Chapter 283: How to Use a Regressor (4)
Twitch.
After a slight movement, Elvis regained consciousness.
Where am I…?
He blinked, trying to focus.
“Ugh!”
A sharp pain shot up from his nose, and a panoramic vision of his near-death experience flooded his mind.
“That… son of a bitch!”
Fully awake now, Elvis abruptly sat up.
Just then, a voice rang out.
“Surely you’re not calling me that ‘son of a bitch,’ are you?”
Elvis’s head snapped toward the sound.
There sat Louis, legs crossed, calmly reading a book.
Seeing Louis’s nonchalant expression, Elvis leaped to his feet, his face contorted with fury.
“You little shit!”
Elvis clenched his fist and charged forward.
And then…
Thud!
A heavy sound echoed as Elvis crashed to the ground.
He trembled violently for a moment before losing consciousness again.
Rustle.
Even amidst the chaos, Louis continued reading as if nothing had happened.
And that was the beginning.
“You…!”
Thud!
“I’ll…!”
Crack!
“Ugh…!”
Regaining consciousness, Elvis repeatedly charged at Louis, only to be beaten unconscious again.
He endured this cycle five times.
Just as the sixth round was about to begin, Elvis stopped lunging at Louis. Instead, he gritted his teeth and glared at him.
“Not coming at me anymore?”
”…”
Louis stood up, unnerved by Elvis’s murderous glare.
Crack… crack…
A savage grin spread across Louis’s face as he cracked his knuckles and advanced.
“If you won’t come to me, I’ll come to you.”
”…What?”
“Clench your jaw.”
“Wait! Just a minute!”
Panic surged through Elvis as he desperately reached out, but he couldn’t stop Louis’s relentless approach.
Thud!
A blinding flash erupted before his eyes, followed by a searing pain that radiated through his face.
Squelch!
“Gack!”
Swish!
“Ugh!”
Thwack!
“Huff…!”
Elvis’s body swayed like a reed under the relentless barrage of punches, each delivered with invisible speed.
Of course, Elvis wasn’t just taking the beating.
“Hey, don’t underestimate me!” he snarled, desperately casting a Light attribute Sacred Scripture to retaliate against Louis.
But…
“Are you a firefly? Why are you flickering like that?” Louis continued his merciless assault without so much as a blink.
His blows landed with such frenzied precision that Elvis’s battered form remained suspended in mid-air, unable to fall.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The brutal onslaught lasted for over twenty minutes.
Thud.
Elvis’s floating body finally crashed to the ground.
“Gah…”
The pain was excruciating.
A pain that felt like every inch of his body, from head to toe, had been crushed.
It hurt so much that he couldn’t understand why he hadn’t even passed out.
“Ugh…”
A single tear trickled from Elvis’s eye as he lay sprawled on the floor.
He couldn’t tell if it was from the pain or from self-pity. Even Elvis himself couldn’t discern the reason.
Louis stared down at Elvis, lying crumpled on the floor, and asked bluntly, “Hey, are you crying?”
“C-crying? Who said I was crying?!” Elvis snapped, hastily wiping his cheek.
Groaning, he struggled to sit up. Louis crouched down in front of him.
“What’s got you so worked up?”
“D-do you even need to ask?”
“Are you asking because you don’t know? What did I ever do to you?”
“Because of you…”
“Because of me? What exactly did I do?”
“You ruined everything! Everything!”
“So what exactly did I do?”
Elvis fell silent at Louis’s question.
”…Huh?”
His eyes wavered.
Now that I think about it… what exactly did he do?
Elvis pondered deeply.
The Mad Dragon had finally appeared, albeit later than expected.
And though the reunion wasn’t exactly what he’d hoped for, he’d confirmed that his comrades were safe.
The only significant change was his family’s descent into insignificance.
And… well, his own circumstances had changed somewhat too.
Is it even possible for a single individual to accomplish all of this?
Even with future knowledge, could one person truly change so much?
I might be able to manage things concerning my family and comrades, but the Mad Dragon…
A single person delayed the Mad Dragon’s emergence?
The more Elvis pondered it, the more absurd it sounded.
Noticing the turmoil in Elvis’s eyes, Louis asked, “Just out of curiosity, did you ever think your life turned out this way because of me?”
”…”
“That because I’m like you—someone who knows the future—I might have manipulated things somehow?”
”…”
“Did you really think that?”
Visibly shaken, Elvis had to admit it. I was too hasty. He realized he had misunderstood something.
With a slightly apologetic expression, he said, “I see… I’m sorry. I misunderstood…”
But Elvis couldn’t finish his sentence. Louis suddenly interrupted.
“If you really thought that… not bad.”
”…What?”
“You’re right. Everything you know has changed because of me. I’m the one who altered it all.”
Elvis blinked. What the hell is this guy…? Is he mocking me? His face flushed crimson.
“What?”
“I was the one who prevented the formation of the Ainfort Republic and preserved the Frenche Kingdom. The downfall of your family, the Estephan Family, is entirely my doing.”
”…?!”
“And that’s not all. Do you know what Kendrick, your former comrade, calls me now?”
”…You.”
“He calls me ‘Teacher.’ He’s my disciple. Oh, and Lavina too. I’ve been keeping her around lately.”
“But… why? Why would you do this…?”
“You bothered me. Your very existence irritated me.”
”…”
“But it seems I wasted my time. You’re even more pathetic than I imagined. I can’t believe I wasted so much thought on someone like you.”
Louis chuckled.
But his eyes, as he looked at Elvis, were utterly devoid of emotion.
Why did I ever waste so much time worrying about someone like him?
The main character of the Original Work.
The de facto leader of the Dragon Slayer Party.
His very existence had been a constant source of irritation.
That’s why I systematically dismantled everything he was supposed to possess.
Of course, this process also diminished Elvis’s significance, but even if he had grown unhindered, he still wouldn’t have posed any threat to me.
Even if he knows the future through regression, even if he was born with the talent to be called a genius…
That’s all he amounts to.
He’s still bound by the limits of humanity.
For Elvis to ever become a real threat, he would need to acquire countless hidden pieces and achieve perfect growth.
And that process would undoubtedly take a decade, perhaps even several decades.
“That’s the minimum I need to stand a chance against the Mad Dragon.”
But would I be sitting idly by during that time?
My growth rate far surpassed Elvis’s.
If Elvis worked hard for a year and achieved a growth of 100, I could achieve 1,000… no, 10,000 times that much with the same effort.
“It’s like pitting a horse against a Formula One race car—there’s no competition.”
That was the fundamental difference between Elvis and me.
He wasn’t a true rival, nor someone who could significantly influence my path.
He was merely a slightly special, highly valuable pawn to be used.
“What did you just say?”
“I said you’re insignificant.”
Elvis was rendered speechless by Louis’s emotionless gaze.
That look…
He’d seen that look somewhere before.
Where…? When was it…? Ah!
He remembered.
He remembered when he’d seen that look before.
”…Genelocer.”
The final battle against the Mad Dragon Genelocer.
That was the look the Mad Dragon had given him after their crushing defeat, when he was the sole survivor thanks to his comrades’ sacrifice.
The way Genelocer had looked at him—as if staring at an insignificant insect—was exactly the same.
“Well, that’s that. Let’s get back to the matter at hand… I’m willing to give you a chance.”
“You mean… the chance for revenge you mentioned earlier?”
“Exactly.”
“That’s laughable.” Elvis scoffed derisively. “I don’t need any chances from you.”
”…”
“That’s just a goal I’m naturally going to achieve. Don’t act like you’re doing me some grand favor by giving me this ‘chance.’”
Louis scoffed, meeting Elvis’s confident gaze. “You’re even more pathetic than I thought. You don’t even know your place.”
”…What?”
“Stop bluffing. You saw the Mad Dragon, didn’t you?”
”…”
“At your current level, do you really think you can stand against him? With such pitiful strength?”
Louis’s words struck home, leaving Elvis speechless.
“At this rate, when do you plan to avenge yourself against the Mad Dragon? Ten years? Twenty?”
“That’s…”
“After the Mad Dragon has ravaged the world again? After all the family you love is dead?”
”…”
“What’s the point of killing the Mad Dragon once everything’s already gone?”
As Louis continued, Elvis’s fist clenched tighter and tighter. His knuckles turned white, bloodless. But Elvis couldn’t unclench his fist. Louis’s words struck too close to the truth, and Elvis had no rebuttal.
“Damn it!” Elvis felt suffocated by frustration. He glared at Louis, his eyes blazing.
”…What are you trying to say? What exactly… what exactly are you trying to say?!”
“I’d do things differently.”
”…?”
“Before the world ends, before it’s stained with blood… I’ll kill that bastard.”
”…”
“I told you, I’m giving you a chance. I’ll support you wholeheartedly—help you grow, help you gather your comrades… and then I’ll use you.”
”…Use me?”
“Like a tool to catch the Mad Dragon, perhaps?”
Elvis fell silent, stunned by Louis’s bluntness.
Louis’s words were brutally honest, yet Elvis sensed their sincerity.
He intends to use me, Elvis, as a tool…?
Before his regression, he couldn’t have imagined anyone saying such a thing.
Hearing someone value him so little left him feeling utterly wretched.
Yet, paradoxically, Elvis felt a strange sense of relief, as if a weight had been lifted from his chest, despite the suffocating feeling he’d experienced just moments before.
As he pondered in silence, a spark ignited in Elvis’s eyes.
“You… what’s your name?”
“Only curious now? It’s Louis.”
Elvis tilted his head slightly, glaring at Louis.
Can I really trust this guy?
Louis seemed to know far more about him than he knew about Louis. Elvis had only just learned his name. How could he possibly trust this enigmatic being in such a lopsided situation?
Elvis’s mind swirled with conflicting thoughts.
“Huuu…”
He closed his eyes, focusing on organizing his thoughts.
A moment later, his eyes snapped open. A fierce determination burned in their depths.
“A tool, you say? Fine. If your goal is to slay the Mad Dragon, I’ll gladly let you use me as a tool… but!”
“But?”
“If you try to use me for any other purpose… remember that the tool you’ve created will be the one aiming for your throat.”
Louis chuckled at the low, menacing voice. “Whatever.”
Elvis’s warning sounded to Louis like a kitten’s hiss, and he couldn’t help but stifle a snort of amusement.
Oblivious to Louis’s inner amusement, Elvis asked earnestly, “So, specifically, what kind of support will you provide?”
“Ah, that? Well, first…”
”…”
“How about you start by changing your tone?”
“My tone?”
“Shouldn’t you show some respect to your sponsor?”
“Respect? You seem to misunderstand something. I’m quite a bit older than you.”
“You’re the one who’s mistaken. I’m older than you.”
”…Does any of that even matter at this point?”
It was the last shred of dignity Elvis possessed—the dignity he clung to even as he was being used as a tool.
“It doesn’t matter,” Louis said.
“Well, I’m not so sure. I’m not sure what does matter.”
“You don’t? Then I’ll have to show you.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t worry, this will be over quickly.”
“What… what will?”
“I’ll teach you some manners. No, I’ll etch them into every bone in your body.”
Crack.
Elvis panicked as he watched Louis approach, cracking his knuckles. “Wait! Just a minute!”
But his plea came far too late.
Louis closed the distance in an instant, his fists raining down like bullets.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
“Aaaaaaaah!”
The machine-gun barrage began, and Elvis’s screams echoed through the room for a long time afterward.
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