The Insane Regressor: Throne of Pride

Ravian’s eyes widened slightly as he found what he had been looking for in the inherited memories.

Today was the day the previous Ravian had promised to return the money to the gang. What money? The money his late father had owed them. And what did that have to do with him? He was that man’s son. It was that simple.

”Oh — the money. Right, the money. Was our appointment today?” Ravian asked, wearing his best impression of someone who had simply forgotten.

The answer came in the form of a flying kick to the center of his stomach.

Bam!

Max’s foot connected with his abdomen and sent him backward half a meter until his back hit the wall.

”Urgh—!” For a few seconds, Ravian felt as though every particle of air had been knocked out of his lungs at once.

Max was genuinely strong. And this body was far too weak and fragile, which made the impact land considerably worse than it should have.

”You bastard. Are you messing with us?! We already gave you more than enough time, and you’re still playing dumb?!” Max’s anger was plain as he moved toward Ravian, clearly intending to continue where he had left off.

But someone stepped in.

”Leader Max — don’t you think you’re going a little far?” The only woman among them spoke softly, approaching the two with long, unhurried steps.

”Emy? Why are you defending him now? Wasn’t coming here your idea in the first place?” Max raised an eyebrow, genuinely confused.

”My idea? Stop making things up. Everyone agreed to come. But you can’t kill him — if you do, the higher-ranking leaders won’t be pleased. Every extra body means more money. Losing one wouldn’t be good for anyone, would it?” Emy laid out her reasoning while making it clear she was not the one who had suggested this visit.

Ravian’s eyes sharpened the moment he heard her name.

He raised his head and looked at her properly.

It really was her.

The person who had exploited the previous owner of this body more thoroughly than anyone else. The sadistic woman who had treated him like a toy because of how weak and helpless he was — and the main reason his money vanished every time she came by. When she came alone, she took it with her. When the whole group came to collect, they barely found whatever she had left behind.

’Damned woman.’

But the gang had stopped paying attention to him. They were talking among themselves now.

”Why don’t you take Thomas and Lucas and go ahead? I’ll finish up here quickly and catch up.” Emy made her suggestion to Max in the end.

Max looked at her for a long moment. Then he looked at Ravian. Then back at her.

”Fine. We’ll head to headquarters first. But don’t be late — there’s a meeting today, and from what I heard, it’s important. Something about a major warning.” He stepped back with the other two, and they moved toward the door.

Ravian hadn’t said a single word the entire time. He had simply watched Emy while she spoke.

”We’re letting it go this time, Ravian,” Max said from near the doorway.

”But next time, if that money isn’t ready, you’d better prepare for the worst. We spare the ones who are useful to us. If you stop being useful—” He let the implication hang in the air before walking out with Thomas and Lucas.

The moment the door closed, Emy and Ravian turned to face each other.

Ravian studied the look in her eyes.

This woman was truly abnormal.

”My poor Ravian — did that bastard hurt you badly?” Emy approached and sat beside him on the floor.

”I’m fine.” Two words. No eye contact.

Based on everything he had inherited from the previous Ravian’s memories, he already knew exactly what she was. She would send Max ahead — apparently her lover — and then come back here to play with Ravian behind his back. The previous owner had been completely blind to all of it.

’Imagine being cheated on with someone poorer, weaker, and lower in every conceivable way.’

The absolute peak of dark comedy.

Even now, in this situation, Ravian was actively fighting back a laugh.

He really was insane.

”What is it, Ravian? Why won’t you look at me when I’m speaking to you?” Emy’s gaze sharpened and she grabbed him by the shirt, twisting the fabric tight around his collar.

Ravian’s expression went flat and cold immediately.

He looked at her — and the look in his eyes was neither afraid nor confused.

Emy’s eyes widened when she saw it. That look didn’t belong to the Ravian she knew.

But she recovered quickly.

Slap!

She struck him across the face hard enough to turn his cheek red in an instant.

Ravian went still.

The slap had come so fast he hadn’t even tracked it.

When Emy saw the stunned expression that replaced the unfamiliar one, she seemed to conclude that he had come back to his senses. She placed both hands on his face, gently pressing against the spot she had just hit, and slowly pulled him into her embrace.

”Don’t look at me like that again, Ravian. It makes me angry.” She hugged him close, her other hand sliding beneath his linen shirt in a way that made her reason for staying behind perfectly obvious.

”Know your place, alright?”

Because she was holding him, she didn’t see the expression currently burning in Ravian’s eyes.

Pure, cold madness.

Nor did she notice the hand moving behind her neck — fingers searching for the precise point where the spinal cord met the base of the skull. He intended to strike that point with everything this body had.

But before he could make his move—

[Ding!]

[The system has detected one of the requirements for awakening: the soul essence of a Tenth-Rank Awakened being.]

[The target is in an unguarded close-contact state, and the host bears clear hostility toward her.]

[Does the host wish to devour the soul essence?]

The system window yanked Ravian out of the cold fury that had been driving him.

’That woman actually slapped me.’ The rage hadn’t cooled, but something else had risen alongside it — a question he didn’t have the answer to yet.

’What exactly is happening to me right now?’ He set it aside and brought his attention back to the window in front of him.

’Devour the soul essence. Will that kill her?’

[Yes, host.]

The system’s reply came without hesitation.

A smile spread across Ravian’s face — slow, quiet, and completely wrong for the situation.

Emy lifted her head from his chest when she felt the shift in the air around her.

She looked at his expression.

”What is it, Ravian? Why are you smiling like that? Don’t tell me you enjoyed it. How pathetic.” She poked the red mark her palm had left on his face as she spoke.

”Enjoyed it? It was wonderful, Lady Emy.” The smile didn’t move.

”Oho. Have you finally come around? Do you want another one?” Emy leaned in closer.

”Come here first, my lady. I’ve really missed you.” Ravian pulled her in.

Emy frowned slightly — she wanted to move things along, while Ravian seemed content to draw this out — but she let him do as he wished.

And the moment she relaxed in his arms and leaned in—

’Devour her. Now.’ Ravian gave the command in his mind, and there was something in the tone of it — quiet, absolute, utterly certain — that hadn’t been there before. As if it had always been his natural voice, and everything else had just been noise.

[As you command, host.]

Unfortunately for Emy, this time, she had chosen the wrong person to play with.