Bloodhound’s Regression Instinct

Chapter 198

Dawn of the Next Day.

Yan advised Bella on the ongoing intelligence war with the revolutionaries before promptly returning to Armenia.

“At last, it feels like a place fit for humans.”

The domain was developing at an unbelievable pace.

What was once a land of shacks and log houses had now transformed into a town of brick homes.

It was thanks to the generous dispersal of wealth by the Armenian merchants, led by the artificial elixirs.

That’s when he spotted a familiar figure.

Yan called out to her.

“Lorena?”

She turned around, her face as pale as if she’d seen a ghost.

“…?”

Yan tilted his head in confusion and approached her, reaching for her shoulder.

“Le-let go.”

Lorena shook off Yan’s hand and staggered towards her home.

Yan frowned as he watched her leave.

“What’s going on?”

She wasn’t one to act like this. Was she troubled by something?

Shaking his head from side to side, Yan dismissed his concern.

Though he was curious about her behavior, there were more pressing matters at hand.

Yan hastened his steps, heading towards his mansion.

* * *

With a creak, the door swung open, and Owen, who had been dozing off, hastily wiped the drool from his mouth and turned his head.

“Who goes there?”

“It’s me.”

Upon recognizing it was Yan, Owen let out a sigh of relief.

“Ah, it’s you, Yan.”

“Why aren’t you resting inside?”

“The chief might launch a surprise attack at any moment,” he said, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

Owen seemed to be on guard against an unexpected strike from the revolutionaries, protecting Argon.

It appeared he hadn’t had a proper rest in a while.

Yan observed Owen silently.

‘To think he would betray us in the future after all this?’

What could have possibly happened?

But what good would it do to ask Owen, who knew nothing of the future?

There was only one thing Yan could say.

“Lord Owen, if you ever find yourself troubled, don’t suffer in silence. Share with me.”

“Troubled? What trouble?”

“Just in case. It’s better to solve problems together, isn’t it?”

“Hmm, I don’t quite follow, but alright.”

Yan nodded at his response.

“Could you step outside for a moment?”

“Huh? Why?”

“I’m about to administer the elixir to my father, and we can’t afford any variables.”

Owen’s eyes widened at Yan’s words.

“You’ve found it?!”

“Yes, so please.”

Owen’s face lit up as he sprang to his feet.

Then, he hesitated, turning his head slightly.

He couldn’t understand why he was being asked to leave.

But he soon dismissed it as nothing.

It was a time for a miraculous father-son reunion.

‘Perhaps the others’ eyes would be uncomfortable.’

Owen licked his lips and stepped outside.

He then sat down on the floor, ensuring no one else could enter.

Once Owen had closed the door behind him, Yan called out.

“Momon.”

[You really found the elixir?]

Momon appeared beside the bed where Yan’s father lay.

He had been tasked with guarding the father, at a steep price, of course.

“Yes.”

Yan immediately reached into his spatial pocket and pulled out a glass bottle containing the elixir.

Momon’s gaze followed the motion.

The golden liquid shimmered inside.

Feeling something extraordinary, Momon gasped.

[To think this still existed. Even I gave up searching for it after years… a thousand years ago.]

Momon chuckled in disbelief at what Yan had procured.

“As per our agreement, I’ll wake him, and you’ll get the remaining elixir.”

Yan needed insurance to protect his father, especially after witnessing Owen’s betrayal.

He considered telling Damian or Theo but knew they wouldn’t easily believe it, given their long history together.

That’s why he made a deal with Momon.

To guard his father and, upon successfully using the elixir to awaken him, to give Momon a portion of what remained.

[Heh, to think I’d see the day I’d get the elixir.]

“Let’s wake my father now.”

At Yan’s command, Momon extended his hand.

Yan carefully passed the elixir over the skeletal hand.

Momon gently uncorked the bottle.

Pop!

As the cork flew off, an enchanting fragrance filled the room.

The scent alone was enough to stir the mana within the Mana Heart.

‘Truly worthy of being called the Tears of the Gods.’

A single sip would grant immense mana, but now was not the time for that.

Momon handled the elixir with an uncharacteristically solemn demeanor.

As he waved his bony hand, the elixir slowly flowed from the bottle, seeping into the father’s nose and mouth.

And then…

Tremble, tremble!

The father’s body began to thrash like a freshly caught fish.

Immediately after, flames erupted from his body.

These were not the flames of the Sun Gong but something entirely different.

If he was a torch that illuminated the world, the father was a destructive Fire Demon that could shatter it.

The sudden blaze shot out in all directions, threatening to engulf the room.

Whoosh!

Sizzle.

But it couldn’t penetrate the protective barrier Momon had prepared in advance.

“…Father.”

Yan watched his father and Momon with trembling eyes.

He wasn’t just letting the elixir flow into his father’s body.

He was spreading it thinly and efficiently across the Mana Rod, flesh, and brain for maximum effect.

It was possible only because Momon was there.

Even with his exceptional control, Yan couldn’t spread it as thinly and consistently.

Four hours passed in this manner.

The sounds of villagers greeting each other outside suggested morning had arrived.

Meanwhile, the Fire Demon’s power emanating from the father grew stronger over time.

Momon’s magic and the father’s flames fiercely consumed each other.

Momon’s jaw rattled as if he was reaching his limit.

If Momon had a human form, he would be sweating profusely.

Such was the intensity of his concentration.

[Yan, come here and lend your strength. I can’t hold it back with my mana alone.]

Yan hurried to Momon’s side.

Momon placed his hand on Yan’s chest.

Whooosh!

A vast amount of mana was drawn from the Mana Heart into Momon’s hand.

Perhaps because of that.

The color of the barrier Momon had cast became clearer, its energy stronger.

Roarrrr!

The Fire Demon, as if provoked, burst forth with incredible force, but it couldn’t escape Momon’s protective barrier.

After a fierce struggle, the flames began to subside.

That was the moment.

Yan’s eyes widened.

“Father!”

Argon’s eyelids slowly opened.

He struggled to speak.

It was a faint and delicate voice, but Yan could hear it.

“…Yan?”

“Yes, Father, I’m here.”

But with those words, the father’s eyes closed again.

Yan looked at Momon, his face filled with panic.

[He’s just lost consciousness for a moment. When he comes to, he’ll wake up refreshed like any ordinary person.]

Yan sighed in relief at the diagnosis.

* * *

When Argon awoke, dusk had already settled outside the window.

“…What in the world has happened…”

He wore a look of bewilderment at the sight before him.

Moreover, for some inexplicable reason, his right arm was missing.

But that wasn’t what shocked him.

The detestable cell and chains that greeted him every time he opened his eyes were nowhere to be found. Instead, his view was filled with the ordinary bedroom of a mansion.

Argon turned his dazed eyes towards the window.

The crimson twilight was sinking. Below, people were winding down from their day’s work.

Then, he felt a heavy weight on his legs.

As Argon’s gaze shifted there, his eyes gradually widened.

A robust-looking young man was asleep, resting his arm on Argon’s legs.

And then, he realized the young man’s face seemed familiar.

Argon’s expression hardened.

He remembered where he had seen this youth before.

Long ago, when the revolutionaries attacked, this was the young man who had helped him and rescued his son.

And the identity of this young man was…

“…Yan?”

At Argon’s trembling voice, the youth rustlingly lifted his head.

As Argon saw the youth’s face, a tear rolled down his cheek.

No matter how many years had passed, his son’s face was etched deeply into his mind.

Even when he was being drained of his strength in the cell, even when he was bound by chains.

He always imagined his son’s face to endure those hard times.

How had he grown up? Did he live a rough life, marked by scars?

Could they meet again? What would he say if they did?

Would his son resent him?

Would the chief barge in and prevent their meeting?

And if that happened, could it be that…

He had been hurt or worse, killed?

But dispelling all those worries…

“Father?”

“Is it really… you, Yan?”

Yan stood by his side.

“Do you… recognize me?”

“How could I not recognize you?”

How could he forget the face of his son, which he had always cherished in his mind?

He looked just like his mother, with eyes and nose resembling his own.

Argon, lacking a right arm, slowly caressed his son’s face with his left hand.

The soft and tender touch of the past was no longer there.

Instead, he felt rough skin.

His child had grown into a man.

Tears streamed down Argon’s face.

At long last, he was face to face with the son he had only imagined for so long.

Now, even in death, he would have no regrets.

He had lived through humiliation and disgrace, clinging to the hope of seeing his son again.

And now, that wish had been fulfilled.

Argon’s face contorted, and he began to sob sadly.

“Uh-huh-huh, it’s been… such a long time.”

Hearing his father’s sobs, Yan felt his heart clench for the first time.

He had not anticipated it would be this difficult when he set out to find his parents after his return.

Nor had he known it would hurt this much.

He had lived for decades erasing the existence of his parents, becoming accustomed to their absence.

But seeing his father, emaciated to the point of being skeletal, weeping, his emotions burst forth like a dam breaking.

Tears flowed as if his tear ducts were broken.

Thus, father and son embraced each other and wept bitterly.

Joy, regret, relief, ecstasy, and other indescribable emotions swirled together.

Until all the accumulated longing was shed, until there were no more tears left to cry.

They wept aloud together.

That evening, the night was met with a downpour.