Genius Regressor Makes Mythic Items

Abyss.

Is there any other way to describe it?

Hissss!

Like the reverberation of a starless night, the darkness intertwined from all directions showed no form or shape, only conveyed the sensation of ‘falling’ somewhere.

And Kim Shimun had experienced this feeling before.

‘Tartaros. It feels exactly like when I fell there.’

Tartaros.

The place he entered through the hidden piece in the previous arena, the River of the Underworld, Styx.

The current descent was exactly like the fall to Tartaros.

The only difference now was,

Thud.

The sudden halt in his fall, contrasting the vast cosmic-like space of back then,

Swoosh.

In the pitch darkness, there was something resembling red liquid, flowing through the darkness as if blood was splattered around.

The sight was exactly like the, ‘Bloody Abyss’.

It resembled the Bloody Abyss he had seen in the depths of Azshita.

Thunk.

For the first time, something solid touched his feet, breaking the sensation of floating.

Realizing it was the ground, Shimun looked around.

Only pitch darkness.

Only ahead,

Swoosh.

The red glow stretched out long, as if indicating the sole path.

In reality,

-Not surprised at all? Hehe! You really are someone who can gather the Lemegeton. This way.

The voice from earlier called out again. The familiar nonchalance made Kim Shimun chuckle.

‘Who exactly is this?’

There was no way to know without facing it. Kim Shimun proceeded along the red glowing path. Soon, a more intense red glow revealed a door.

Or rather, it seemed more like a curtain or drape, given its fluttering nature. Pushing it aside and stepping through,

‘That is…’

Kim Shimun’s brows furrowed immediately. For a simple reason.

‘A prison?’

Instead of iron bars, there was a fierce red glow. Within, someone tightly bound with dark red chains, only their small head protruding.

Kim Shimun approached and realized, the color wasn’t just dark red; it was, “Blood?”

All the chains were drenched in blood, coming from the bound person. At the same time, “Do you pity them?”

The person with the disheveled hair snapped their head up.

“Then could you free me?”

The familiar voice echoed. It was the same cunning voice he had heard earlier.

Without giving Kim Shimun a chance to respond,

Flash!

Light poured from the red eyes between the disheveled hair.

When he opened his eyes again, “Where is this…?”

The terrifying dark red prison was nowhere to be seen. A sky so blue and beautiful that it invoked the heavenly realm.

Yet, amidst a strange world reminiscent of chaos, with an ashen landscape,

“Hi-hi! Hello?”

A boy with black hair and red eyes cheerfully waved.

“The place we were in was a bit inconvenient for talking, so I changed it. How is it? Isn’t it nice?”

Even for someone like Kim Shimun, who had experienced countless trials, the boy’s beauty was astounding. If not for the boy’s clothing, one couldn’t even guess his gender.

Maybe the boy picked up on Kim Shimun’s amazement?

“What? Curious about my gender?”

The boy smirked mischievously. Kim Shimun solidified his suspicion about the mysterious figure holding his waistband, contrary to the transcendent beauty of his appearance, “Want me to show you if you’re curious?”

He was quite the madman.

“…….”

Kim Shimun’s face stiffened instantly.

Finding it amusing, the beautiful boy laughed heartily.

“Pfft! I wondered why I couldn’t read you, but you’re such an open book!”

Kim Shimun looked down at the boy clutching his stomach and laughing, silently.

“Oh! Sorry. It’s just so fun meeting someone like you.”

Barely stifling his laughter, the boy, like a waiter in a fancy restaurant, gestured, “Please, have a seat.”

It was then he noticed.

‘These weren’t here just a moment ago…’

Just minutes before, all he saw was a bizarre landscape. Suddenly, a vintage stone table and chairs had appeared.

Their design, ‘It’s identical to the altar where the original Lemegeton was placed.’

It was similar to the altars where Ars Getia or Theurgia were placed. Despite the curiosity about the boy’s potential danger, ‘If he meant to harm me, he would have done something before bringing me here.’

From the moment he absorbed Ars Theurgia until now, he could have struck at any time.

‘Still, I’ll keep my guard up, just in case.’

Kim Shimun slightly relaxed his heightened guard. Following the boy’s lead, he sat on the vintage stone chair. The boy, who had sat down first, watched him intently, the corners of his lips curling up.

“You have excellent judgment. No wonder the Constellations take such an interest in you.”

“You seem to know me well?”

“How could I not?”

The boy propped his chin on his hand leisurely in response to Kim Shimun’s question.

“Though I’m in this state, I receive a lot of news from everywhere. Especially… about the Galaxy Arena.”

The boy smiled brightly. Kim Shimun, who had been watching him carefully, asked,

“What are you?”

“Hmm… A pitiful child abandoned by parents and lost a dear friend due to treacheries? How about it? Don’t you feel sorry for me?”

At the smooth-talking boy’s answer, “…….”

Kim Shimun’s face quickly turned cold. The boy burst into laughter and shook his head.

“Haha! Don’t be like that. I really want to get along with you.”

“Considering you’re avoiding even introducing yourself, it doesn’t seem that way at all.”

“Heh! True enough. But I mean it. If I didn’t want to be close to you… I would have introduced myself right away.”

“…So what you’re saying is, because you want to get close, you’re not telling me your name?”

“Exactly!”

Clapping his hands in response, the boy’s red eyes sparkled like those of a child in his prime.

It was then that Kim Shimun noticed, ‘This boy… has heterochromia?’

While his left eye was blood-red, the boy’s right eye was a blue reminiscent of the sky.

Realizing this, ‘A heterochromatic boy with blue and red eyes…’

A vague sense of recognition tickled the back of Kim Shimun’s mind.

Then, “Ah.”

A short gasp escaped Kim Shimun. For a very good reason.

‘A heterochromatic being! And one whose name must not be mentioned!’

A dreadful memory from a past life flashed through his mind.

‘The Unspeakable Nightmare…’

A being whose mere name spelled the doom of the Middle East.

“Lucifer…”

Kim Shimun whispered the name softly. For the first time, the previously playful boy, turned serious, his face hardening unlike before.

“… How did you know?”

—

The Unspeakable Nightmare.

A curse where the mere utterance or hearing of the name was fatal.

It began in Israel and subsequently decimated countries like Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and others.

One of Earth’s most dreadful calamities, it extinguished the once-formidable ranks of awakened beings in the Middle East.

No one knew where or how it originated, but one thing was certain.

‘From commoners to rankers, everyone who had that dream died without exception.’

Just like the instant death ruling in formal arenas, a curse ensured that anyone mentioning even a small part of it would die of heart failure instantly.

What’s more insidious was, ‘Even if they survived by some luck, they would soon speak the name in a nightmare.’

Thus, anyone who even once contacted the Unspeakable Nightmare either died by their own utterance, or lived in fear, dreading when the nightmare would come again.

Either way, death was the unavoidable end. Thanks to the brave sacrifices of a few and the high-level necromancers who could temporarily delay death, the cause of the nightmare—‘the existence of a heterochromatic being’—was revealed to the world.

Subsequently, the ranker coalition of Europe and the United States, led by the Italian player Angelica Grezio, a contractor of the Constellation Raphael, managed to uncover the name ‘Lucifer’.

But that was their limit.

Though Angelica, under the protection of Raphael, escaped the Unspeakable Curse, the Middle East, already devastated by the curse, was in no condition for arenas.

Naturally, outbreaks, the backlash of failed arenas, began sprouting across the Middle East, turning it into a land of death.

And the root cause of all these events, the being with the immense name Lucifer, glared at Kim Shimun with a chilling coldness.

“Why aren’t you answering? I asked how you knew me.”

However, “Hmm… Maybe it’s because I’m on my second life?”

Kim Shimun simply echoed Lucifer’s earlier smooth-talking response.

“You!”

The icy demeanor of Lucifer crumbled instantly. Responding to that, the ashen chaotic world around his red eyes vibrated wildly but stopped there.

Rumble!

“Pft, pfft hahahaha!”

Lucifer’s maniacal laughter soon quelled the tremors. Finding it exceedingly amusing, “Aha! Ahahaha!”

Lucifer rolled around on the ground, laughing hysterically. After some time had passed, “Hah! Right, it would take someone like this to catch the attention of the Divine Kings.”

Wiping tears from his eyes, Lucifer sat back down.

“That’s why you could gather the Lemegeton without giving a damn about Baal’s watch? Even ignoring the curse he put on my name.”

“Curse?”

Kim Shimun raised an eyebrow. And then, “Hm? What? You didn’t know there’s a curse on my name?”

Lucifer tilted his head in confusion.

“I knew, but I didn’t realize it was Baal’s curse.”

Kim Shimun nodded, as if it were obvious. There was only one reason he dared to mention Lucifer’s name, knowing about the Unspeakable Nightmare.

‘Even if the curse is triggered, my constellations will protect me.’

It was because of the constellations that took interest in him. Though Constellation Raphael was of a high rank, his own constellations were Divine King class.

In any case, ‘I didn’t expect the curse to be Baal’s doing.’

Up until now, he had assumed the Unspeakable Nightmare was entirely Lucifer’s work.

Regardless, ‘In the end, the Unspeakable Curse wouldn’t have affected me.’

The result would remain the same. Lucifer, observing Kim Shimun, slowly nodded his head.

“Ah, now I get it. Among the Divine Kings interested in you, Baal is one of them, isn’t he?”

Kim Shimun hadn’t said a word, yet Lucifer immediately understood his situation.

“Baal permitted you to gather the Lemegeton. Otherwise, you would have already been killed by that vile creature by now.”

Murmuring to himself, Lucifer thoughtfully stroked his chin.

“There’s no alternative; seems you’re my only contact…”

His eyes and mouth curved upwards.

“In that case, I can’t possibly let you go!”

He looked at Kim Shimun with eyes practically shooting beams.

“Hey, can you grant me just two requests?”

“No.”

Kim Shimun’s reply was swift and unyielding. Undeterred, Lucifer continued without missing a beat.

“Okay, then just one! Please? You need to complete the Lemegeton anyway. Since I’ve perfectly assimilated Ars Theurgia, you’ll need my help.”

“So, you’re saying I can’t complete the Lemegeton without your cooperation?”

“Precisely!”

“Hmm…”

Kim Shimun pretended to think for a moment.

In truth, it wasn’t much of a dilemma.

‘I’ll just get Baal or another Constellation to expel him.’

After all, it seemed Baal was responsible for Lucifer’s current state.

He’d just have Baal expel the demon. Sensing Kim Shimun’s intent, “Ah, on the contrary, with my help, you could use Ars Theurgia to its fullest potential!”

Lucifer quickly added.

“The favor I’m asking isn’t even that difficult! And I’ve already removed the more challenging one, so it doesn’t matter, right?”

Lucifer’s desperation was almost pitiable, even though, given the devastation caused to the Middle East in his previous life, there wasn’t much sympathy due.

‘If the Unspeakable Curse is Baal’s doing, it technically isn’t entirely Lucifer’s fault.’

Moreover, ‘If I drive him away now, he might randomly come back and cause havoc like in my previous life.’

No matter how swiftly he reacted, there would still be casualties, and estimating the scale of such damage wasn’t easy.

“And by the way, telling Baal won’t work, you know?”

Lucifer seemed to be aware of this, “No matter how much you’d ask, Baal won’t lift the curse. And even if you expel me from here, my true form resides elsewhere, so it won’t have much effect.”

Lucifer’s tone, though threatening, sounded more like a child trying to intimidate an adult. Yet, given Kim Shimun’s understanding of the disaster Lucifer had previously caused,

‘It’s safest to keep him under my control for now.’

Expelling him didn’t seem like the best option.

“Alright.”

Kim Shimun nodded his head.

At that, “Good decision!”

Lucifer’s face brightened immediately, but then, “But, I won’t grant you any requests.”

“Nooo!”

Lucifer’s face fell instantly at Kim Shimun’s continued refusal.

“Seriously, it’s an easy request! You just need to give me information on that bastard Solomon you gather during the arena!”

“Be it easy or not. This isn’t some quest. If it doesn’t benefit me, why should I do it?”

“Quest… Right, you’re a player. I’d forgotten after being in this state for eons.”

Lucifer smacked his own head, annoyed.

“Sure, you only get what you give. I prefer relationships like that. Blind loyalty and faith always…”

Was he bipolar?

Lucifer’s expression turned dark instantly.

“Alright!”

But he soon reverted to his usual self.

“Given my current state, I can’t offer you a quest, but I won’t ask for favors, either.”

He nodded and began to chatter again.

“In truth, I’m already grateful you didn’t expel me. This place is optimal for restoring my original form…”

At that moment,

Rumble!

Unlike before, the entire mixed space began to shake violently. The tremors were so intense he almost lost his balance.

“Tsk. Did they notice? Well, it’s been a while.”

Lucifer glanced at the sky nonchalantly and then looked at Kim Shimun.

“So, Kim Shimun. To solidify our friendship and pay my rent, I’ll send you a gift. So, look upon me favorably from now on, okay?”

Winking theatrically, he disappeared.

*

The first thing Kim Shimun saw was none other than,

『Constellation Ra shakes his head, muttering, ‘I knew it. (I knew it!)’.』

『Constellation Black Goat growls, ‘Ugh, you idiot! How could you not know that little brat was hiding there?’』

『Constellation Heavenly Demon chuckles, ‘Haha… don’t be too harsh. It’s been eons since then. Who could have known?’』

『Constellation Odin agrees, ‘Right. Even the Void Grandmother didn’t know. Don’t blame Baal.’』

『Constellation Zeus nods in agreement, ‘Exactly. Even Yahweh didn’t know where he was.’』

These were the reactions of the constellations.

‘As expected, the constellations didn’t know Lucifer was hiding.’

It was an anticipated reaction. Kim Shimun stood up and saw the familiar sofa.

Beside it,

-Woke up?

The Philosopher’s Stone in the flask had approached.

-You suddenly collapsed, so I was worried.

“I collapsed?”

-Yep. To be precise, you entered a half-sleep state. Your body was fine, so I moved you to the sofa, thinking you needed time to adapt to Ars Theurgia.

“Well done. Thank you.”

Kim Shimun patted the stone’s head and stood up fully.

At that moment,

『Constellation Baal gazes at you with concern.』

Baal’s reaction appeared. Kim Shimun smiled warmly at Baal’s worry.

“Thank you for your concern, but I’m alright. He was kind of cute, wasn’t he?”

Immediately,

『Constellation Zeus blinks, ‘Cute…?’』

『Constellation Black Goat stares at you in disbelief, ‘Cute? That maniac who challenged the Primordial God?’』

『Constellation Heavenly Demon watches you with a bemused look, ‘Cute, huh… That’s a reaction even the constellations would find hilarious.’』

『Constellations Ra and Odin’s mouths gape.』

Strange reactions from the constellations followed.

But then,

『Constellation Baal nods silently.』

Baal’s acknowledgment ended the reactions. With no more responses from the constellations, ‘By the way, Lucifer’s gift… Is this it?’

Kim Shimun sensed a peculiar change in the demonic energy concentrated in the Philosopher’s Stone at the center of his chest.

Reacting to that,

-Huh? What’s this? Since when has this been inside me…?

The Philosopher’s Stone’s voice trailed off in confusion,

Boom!

An intense explosion erupted.

TL’s Corner:

Even Yahweh was mentioned.