The Insane Regressor: Throne of Pride

”Fuck!!”

Ravian raised the long sword he had taken from the female orc horizontally across his body, moving faster than an ordinary Ninth-Rank human could even register. Only his physique and Absolute Focus had allowed him to perceive the attack and react to an opponent an entire rank above him.

Bam!

The enormous axe of dark green aura crashed into the blade in Ravian’s hands with overwhelming force.

Crack!

The bones in his arms cracked audibly the instant his blade met the Eighth-Rank orc’s axe, followed almost immediately by the crushing pain of those bones shattering under the impact.

”Aaagh!”

With the bones supporting them destroyed, his arms could no longer withstand the force bearing down on them, and Ravian was hurled backward at a terrifying speed, like a fly swatted by a grown man.

Bam!

Bam!

Bam!

He tore through several tents, ripping them from their places before crashing into the massive trees beyond the camp. His flight only began to slow after his unprotected body had smashed into two enormous trees, tearing them out by the roots without anything to shield him or brace against the impacts.

Thud!

His now-limp body finally struck the ground with a muffled thud, blood pouring from him in streams. Shattered vertebrae protruded through his abdomen, a brutal testament to the pain and damage inflicted by a single blow carrying the full power of an Eighth-Rank orc—and an elite one at that.

What made it worse was that the orc’s speed had caught Ravian so completely off guard that he had barely managed to react, even with Absolute Focus pushing all his senses to their limits and the Sovereign Pride Physique giving him a body capable of responding in time.

Yet even all of that had been insufficient to save him from an enraged Eighth-Rank opponent.

Cough, cough, cough!

Ravian coughed up a torrent of blood as he lay on the grass, unable to move so much as a finger.

Blood kept gathering at the back of his throat, forcing him to swallow between shallow breaths. Each attempt brought another wave of pain through his chest, and he had to concentrate simply to keep his eyes open; dying had never become easier just because he knew it would not be permanent.

Then he saw a towering, heavily built figure approaching, its heavy footsteps sending faint tremors through the ground with every step. His inevitable end was drawing near, just as he had expected from the moment he arrived, which was why he had made sure to inflict as much physical and emotional damage on the orc as possible before he died.

Then Ravian smiled.

Amid all that agony, with his body torn apart in every conceivable place, a strange, terrifying smile spread across his bloodied lips, making him look utterly insane. It was at that very moment that the Eighth-Rank orc drew close to his broken body and looked down at him with contempt.

In an instant, before another second could pass, the smile vanished from Ravian’s face, replaced by absolute coldness.

The Eighth-Rank orc froze involuntarily at the sudden change in its helpless enemy’s expression. It could not understand why, but the moment it looked down in contempt at the boy with white hair and red eyes, a powerful pang seized its heart, jolting it out of its frenzy and forcing it to stop where it stood rather than take another step toward him.

There was nothing easily read in Ravian’s gaze now, only an unyielding seriousness as his crimson eyes began to gleam strangely. No emotion showed in them as they fixed on the Eighth-Rank orc’s pupils with unwavering concentration, and that made his stare far more frightening than any ordinary glare of anger.

They remained like that for another two seconds before the gleam in Ravian’s eyes faded and his usual calm expression returned, though it was tinged with pain from his numerous injuries.

Only then did the orc emerge from its involuntary paralysis, staring down at the human with a puzzled frown in place of its anger. It began to approach again, though more slowly this time.

”You...” the Eighth-Rank orc called out in a booming voice, limping noticeably on its right leg.

The limp came from the wound Ravian had inflicted on its knee with the axe, though the damage had been limited by the combat aura reinforcing its body when the blow landed.

Ravian glanced at the wound. A little deeper, and the strike would have exposed the bone beneath the flesh.

”What about me, you green monster?”

His voice carried a pride utterly at odds with someone lying on the verge of death.

The orc paid little attention to his tone; as far as it was concerned, he was merely another broken human about to die.

”What exactly are you?” it finally asked the question that had been troubling it. ”How does a human Walker simply walk into a camp and start slaughtering orc Awakened and Walkers without any of them being able to stand against him?”

Ravian was mildly surprised that the orc wanted to talk instead of finishing him off immediately, but he had no desire to prolong the conversation. He merely stared at it, offering no answer before asking a question of his own.

”What is your unit doing here?”

The Eighth-Rank orc’s eyes widened slightly.

”What?” it asked, as though its ears must have deceived it.

”For fuck’s sake, you dim-witted green monster! Can someone still be deaf at the Eighth Rank? I asked what you and your damned unit are doing here!”

Boredom, irritation, and exasperation mingled on Ravian’s face. He disliked having to speak to someone while lying at their feet like this, so he was trying his luck: either he would glean something useful for his next attempt, or he would simply hasten his death and get on with trying again.

It seemed his attempt had succeeded, even if only in part.

Shlick!

The axe’s blade of dark green aura descended on Ravian’s head, bringing his miserable life to an end... again.

[Host’s death confirmed.]

[One additional life consumed.]

[Remaining additional lives: 10.]

[Regressing to the beginning of the current day...]