded an absurd level of mana control—simultaneously manipulating multiple mana clumps while maintaining their transformed shape.

Among 1-star skills, it was a high-level skill renowned as the ‘most difficult.’

The fact that Shuten was caught by my meager magic was for a similar reason.

+

■ Name: [Mana Chain (★☆☆)]

■ Type: [Common]

■ Description: [Twists mana released from the body to form a chain made of pure magical energy. (The Mana Chain cannot be broken by physical force.)]

■ Special Note: [This is a forcibly manifested skill. The skill's output is reduced.]

+

The Mana Chain was, quite literally, a magical substance made of pure mana rings.

There were only two ways to break this magical substance.

Either forcibly overwhelm the caster’s mana.

Or, reverse-engineer the mana pattern to dismantle the skill itself.

…Of course, there was no way a demon of Shuten’s caliber couldn't overwhelm my pathetic Mana Chain.

“…Just bear with the sting. I’ll kiss it better later.”

For now, Shuten was on my side.

No matter how much of the Einstein had been delegated by the Demon King, forcing someone to ‘use their mana’ was several times more difficult than forcing an action.

As long as Shuten didn’t have a sudden change of heart, that crude Mana Chain of mine would not be broken.

Around that time—

【Kehah-!】

Einstein couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.

【Wait… what is this?】

With his lips pulled back in a grin that perfectly fit the expression ‘grinning from ear to ear,’ Einstein ran a hand through his hair—a characteristic gesture he made when pleased—and asked me.

【Junior, how in the world did you use Mana Chain… no, don’t tell me you just copied it after seeing it once?】

“……”

【…That’s not exactly an easy thing to do.】

…To be precise, it wasn’t just ‘not easy’; it was impossible.

Strictly speaking, I hadn’t properly executed a true Mana Chain either.

‘…A success for now, I guess.’

This was the best I could do in the current situation, and his reaction wasn't bad.

Although he wasn't as stingy with his emotions as that Jerry fellow, it wasn't easy to see Einstein’s face light up that much.

Right now, Einstein's mind was probably racing with all sorts of questions.

Who the hell was I, and where did I come from?

Could I really succeed in a Demon King Hunt?

Was copying the Mana Chain purely a result of my own talent?

And so on.

I had laid out a full 8-course banquet of bait to stimulate his perverted curiosity.

His brain must be flooding with dopamine as if he’d just taken a hit.

…The important part started now.

I had an inkling that he probably wouldn't kill me now that he'd found an interesting playmate.

But in truth, even I couldn’t predict where the sum of all those question marks would lead.

Forcibly suppressing a sliver of anxiety, I nonchalantly stood up.

And that trivial movement.

Splash-

“……?”

Was the biggest mistake I had made here.

[ is activated.]

[A small amount of blood imbued with powerful magic is absorbed. Regeneration speed increases explosively.]

The foot I used to stand up landed in a pool of blood.

The blood that had flowed from the top of Shuten’s foot had pooled beneath me.

Along with the system notification, blood-red magic enveloped my entire body.

In an instant, not just my external wounds, but even my internal organs, which had been barely functioning, squirmed and returned to their original shape.

【…Oh?】

Watching this miracle.

Einstein’s eyes sparkled, and his head tilted to one side.

【That.】

“……”

【That bizarre activation condition and regenerative ability.】

Tilting his head so far it looked like it might snap, Einstein muttered with a radiant face, as if he had just discovered a gold mine.

【…The Immortal Count, Dracula.】

The moment I saw that expression.

“…Ah.”

For the first time since coming to the Upper Plane, I had a sincere thought.

Which was.

“…I’m so fucked.”

…This was really, truly, fucked.