Chapter 545

The Perfect Ones’ powers were, fundamentally, unreasonable. Hundreds of S-rank heroes banding together wouldn’t overpower them, and a full fit of Legendary equipment would only barely help one withstand a single blow.

Worst of all, such a thing was only natural. Compared to ordinary heroes, who had to exhaust themselves just to twist the world’s laws slightly, the Perfect Ones did it with ease—because they

were the laws themselves

.

Rumble-

No matter how much strength was gained, even if it bordered on infinity, one could never reach them without reaching the realm of ascendance for that reason. And thus, unable to achieve that goal, the billions of humanity had offered absolute awe and fear to just seven Perfect Ones.

Boom!

One of whom had just used their irrational power to strike Se-Hoon’s skull dead-on, cleanly bursting it open.

Swoosh!

Violet mist erupted like butterflies bursting out.

Yet, despite the surreal sight that was clearly far from red blood or anything resembling death, Jason didn’t even blink and simply followed up immediately with another punch.

And meeting that punch that was aiming at his heart, Se-Hoon’s right arm—regardless of the missing head controlling it—swung to deflect it. Then, the two charged forward once again, fists rapidly colliding.

Whoosh- Boom!

Se-Hoon’s punch sliced through the air, whereas Jason’s punch landed square in his gut and blew his lower abdomen apart. Not stopping there, Jason extended his fingers, clawing through Se-Hoon’s body with three blurred arcs.

Splurt!

Against Jason’s hand that sliced through with the sharpness of even Legendary-tier swords in an instant, Se-Hoon’s body was torn apart like paper—only for violet mist to erupt from the wounds again.

Boom!

Se-Hoon moved once again, completely irrespective of his dismembered body. To Jason, it looked as though Se-Hoon had taken no damage at all.

Although this isn’t the first time I’ve felt this, where is he actually getting all this power?

What kind of synesthetic mindscape did Se-Hoon possess to fight like that? With such thoughts running through his head, Jason deftly sidestepped each of Se-Hoon’s attacks before swinging his fist again.

Boom!

A gaping hole was blasted through Se-Hoon’s chest, erasing his heart and sending him flying.

...Should I go all out and fight?

Soaring through the air, Se-Hoon’s consciousness continued working. And just as he had that thought, the violet mist around his body shimmered with vibrant power.

Woong-

The powers of other Perfect Ones and the myriad strengths Se-Hoon had built up over time were about to erupt... only for them to immediately all fade away, as though it were a dream.

He was fighting Jason to test the Law of Repentance. Using his full power would be meaningless.

Reminding himself, Se-Hoon imposed stricter limits within the dream. Without hesitation, he stripped himself of the powers of Perfect Ones, skills, and elemental mana. Now, the only thing left was the strength that originated from within himself.

The loss made things much harder—which was exactly why it had to be done. And with that now done, Se-Hoon forcibly pulled his fading consciousness back to awareness.

Dream Manifestation: Awakening

Clang!

The violet mist shrouding his body shattered, revealing his uninjured form.

Bang!

Once again, Se-Hoon and Jason’s fists clashed. Unlike before though, for the first time, they each caught the other’s wrist to become locked in a standoff.

“...”

“...”

An odd silence fell over the training hall.

“You’re becoming weirder by the day,” Jason commented.

What Se-Hoon had just done didn’t look like regeneration. It was more like... a reset to the moment before his destruction. The principle behind such a phenomenon was utterly unfathomable to Jason.

“Are you... really human?”

Jason was serious. How could a normal human, someone neither a Perfect One nor a Harbinger of Destruction, wield such techniques? To that question, Se-Hoon grinned widely.

“If you’re so curious, why don’t you find out for yourself?”

“How?”

“Well, that’s for

you

to figure out.”

Jason fell silent, clearly pondering it, then nodded briefly later and tightened his fists.

“Then I’ll just have to kill you first.”

If Se-Hoon were human, he’d go to the underworld. If not, he’d die. Convinced it was the perfect answer, Jason knocked Se-Hoon’s hand aside and thrust his fist into the gap that had opened up in front of him.

BOOM!

“...!”

Two fists collided midair. Instead of smashing Se-Hoon’s head like before, Jason found his fist clashing against Se-Hoon’s fist head-on.

What is this...?

Reality

hadn’t

been twisted to block the attack, that Jason could tell. Rather, it was his very ability to read the gap itself that had been severed, his very power of Premotion itself.

That realization made Jason’s face contort in surprise.

“Hey! I think I’m getting the hang of this!”

Bang!

A heavy impact snapped Jason’s head to the side. Compared to all the blows Jason had landed earlier, it was minor—but the meaning was significant. Ordinarily, Se-Hoon knew he would have been countered by the power of Premotion before even throwing a punch.

In other words, landing a strike meant Se-Hoon had successfully ignored the interference.

“...This is the Law of Repentance?”

“Seems like it.”

A power that allowed Se-Hoon to use his own will to deny and resist both the Perfect Ones’ powers and the laws of the world. Fully defined just now, that very power was perfectly shown by Se-Hoon.

“It’s surprising... but lacking compared to true powers.”

“Well, its versatility makes it harder to control. Still, not too bad, don’t you think?”

If it could resist the power of Premotion, then it would likely work against other powers too. And within the bounds of the world, it might even stand against the destructive force of the Harbingers of Destruction.

“The effect isn’t bad.”

“Then—”

“But.”

Crack-

Jason popped his neck, rubbing his stinging cheek with a sharp glint in his eye.

“Isn’t it quite shallow to call it effective after landing just one hit?”

Se-Hoon paused and met Jason’s gaze. Jason’s intent was clear: ending it after just one blow would be unsatisfying for them both.

“...You’re right.” Se-Hoon chuckled. “It

is

a bit lacking.”

It would be tiring, but...getting the feel for it after one success really wouldn’t be a bad idea. With that, the two got into position—

“Stop right there.”

Ludwig’s voice echoed through the training hall.

“Sorry, but the spar ends here. The Demon Force is on the move.”

“Is that really true?”

“Puppeteer’s automatons are committing indiscriminate terror attacks worldwide. According to the updates from the Heroes Association, Gregory has been injured.”

“The President?”

Se-Hoon’s eyes widened. It was unprecedented for one of humanity’s most important figures to fall victim. If the Association were as shattered as it was before the regression, then sure. But right now? When its strength was intact?

“Jason, I’m sorry, but...”

“No helping it. Let’s go.”

To Se-Hoon’s relief, Jason complied without protest.

“Given the situation, I’ll send you straight to the New York Branch. You’ll be briefed on arrival.”

“Understood.”

Woong!

As Ludwig’s power enveloped the training hall, the space around Se-Hoon reassembled... and placed him atop the New York Association Branch’s rooftop. Amidst the towering skyscrapers that pierced the night sky, sirens and alarms blared as wisps of acrid smoke lingered.

Gazing over the traces of terror throughout the city, Se-Hoon’s eyes narrowed.

So they went all in.

Considering how dire the situation was near Gregory’s location... the other cities had to be experiencing even worse. With a grasp of the severity of the situation, Se-Hoon immediately moved into the New York Branch’s inner chambers, where Gregory was presumed to be.

Clang!

But as soon as he appeared, Se-Hoon found weapons aimed at his body. Many investigators glared, ready to strike at the slightest movement.

“I’m Lee Se-Hoon. I came immediately after hearing from the Chairman that the President had been attacked,” Se-Hoon calmly stated, not even flinching.

“...”

“If you suspect I’m an automaton, feel free to inspect me.”

“...”

Despite his explanation, the investigators remained tense. It was only ‌moments later, after some magical threads scanned him, that one investigator’s mouth opened.

“Cases of special automatons without body modifications have been reported globally.”

“Automatons without modifications?”

Se-Hoon raised an eyebrow, visibly surprised. Puppeteer’s automatons usually had all human organs removed and replaced with the bioweapon known as “the Box.” Even the most minimal of those modifications were detectable—yet they were saying automatons had appeared that bypassed those scans?

“The exact details are still under investigation, but it’s true. Until a more capable inspector arrives...”

Creak-

Before the investigator finished speaking, the inner door opened to reveal Gregory with his abdomen wrapped in bandages.

“He’s the real one. Let him through.” The exhaustion in his voice was apparent.

“Mister President...!”

“I may look ridiculous saying this in this state, but I’m not dumb enough to fall for the same trick twice. Stand down.”

“...”

The investigators exchanged glances; then, heeding his order, they finally lowered their weapons.

“Pardon me.”

Bowing slightly, Se-Hoon entered the room where Gregory was resting and quickly scanned it: a perfectly sealed chamber lined with dozens of protective wards. No one could enter unless it was opened from within.

He looks better than expected... but he must’ve just changed the bandages. With this much blood loss...

Given the size of the bandage and his movement, the wound likely stretched over twenty centimeters from the pit of the stomach to the navel. It was a potentially fatal injury, even for an S-rank hero.

Even just sitting, Gregory grimaced.

“He stabbed me in the gut, then sliced upward. If I’d been just a bit slower, we’d be meeting in the Netherworld.”

“And the perpetrator in question...”

“My chief secretary. Someone I’ve known since before I became the President.”

Se-Hoon frowned. A comrade from the battlefield suddenly turning assassin—what kind of despair would that bring? Even before his regression, he hadn’t faced something like that.

Taking a deep breath, Gregory gestured to a bed.

“The corpse is on the bed. One of those unmodified automatons.”

“Then...”

“Can you take a look? I’ve already examined it with the investigators but couldn’t make sense of it.”

Se-Hoon glanced at the bed covered in white cloth, then nodded.

“Understood.”

He wasn’t as skilled as the Frost Dog in terms of autopsies, but he’d helped enough times to have some working knowledge. Approaching the bed, Se-Hoon lifted the sheet and examined the corpse.

The head’s smashed, right arm and left leg broken. Seems he resisted the first blow—not an ordinary human, then.

Deducing the takedown process by tracing the wounds, Se-Hoon placed his hand on the solar plexus and channeled mana. Though slightly distorted by Gregory’s attack, residual mana remained throughout the body.

There’s enough to reconstruct.

Adjusting his mana circuits and blood flow to replicate the target’s internal state, Se-Hoon used Soul Honing to replicate the energy flow in his own body. Of course, it was a procedure that would make medical professionals faint, but Se-Hoon had done it countless times before regressing.

Thump!

Following the route, the makeshift circuits and bloodstream surged through his body as a mana vortex coalesced around one spot. Then, at the moment a strange anomaly emerged near his heart—

Bang!

His heart exploded, opening a massive hole in his chest.

“?!”

Gregory leapt to his feet, startled. But just as he was about to shout, Se-Hoon held out a hand to stop him.

“It’s alright. I handled it before it became a problem.”

“...You

handled

it?”

“Yes. The heart was corrupted, so I destroyed it.”

“...”

Gregory stared at him with a complicated look, not sure of whether “handled” was the right word here. Given how quickly he regenerated though... maybe it was better not to dwell on it.

“More importantly, I think I’ve found the source.”

“What? You’re serious?”

“Yes. Please, come see.”

Once Gregory approached with skeptical curiosity, Se-Hoon formed a sliver of White Light with the Celestial Infinity Blade.

Woong-

A white scalpel formed between his fingers, which he placed on the secretary’s solar plexus. Completely halting blood flow, Se-Hoon sliced through flesh and bone to split open the chest to expose the heart.

Then, moving the scalpel, he pierced the heart’s surface and pried it open—

Ba-dump

A bizarre organ resembling a dark red cube emerged.