Bloodhound’s Regression Instinct

Chapter 177

Yan furrowed his brow at Momon’s words and asked, “What do you mean I have to enter my father’s mind?”

Momon pointed to the chains of finger bones that bound his father’s body.

“You know you must first deal with this if you wish to save your father.”

As Yan nodded, Momon continued to explain.

“However, the one who made it possible to misuse another’s mind might have tampered with these chains. Thus, there’s only one way: you must awaken your father.”

“So, you’re saying I should make father break free himself.”

“Exactly. It’s unlikely your father has been unable to comprehend the chains that have bound him for decades.”

Yan knelt and examined his father’s chest. Only a faint breath indicated life in the limp body. Both physical and mental strength were at their limits.

Long confinement and the chains and shackles that bound his entire body must have drained his mental energy.

Yan clenched his teeth in frustration and shook his head.

“But it seems difficult to make father regain consciousness. Is there another way?”

Momon shook his head.

“Definitively not. At best, you can hope that the chains are unaltered. But you seem to be misunderstanding something.”

“…What?”

Momon stared intently at Yan and said,

“Do you really think someone capable of maintaining such a vast mind for so long would lose consciousness due to mere physical restraint?”

Yan’s eyes shone.

Manifesting a mind requires immense mental strength.

As Momon said, it was unlikely that his father, who was manifesting such a vast mind, had lost consciousness due to physical restraints.

Then what could be the reason for his father’s unconsciousness?

At that moment, Momon seemed to notice Yan’s inner thoughts and began to speak.

“In my view, your father seems to have confined himself within his own mind.”

“The mind? But this place is the mind.”

“Strictly speaking, this is the surface world of the mind, the outer shell.”

“…The outer shell?”

“Yes, so you must enter the deep world of your father’s mind and make him regain consciousness by any means necessary. That’s the only way.”

Yan’s eyes sparkled.

“Momon, then you can send me into my father’s deep world?”

“I’ve agreed to help you save your father as per our deal.”

Yan’s eyes gleamed.

“Then send me now.”

As Yan finished speaking, Momon nodded.

That was the moment.

Rumble! Creak. Creak.

A strange noise came from outside.

Sounds like thunder and the unpleasant noise of nails on a chalkboard.

The red light that served as Momon’s pupils widened.

“Damn it all!”

He cursed urgently.

But only for a moment, as an incredible mana and energy burst forth from Momon, and he transformed into a tall elf with long hair.

Momon’s unexpected manifestation.

Yan frowned.

“What’s happening…?”

“There’s no time! The mind is starting to collapse! If we stay, we’ll be trapped in the mind forever!”

Yan’s face hardened.

He had felt the presence of Vulcan, the legion commander, disappear, thinking his companions had dealt with him.

‘Could it be that he was the link between my father and the outer mind?’

Then, Momon reached out his hand.

An overwhelming mana wave began to emanate from him.

Domain Expansion – Mana Rule.

In the blink of an eye, Momon created a domain, but the urgency on his face did not fade.

He clenched his fist.

Then the unpleasant sounds and loud noises from outside stopped.

Momon’s face flushed red.

“Blast it! I’m going to lose all the mana I’ve gathered!”

He didn’t give Yan time to ask and reached out his hand.

Whoosh!

A complex golden magic circle appeared in Momon’s left hand and began to spin rapidly.

“We don’t have much time! I’ll hold on as long as I can… but you must awaken your father without delay!”

The magic was complete, and Momon spoke.

“Don’t resist the magic I cast, accept it fully.”

Yan nodded.

8th Circle Soul Magic – Soul Extraction

The golden magic circle hit Yan’s body squarely. His form collapsed powerlessly.

Despite feeling like his head would explode from the multiple chants, Momon calmly continued the next spell.

The target was his father, lying right in front of the fallen Yan.

8th Circle Soul Magic – Soul Enchant

The golden magic circle that had engulfed Yan’s soul was absorbed into his father’s body.

Soul magic, considered by all magicians to be the realm of fantasy.

Momon had cast it twice.

Even Momon, who had seen the extremes of magic, could not help but feel exhausted in his current state.

He had manifested using all the mana he had diligently gathered… but he couldn’t use his full power.

Momon looked at Yan’s collapsed form and burst out in frustration.

“Dealing with that guy always ends up being a bad bargain!”

Momon looked up once more.

Though the ceiling was there, it couldn’t obstruct Momon’s sight.

In his vision, the unconscious dimension, the imaginary realm, was eroding this mind.

If the imaginary dimension were to completely erode the mind,

Everyone residing in this mind would vanish without a trace.

Momon grimaced.

“If I’m not careful, I might just vanish along with them.”

To prevent that, he had to fend off the erosion of the imaginary dimension until Yan returned.

It was impossible to hold out for long, but Momon believed that Yan would somehow overcome the obstacles within the limited time.

After all, everything Yan had shown so far had been enough to instill that belief in Momon.

* * *

Yan’s Descent into the Deep Mind

Regaining his senses, Yan slowly opened his eyes to survey his surroundings.

The tower and wasteland that were just there had vanished, replaced by a field dyed in shades of purple.

“…This must be the deep mind of my father.”

Rising to his feet, Yan walked forward, soon coming upon a steep cliff.

Looking around, he saw purple wildflowers densely embedded in the cliffside, with a waterfall flowing below.

In the distance, people were laboring in the fields, tilling the soil and spreading fertilizer, beads of sweat glistening on their brows.

Yan frowned.

This scene… I’ve seen it somewhere before?

After racking his brain for a while, Yan exclaimed.

“It’s identical to the scene from my dream!”

The dream where his father had taken him on horseback to show him the domain he must protect.

Which meant…

This place was the neighborhood where he had lived.

Then, Momon’s voice echoed in his head.

[Seeing your soul has settled well, you’ve entered the deep world. This might be our last contact, so ask quickly if you have any questions.]

Yan, fixing his gaze on the distant homesteads, asked.

“I’m not familiar with the world of minds, but is it supposed to be this realistic?”

[I too am concerned about that. The world of minds, being the pinnacle of imagination and unreality, shouldn’t be this realistic.]

Momon paused as if taking a look at the world of minds through Yan.

[But I haven’t peeked into everyone’s heads, and your father’s deep mind seems calm. There’s no other explanation. Anything else?]

“How do I leave when it’s time?”

[I don’t know. But the most likely scenario is that from now on, you follow the owner of this mind and resolve his deep-seated resentment.]

“That should be enough.”

[…Time is short. Return as quickly as you can.]

At Momon’s concern, Yan smiled wryly.

“Okay. Just hang in there a little longer.”

With that, Momon’s voice was heard no more.

He must have gone back to finish what he was doing earlier.

Yan immediately set off towards the village at the end of his gaze.

* * *

At that Moment

The leader was indulging in leisurely contemplation within his secret sanctuary.

For there was nothing pressing that required his attention at this moment.

In a time that could be considered both long and short, he had sown many seeds, and now the time to reap the fruits had come.

All that remained for him was to smile contentedly as he savored the luscious fruits of his labor.

The leader brought the teacup to his lips.

After savoring the aroma for a while, he suddenly spoke.

“Say it again.”

His gaze slightly lowered, he looked down at his feet.

Shockingly, there knelt the 4th Legion Commander, Castro Chang, a moderate faction member, naked and on his knees.

Gone was his usual neat and icily precise appearance.

As if he had been subjected to brutal torture, his skin was torn in places, blood flowing freely, and his eyes were dully unfocused.

At the leader’s question, Castro Chang trembled violently, repeatedly smashing his forehead into the ground.

It was a reaction born from extreme fear when pressured by an adversary.

Castro Chang cried out as if screaming.

“Yan, the officer candidate, has incited us, the neutral legion commanders, to sow discord! I dared to prioritize my own will over that of the leader!”

Castro Chang clutched his head and screamed, though no one touched him.

He was hallucinating thousands of insects crawling into his torn wounds.

The leader stroked his chin, observing Castro Chang.

“Interesting. But I can’t fathom what one would gain from sowing such discord.”

He pondered Yan’s objectives.

“If he intended to strike at me, it would have been better to ambush me at the gathering with the Pirate Empress and the moderates, including Owen. If not, is he planning something against the legion commanders who follow me?”

The leader shook his head, seemingly unable to find an answer.

After chuckling to himself for a while, pondering various things.

“Wait.”

His expression suddenly hardened as something occurred to him.

With a wave of his hand, a subordinate appeared beside Castro Chang.

“You called for me?”

“Contact Vulcan immediately.”

“Yes, right away.”

The subordinate took out a communicator and began to operate it.

Trilling… Trilling…

The ringing went on for a while.

After about three minutes,

The communicator in the subordinate’s hand lost its light.

It meant the other party was not responding.

Seeing this, the leader’s face fell into a grim cast.

The leader rose from his seat. His fiery red hair whipped about like a lion’s claw in his rage.

Castro Chang, lying prostrate, hastily grabbed the leader’s ankle.

“I’ll give you everything I have… Please, this!”

The leader did not even glance at him. Instead, he lifted his other foot and stepped on Castro Chang’s head.

Crunch!

With a gruesome sound of flesh being crushed, Castro Chang’s body went limp.

The leader ground his teeth.

“Dare to smoke-screen and abscond with Argon?”

With that,

The overwhelming presence of the leader that had filled the room vanished without a trace.

He had gone to apprehend.

To punish Yan and those aiding him in their scheme to abscond with Argon.