REAPER SCANS
Regressing as the Reincarnated Bastard of the Sword Clan
[Translator – Mr.Ghost]
[Proofreader – Harley]
Chapter 79 - Joint Disciple (4)
Theo stared at Hilda, thinking back on the conversation he shared with Hilda during the nomination ceremony.
“You’re a regressor, aren’t you?”
“Because I’m also a regressor.”
She had mentioned something that Theo could not forget.
“Though, the cycles permitted to me are now over.”
Cycle. An implication that regression could occur multiple times.
Then there was the apparition of the twelve-year-old that Theo observed, who looked like she was repeating her life over and over again.
“How many times does regression occur?” Theo asked.
It was no surprise that was his first question. There was a massive difference between being able to regress only once and regressing multiple times.
A smile lingered on Hilda’s lips, “Getting right to the point, I see. Like father, like son. You’re all business and no fun. Why don’t you come on in? Let’s talk over a meal.”
Hilda got up and turned around.
The castle gate that was sealed shut slowly opened.
Creak—
Theo carried his steps inside the deep, dark interior.
* * *
Reaper Scans
[Translator – Mr.Ghost]
[Proofreader – Harley]
Join our discord for updates on releases! https://dsc.gg/reapercomics
* * *
Contrary to the collapsed exterior, the interior of the castle was flashy and well-decorated.
It didn’t seem like an old, abandoned castle at all. In fact, it looked like it was being used by Hilda as her residence.
Hilda led him to the dining hall.
On top of a table that was over three meters long, there was a mountain of steaming, decadent food.
“Sit wherever you like,” said Hilda as she sat at the center of the table and poured herself a glass of wine.
Carefully, Theo sat opposite to Hilda. Busy looking around, it took him a moment to notice the chef serving him the main course.
It was a familiar face.
“Sir Zenith Dragon…?” Theo said in shock.
“Ohoho. Have you been well? Didn’t think we’d meet like this, did you?”
“Why are you here, sir?”
“What do you mean why? It’s only natural for a sword to be at their master’s side and protect them.”
“......!”
“It’s been a while since I went all out. I hope the food is to your liking. There is plenty to eat. Enjoy your time.”
The Zenith Dragon winked at Theo, filled his glass with wine, and quickly took his leave.
‘I was wondering why someone who had been so reclusive suddenly chose to be a judge… So this was why.’
The surprise was only momentarily. After getting his thoughts in order, he had a feeling that he’d soon become closer to Hilda and the Zenith Dragon.
“He may look like a dingy old man, but his cooking is so excellent that I, who has lived twenty-one lives, keep him at my side. Worry not and enjoy,” Hilda chuckled while tearing into a piece of meat.
One could say it looked barbaric, but it somehow suited her. However, what captured Theo’s attention was what she said.
Twenty-one lives.
“So, regression can be repeated,” Theo said while slicing into the steak brought to him by the Zenith Dragon.
He didn’t particularly enjoy eating late-night meals, but it would be rude of him to refuse his host’s generosity.
“As I told you before, I don’t know,” answered Hilda.
“Could you please clarify what you mean then? I’m having a hard time understanding.”
“Why should I?” Hilda asked while smiling.
She wiped her greasy left hand on a napkin while raising the wine glass with her right.
“I don’t see why I need to explain anything. You’re the one who needs information. I’m only meeting you out of ‘courtesy’. I have no obligation to answer every question you ask.”
The wine danced as she twirled her wine glass. Theo had a strong feeling that she was testing him.
‘It’s the eyes of a sovereign,’ thought Theo.
She was looking through him with a gaze that was a trademark of those who ruled at the top for eons.
“You’re right, Lady Hilda. I am at the mercy of your generosity. I can’t do anything if you don’t want to tell me. But that also leaves me with no choice.”
“Hmm?” Hilda raised her brow at Theo’s unexpected response.
“You will not learn anything either. What the ‘past’ world was like, or how history is supposed to flow.”
Hilda laughed, “Ahaha! You think I’m curious about the future? Why do you believe that? I’m over 150 years old, and if you count my regression, I’m hundreds of years old. I have no more attachment to life. I don’t need to learn the future—”
“No. I know you’re curious. You’re a regressor.”
The corner of Hilda’s lips curled up, confirming Theo’s suspicions.
He was dead on the money.
“Regressors know the future. The information from regressing is the most crucial component in planning out one’s life. No one understands the importance and usage of time better than regressors,” Theo explained.
Hilda’s smile thickened.
Theo continued, “Someone who’s regressed multiple times has no choice but to rely even more on the future. But you said yourself that you’re out of cycles. I take it you no longer know the future, and I bet that’s frustrating. Just because you no longer have an attachment to life doesn’t mean you don’t want to know.”
“Hasn’t it occurred to you that I might have lived to this point in time during my last regression? In which case your information won’t do me much good.”
Theo shook his head, “No. In that case, you’ll need my information even more. The butterfly effect should have drastically changed the flow of history.”
Theo only went back in time less than two decades, but there was a shift in the trajectory of history. Major examples are the fact that Remmington and Erika decided to stay at the Ragnar Clan instead of returning home.
Now, what would happen once more time passed?
Even if Theo no longer interfered with the flow of history, history has already greatly veered off course. In ten to twenty years, it would be completely unrecognizable from the previous timeline.
Hilda had rewound time back over a hundred years. Even if she managed to live to this point in her past cycle, history should have gone in an entirely different direction.
‘Not to mention, there’s no guarantee that the past that Hilda and I experienced are the same.’
So, to a regressor—especially one who had repeated multiple cycles—knowledge of the future was like a drug.
A never-ending addiction.
Theo was offering a trade by using the information he had as bait.
“Hahahaha!” Hilda burst out into loud laughter.
She seemed content.
“The regressor of this generation is quite the bright child. You seem to be in your first cycle, yet you’ve already figured out what took me two regressions.”
After chugging her wine, Hilda slammed her glass down on the table.
Shatter!
The wine glass broke into countless shards. Each piece reflected the sharp glare of Hilda’s eyes.
“I now see why Kyle is only observing you.”
This time, Theo’s eyes lit up.
Another mention of his father.
First Lodbrok, now Hilda. What was Kyle’s secret, the secret that they both knew?
“Is there some sort of connection between Father and regressors?”
“There is a major connection. There is no one who hates—no, despises regressors more than your father.”
Hilda’s words made Theo freeze.
“Do you know how your father obtained the position he is in now?”
“I was told that he seized the throne from the previous clan head…”
After the retirement of Hilda, the clan head from two generations ago, there was only a five-year time period before Kyle rose to the seat.
That was because Kyle led a coup, forcibly removing his own father from the throne.
Some considered it bastardly behavior, but it was also a natural event in the Ragnar Clan, where it was victor-take-all.
“That’s right. But did you know that the previous clan head was also a regressor?”
“......!” Theo’s eyes widened.
From Hilda’s hand dripped a crimson liquid. It was ambiguous whether it was wine or blood from the shattered glass.
Drip. Drip…
“My nephew, the previous clan head, was a true madman. Tyrant doesn’t cut it to describe how much of a madman he was.”
Theo nodded his head.
The Mad Dragon Emperor. That was the title of the previous clan head that had been written into history.
The five years of his rule were considered the worst dark times in the thousand-year history of the Ragnar Clan. Countless vassals were either executed or sent out to die in war.
This was also the era in which the ‘Nine Snow Clans’ were reduced down to the current six.
But no one could stop the rampage of the Mad Dragon Emperor. He was far too powerful.
‘It makes sense that the strength of the Mad Dragon Emperor was a result of regression.’
But that raised a question.
‘But then how did Father defeat Grandfather…?’
“In the end, Kyle couldn’t let the atrocities slide, starting a coup with his brothers. That is the reason why your father despises regressors.”
“Is my father also…?”
“Is he a regressor?”
Theo nodded his head.
“No. He is not,” Hilda answered.
“......!”
“That’s why your father is a monster. Without regression. Without being selected by Lodbrok or using the relics of the primordial dragon, he defeated someone who became powerful through multiple regressions.”
An image of Kyle flashed through Theo’s mind.
The bright light that cut across the sky… It wasn’t a phenomenon that could be caused by any ordinary human. It was a miracle only possible by those on the precipice of godhood.
“Kyle’s hatred didn’t end there. He even cut down one of his brothers, who he had allied with for being a regressor.”
A name came to mind.
‘The Wind Baron!’
“Kyle! Kyle! Kyyyyyyle! Robert! Rooooooobert! I… I despise you allllllll!” the wind baron had screamed, chained inside the cave.
The downfallen hero who succumbed to Ki Deviation after barely escaping from Kyle and the Black Dragon. His diary was filled with hatred and resentment, and this must have been the reason.
Theo could see how the hatred towards regressors caused by the Mad Dragon Emperor could have extended to the Wind Baron.
Theo then remembered what Kyle had said to him during the 3rd stage:
“Indeed. These are the swords of those I defeated on my path to this position. Enemies and masters who threatened me, challengers who coveted my seat… The position of Clan Head of Ragnar is a lonely one. Constantly threatened, constantly challenged… One can never truly relax.”
“From this moment forward, I will treat you not as a son, but as a challenger.”
“Let’s see what you’ve learned from ‘her’ teachings.”
Kyle was aware of the fact that Theo had visited Lodbrok’s nest. He had then cut down Theo’s soul with the Heart Sword.
It was a lethal attack, completely out of bounds for the Awakening Ceremony. Theo wondered what would have happened had he failed to overcome it.
‘I probably would have died, likely unable to regress since it was my soul that was cut.’
When Theo snapped out of it, Kyle gave him the pass. His attitude at the time signaled that he would continue watching for now.
“It surprised me to learn that he’s spared one of the regressors that he despises so much, even if it may be his own child. That’s what made me want to meet you and have a chat.”
Theo went silent. He didn’t know how to process the tragedy of his clan that he had learned for the first time. But then another question came to his mind.
“Didn’t you say you were also a regressor, Lady Hilda? Why has—?
“Why has your father spared me?”
“...Yes.”
“Like I told you, my cycles are over.”
“Oh.”
“In your father’s eyes, I am no longer a regressor. Not to mention, I’m no pushover either. But know that your father’s hatred of regressors isn’t purely emotional. He truly believes that they are an obstacle to the prosperity of the Ragnar Clan,” Hilda said while twirling her hand.
A glass from the shelf behind her floated over and landed in front of her.
“As I’m sure you’re aware, your father is only obsessed with our clan.”
“...That’s what confuses me more. To create a better future for our clan, isn’t information of the future essential?”
Hilda said while filling the new glass with wine, “Regressors are generally egoistic and self-righteous. They believe that the world revolves around them, that everything is merely a puppet show they can control as they fit.”
Theo was reminded of Hilda’s past that he saw in the forest.
As she repeated through the cycles, her humanity faded, and she became consumed by madness. Perhaps the madness of the Mad Dragon Emperor originated from a similar place.
A fate that doesn’t change, or worsens, no matter how many times you restart.
Experiencing that would drive anyone insane.
‘He must believe that his directive and the directive of a regressor are incompatible.’
A regressor would naturally prioritize their own benefit. As someone who put the clan above all else, Kyle had no choice but to eliminate them.
‘I wonder if this is why he stole Lodbrok’s heart? So that there can be no more chosen ones,’ Theo thought while clenching his fist, ‘Then the fact that I’m still alive… He must have decided to simply observe me for now.’
The fact that Kyle’s blade might come for his head at any time sent a shiver down his spine.
Suddenly, a different thought occurred to him.
‘Why couldn’t the Mad Dragon Emperor or the Wind Baron simply defeat father by regressing again?’
Things didn’t add up.
The drawn-out conversation had cooled down the steak. The pool of red liquid that filled the plate caught Theo’s eyes. Within it, he could see his reflection staring back at him.
“...What exactly is a regressor?” Theo asked, realizing he had to bring the conversation back to square one.
He had to figure out the cause of all the events and tragedies surrounding his clan in order to map out his future plans.
“They’re chosen ones,” Hilda said while sipping her wine, “and they themselves are the relics left behind by the primordial dragon.”
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