Regressor In A Strange World
Chapter 20: Chilling Revelation.

Chapter 20: Chilling Revelation.

A cold glint flickered in his eyes, and I smiled- If just a little.

"Or should I say... Colonel Wenchi."

***

His features suddenly showed signs of cracking. From shock to confusion and then, to a light exhalation.

"How did you know?" he asked.

But I didn’t reply immediately.

Not that I didn’t want to. But instead, right now, my mind was slowly fixing together harrowing clues, each revelation threatening to overwhelm me.

Chill~

A sudden chill crawled up my spine, and my breath hitched. The battle, the illusions, Wenchi’s strange behaviour- none of it should have been possible under normal circumstances. Unless...

He was already cursed by the Dark Souls Tree. And the dark soul’s tree was responsible for everything...

It all now made sense.

Gazing up.

"Place two to two, and it wasn’t that hard to figure out."

As overpowered as the tyrant was. It shouldn’t have been able to outrightly decimate Napoleon and his men. That should have been impossible.

It was only able to do so simply because we were all in its landscape.

In simple terms- everything we saw, was what it wanted us to see.

The realization sent a chill through me, the pounding of my heart echoing louder with each revelation.

That also explains why Wenchi knew ahead of time and disguised himself as a normal warrior.

It was simply because he was being controlled by the Dark Souls Tree.

My gaze snapped towards him, our eyes lingered on each other’s, our breaths coming out ragged and uneven.

"Among Napoleon men," I began. "You were the only one that suddenly went missing. Not only that but-"

A light laugh escaped my lips, a smile tugging at the corner of my lips. "Your impeccable archery skills kind of gave you off."

Despite the overwhelming situation, I was somehow able to maintain my calm.

And Wenchi said nothing, his brows grew tightly furrowed- as though he were lost in thought.

’...Which means the Dark Souls Tree had slowly crept into the mind of everyone present in the battle.’

That would explain why there was no notification from the spell even after I slayed other creatures. And why I couldn’t remember anything about the system.

It was simply because my spirituality was warning me against it.

Chills~

Me housing such a strange entity within me would have certainly piqued its interest.

"That explains it," Wenchi muttered under his breath.

But I wasn’t really paying attention to him.

Slowly, the scattered fragments in my mind, assembled into a single-

...Harrowing image.

And then-

Ba- dump! Ba- dump!

We both stood in a stifling, suffocating silence.

Each second in the stifling silence sent dread rippling through my chest. The uncertainty of the moment sent fear coursing through me.

But I simply forced myself to calm down. I had no other choice but to do so.

And slowly, it came-

Cracks started to spread across his face, his expression contorting to one of... confusion and disbelief.

’Why isn’t he affected?!’ Wenchi mused under his breath, his hands tightly clenched around his bow.

I simply smiled, a light laugh escaped my lips, and the sound was rather unpleasant to his ears.

That I could ascertain, based on the look of dismay that crept up his face.

"Don’t tell me you’re waiting for me to be affected by the crimorias fruit. Oh- stop kidding." I continued to laugh, as though I had just said the funniest thing.

And to be honest, that truly was the case.

Poisons.

"Haa..."

At this point, I can’t even count how many times I’d been poisoned as a kid. All kinds of poison from enemies and allies of the Winchester family.

And even despite all that-

’Here I was, still standing and breathing.’

I was unaffected by any- they said.

Wenchi was just about to speak, when-

"Kgha-!" he coughed out a mouthful of blood and fell on his knees.

His face turned deadly pale, and with a pained groan, he continued to vomit blood.

’Waited long enough.’

A dark smile appeared on my face.

"Finally."

***

The young soldier fell to his knees, looking astonished. His trembling hands hovered before him he stared at it, trying to understand what had happened to him.

"W-what sort of magic is this...?"

"Magic?" I shook my head. "No."

"Then... how?"

I merely shrugged.

"You mean how you were poisoned with the same toxin?"

"..."

His face twisted in shock, the realization dawning on him like a slow-moving storm.

"It wasn’t that hard, really," I continued, "Just like how you poisoned my drink... I did the same to yours."

I leaned in slightly, my tone almost mocking. "The only difference is-"

My lips curled into a smile.

"I poisoned everyone I gathered."

Wenchi’s body tensed, his mind scrambling to process my words.

"Haa..." I exhaled, rubbing my temples as if scolding a child. "How many times do I have to say this? Poisons don’t work on me, you idiot."

The young soldier stared at me in disbelief, his breath ragged and uneven. Blood seeped from the corner of his lips, dripping onto the cold floor.

Drip... Drip...

The sound echoed through the silence.

Despite his fading strength, the young soldier tried to fight, his hands tightening around his bow.

With a sudden surge of desperation, he clenched his bow and forced himself upright, veins bulging against his trembling skin.

But before he could do so much as to knock an arrow-

"Kgha-! Kgha-!" A violent cough wracked his body as he slumped onto the ground.

Sprawled out, his chest rose and fell in uneven gasps. The adrenaline within him drained from his body, leaving behind raw fear and desperation.

His gaze found mine, eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"Please... I don’t want to die... I don’t want to..."

His voice was hoarse, almost trembling-

Tears streamed down his face as he dragged himself towards me, fingers clawing at the dirt.

Yet, all I felt was-

"Pathethic," I spat out in disgust.

My expression contorted to that of anger. All the pent-up emotions I had suppressed within me- exploding in a short outburst of energy.

"Go to hell bastard!"

Lightning crackled around my fingertips as I summoned the Thunder Fang dagger.

With a single, brutal motion.

Puchi-!

The dagger easily severed Wenchi’s head off his body, his lifeless body gushing out an endless ichor as he slumped onto the ground with a loud crashing thud.

Silence followed. And-

I stood there, feeling weightless as I gasped for breath.

"Huff... Huff..."

The death of Wenchi did nothing to alleviate the dread coiling around my chest. If anything, it only served to intensify it.

After all, Wenchi’s death meant nothing.

Not when the true nightmare was yet to come.

Because now-

Thump... Thump...

I was certain the Dark Souls Tree would appear before me.

All I had to do know was:

Thump... Thump...

Wait.

Wait for my inevitable demise.