Regressor Instruction Manual - Chapter 421. Problems From Above (4)

[Goddess of Benigoa’s Sorrowful Tears of Blood – Semi-Mythic]

[The tears of a goddess. A Semi-Mythic catalyst.]

‘I think I can use it.’

The details weren’t really there, so I couldn’t figure out how it was supposed to be used, but I knew that it could be used, at the very least. I expected it to be Mythic, but it seemed that the system recognized the tears as the tears of the goddess statue rather than the tears of the goddess herself. However, I couldn’t help but think that the system was stingy.

‘It means that I need to torture Benigoa to get a Mythic item.’

It was a bit unfortunate, but finding an item at a place like this would be considered a stroke of luck. I obviously wanted to grab the catalyst that was still rolling down the statue’s cheek. If Father Basel and the others weren’t here, I would have stuck right next to that statue until it cried.

“Oh, goddess…!”

Father Basel exclaimed before I could examine the statue. I was here with him, so I could see that he was truly heartbroken. I understood how he felt. Father Basel was one of the most faithful priests in the Vatican, and he actually had the purest faith out of all priests here. I was sure that he had experienced many political fights and conflicts, but there was a reason why he was in his position.

The crying statue and his distressed look made the atmosphere even gloomier and heavier. Of course, I was sure that he wouldn’t look that sad if the goddess weren’t crying.

Benigoa’s overall appearance was gorgeous. I didn’t know if she looked exactly like that statue, but she would be considered beautiful no matter where she went. The one thing that was a bit unusual about her was that she looked dejected for some reason, and since she was crying tears of blood, it really looked as if the goddess was sad.

“Heuuuk! Oh, goddess…!”

It wasn’t just Father Basel. The priests above bishop level gathered here released groaned. I acted like I was praying, but I immediately looked around because I was worried that a different phenomenon was going to appear from that statue.

‘Goddess Benigoa, we’re still close, right? You’re not trying to backstab me, right?’

I still couldn’t hear her answer. I swept my gaze across the figures gathered in this chapel, and I didn’t notice anything suspicious about them. In that case, it seemed that what they said about the crying statue was true, and they didn’t bring me here to backstab me according to the Benigoa Goddess’ orders.

I thought it would be safe for me to say that they made the decision to bring me here because they had no idea what was causing the statue to cry. It was still too early to come to a conclusion, but I thought I could let go of the delusion that Benigoa went crazy and became a fallen goddess. It was a bit of a waste, but I guess it wasn’t that bad.

“W-What do you think, Father Lee Ki-Young? The goddess’ voice…” Father Basel asked.

“Hm…”

‘What should I tell him?’

I wanted to lie with confidence while nodding, but I shook my head instead. However, if I mention that I realized something, I was sure that I would be able to see how the Vatican would react.

‘I need time to organize my thoughts.’

Naturally, I shook my head while biting my lips, and Light Ki-Young could easily reveal an expression similar to someone who had lost everything. When I started talking, I felt everyone looking at me.

“I don’t hear her voice. I don’t hear… the goddess’ voice.”

“Huh…”

“A-Actually… I think I have an idea as to why Goddess Benigoa is showing that side of herself. However, I think it’s still too early for me to talk about it thoughtlessly…” I continued.

“What is it?!” Father Basel yelled.

‘He responded immediately.’

He looked like a traveler who had found an oasis after getting lost in the desert for over ten days.

‘He’s not acting.’

I kept thinking about this a while ago, but I became certain after seeing Father Basel’s face. He was begging me to tell him, so it was proof that Benigoa hadn’t fallen just yet.

“I’m sorry, Father Basel, but…” I paused.

“Please tell us, Father Lee Ki-Young,” he begged.

“…If you don’t mind, could you give us a moment? I’d like to be with the goddess…” I requested.

“Of course. W-We’ll do that. Yes! What are you doing? Hurry up and leave! Father Lee Ki-Young said he wants to examine the goddess’ condition. I want everyone to leave the chapel! H-How long do you need, Father Lee Ki-Young?” he asked.

“It could take some time. Don’t worry too much and wait for me, Father Basel. I’ll put everything on the line and find out exactly what the goddess wants,” I replied.

“I leave it to you, Father Lee Ki-Young,” he said.

‘I got it, so let go of my hand. It hurts…’

“If you need anything, let me know anytime. Anything!” he added.

“I’ll let you know,” I told him.

“I’m so relieved that you’re here. Really…” he commented.

“It’s nothing, Father Basel.”

‘I got it, so leave already. I’m getting a headache.’

“Please find out what’s happening no matter what!” he requested again.

‘Just leave already…!’

It was ridiculous how he begged me while holding both of my hands, and after a while, I saw everyone leaving the chapel. Jung Ha-Yan, Cha Hee-Ra, and my other insurance looked at me as if they were asking if it was really okay for them to leave. I felt kind of nervous, but when I nodded that it was okay, they left with Father Basel.

I wondered how those women would spend their time in the interim, but this was more urgent than that.

‘Of course, I need to do my job.’

My thoughts were complicated, but I had to do the task I was given. After taking out the alchemist kit I always carried around with me, I set it at the place where I thought the tears of blood were going to fall.

‘Nice.’

The empty glass bottle that was catching the falling tears looked lovely, and I was sure it would be filled in an hour or two.

“I’m sure she’s not crying just to give this to me as a gift… Did something really happen to her?” I mumbled.

I thought hard about it, but I couldn’t find any reason for her to stumble upon issues.

‘It’s not like they’re at war with demons…’

“And I’m sure she’s not locked up somewhere as well,” I said.

Assuming that everything I had achieved could be considered the Goddess of Benigoa’s achievements as well, then she should be shouting with joy right now.

Wait, this could actually be tears of joy rather than tears of sadness. She could be shedding bloody tears of joy because I managed to unify the human race and brought the continent out of danger.

I knew that this was ridiculous, but I couldn’t help but think that she could be out there having fun at a party, and that was the reason why I couldn’t hear any responses from her.

‘She’s being negligent…’

The chances that she was out partying were low, but if I didn’t hear her explanation about why her statue was crying tears of blood, then there was no way for me to explain myself to the others.

Since I couldn’t figure it out, I had no choice but to come up with my own conclusion. Of course, I had to make an excuse to calm Father Basel down first, along with the other high-ranked priests.

‘I think I can use the demon excuse again…’

It was an outdated idea, but it was better than nothing.

The goddess had told everyone to get rid of the servants of demons hidden all over the continent, so if I told them that the demons were gnawing away at the integrity of the continent, then it should be convincing enough.

After all, even the heavens would be concerned if the integrity of the continent itself was being harmed. Moreover, I was actually planning on targeting the people I wanted to disappear aside from Jin Cheong. Of course, my targets were those uncooperative…

“They all have a connection to the demons, and I have no choice but to do this for the future of the continent…” I muttered.

The uncooperative people of the Sacred Democratic Country, the Magic Kingdom, the Republic, and the bastards who did nothing but watch as the war progressed.

There was a saying about how being neutral was the worst, and those who didn’t make a choice had to pay the price. Of course, I wasn’t really going to turn everyone into my enemies. It was useless to make a scene right before a great war, so I could just single out a few people who should take the most responsibility.

A senior mage of the Magic Kingdom, Mediliv. He had always been rambling on about the equilibrium of the world or whatever, but the so-called Magic Tower where he was living was actually…

“The Demon Spire… That was close. I almost got tricked by demons,” I said.

The General of the Republic who started the war…

“The servant of the 72nd Demon Commander and the accomplice of the 72nd Demon Commander. I can’t give them a chance,” I mumbled.

I had to single out many people within the Magic Kingdom because they didn’t participate in the war.

A demon was living in Demon Canyon as a Canyon Manager, and the Lord of the Strait was polluting the sea and managing the servants of demons…

There were many people whom I had to beat up as a group rather than as individuals. It would be heartbreaking to see capable soldiers disappear, but they wouldn’t be of much help even if they stayed here. After all, I had no idea when they would backstab me, and I couldn’t just let them go since they were a threat to the world.

I had the justification, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take advantage of it and get rid of them all.

I started nodding at my own thoughts because even I thought that I had a reasonable excuse and justification. The mission to get rid of all those with connections with demons across the continent couldn’t be done in a day or two, so I could drag it out by coming up with excuses. I was sure Father Basel would completely understand my reasoning. I started making a list of everyone with connections with demons.

‘I can just tell them that I got the information from Jin Cheong.’

If I created a story saying that he ratted out everyone who had a connection with demons, I could create a pretty convincing story.

‘It’s fine, it’s fine…’

It would surely create problems up there, but there wouldn’t be any problems down here. I was actually happy that things were working out better than I expected. I started feeling thankful, so when I patted the goddess statue…

“You really do look dejected,” I commented.

[Please. Heuuuk. Please… Master… Please…]

“What?”

[Can you hear me? Can you hear me? Lee Ki-Young, you bastard! Heuuuung…]

“What the?”

[I asked if you can hear me!]

“I can…”

[What a relief… I’m glad. I’m really, really glad. Thank you. Thank you very much. Father Lee Ki-Young. Our lovely Father Lee Ki-Young! I didn’t abandon you. I never thought about doing that. Never, ever! I had my reasons. I’ll explain it all, so don’t do anything stupid. Don’t do anything weird, and let’s just continue living like this. Don’t do anything dumb, no matter what!]

‘What’s going on…’

When I lifted my hand off the statue, I couldn’t hear her voice anymore. I was curious as to why she resorted to this kind of method when there was an easier way to communicate with me. I placed my hand on the statue once again, and I could hear her voice again.

[I like you. I never thought about betraying you. Yeah, never. I never thought of you as a bad person or a bastard. We’re close, after all. So let’s not do anything that’ll cause harm to each other. Benigoa, the fallen goddess. That’s not true. I have never fallen, and I have never made the continent into my enemy. You’ll reconsider it, right?]

I nodded slowly, but the goddess wouldn’t stop talking about mundane things. After a while, Benigoa was finally done commenting about my fallen god plan, and she finally addressed the elephant in the room.

[I… went bankrupt.]