The Regressor Can Make Them All

Chapter 231

Crack!

Large cracks rapidly spread across the sky, looking down at the purple mist and the massive city. The once dazzling scenery of the Pleasure District now looked fractured, like a broken mirror.

“What kind of trickery is this...?”

What had been a problem confined to Zone Seventeen was now spreading across the entire Pleasure District.

Appalled by what was unfolding before her, the Dream Demon quickly drew upon her powers to try and suppress the cracks spreading through the sky.

Dream Magic: Dream within a Dream

Swoosh!

Dream butterflies fluttered up from all corners of the city, attaching themselves to the cracks and transforming them into dreams. Like that, each crack slowly disappeared and the Pleasure District restored itself like nothing had happened.

But that was just how it appeared to onlookers; the chaos was far from controlled.

“W-Where are we?”

“I thought I was just in the Pleasure District, but... where am I now?”

Residents of the Pleasure District began to find their surroundings unfamiliar, filling them with fear. However, that was only the residents; the visitors looked at their strange behavior in confusion.

“Hey, what’s wrong? What are you seeing?”

“Say something, damn it!”

Their vision was no longer hazy; they looked around as if no one else was around them, completely ignoring their surroundings. Enraged by their disregard, a demon reached out to grab one by the collar.

Whoosh-

“...What?”

Their outstretched hand passed right through them; it was as if they were trying to grasp air. Just like a phantom, their friend had become intangible.

Everyone was stunned. The situation was just too bizarre and soon, confusion began to take hold. It was also then that the now intangible figures realized something and screamed.

“I... I entered reality! No! Send me back to the Pleasure District... back to the dream!!”

The terrified demon vanished—and they weren’t the only ones. Similar incidents were simultaneously occurring throughout the entire Pleasure District.

Crack!

Aghast, the Dream Demon's face turned pale at the sight of the momentarily repaired sky cracking once again. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

How... how is this possible?

The Pleasure District was built on the border between dreams and reality. While the Dream Demon had laid its initial foundation, the pillars that upheld the massive city were in truth the synesthetic mindscapes of its inhabitants. Millions of people dreamed of the same Pleasure District, believing it to be reality.

Rumble!

But a single individual had awakened, breaking out of the enormous dream. And now, that abnormal being, who could maintain their sense of self amidst the chaotic swirl of countless minds, was shouting to awaken those who had been dreaming alongside them.

“This is a dream! Wake up!”

Even if just one person awakened upon hearing those words, they would in turn trigger the awakening of ten others, who in turn would awaken a hundred. With everyone awakening, the city of dreams—which even the Perfect Ones could not bring down—was collapsing from its very core.

All due to one man at that, Se-Hoon.

Craaaack!

The cracks widened further, causing a part of the sky to crumble and reveal a completely different landscape beyond. A blackened sky, a desolate wasteland, and buildings twisted in bizarre shapes—they were all bathed in an eerie purple hue.

Reality had begun to reveal itself.

Flabbergasted, all the Dream Demon could do was stare blankly at the sight.

“...Heh.”

But soon, her lips twisted into a smirk and she burst into uncontrollable laughter. Clear and unsettling, her laughter echoed throughout the Pleasure District, drawing the attention of those still in shock.

They all looked up at the sky, and the Dream Demon abruptly stopped laughing.

“Yes... It’s time to wake up now.”

Given the situation, she had to adapt even if she wanted to prepare more. Gathering her thoughts, the Dream Demon looked again toward the rooftop where Se-Hoon had stood.

“I see you’ve hidden yourself again.”

Just like when he first appeared, Se-Hoon had vanished from the rooftop without a sound. And now, the Dream Demon was certain that he was using her own powers to move freely through the Pleasure District.

Twisting her lips once more, she gently rubbed the corner of her missing right eye. A mix of fury and frustration welled up within her, a testament to the painful realization that she might lose everything she had built over decades.

However, aside from the rage that was threatening to explode, there was another emotion stirring up in her chest.

Ba-dump.

A thrill of excitement made her heart race. Despite standing at the brink of her dream realm’s end, the Dream Demon still managed to calm herself to assess the situation.

The Pleasure District can’t fall just yet. I need to stabilize it first and then track down Lee Se-Hoon...

She had to find Se-Hoon as soon as possible before he caused more chaos. With her decision made, the Dream Demon began preparations to restore order to the Pleasure District.

Whoosh!

A massive fist stopped inches from her face. Barely distorting space in time to stop the attack, the Dream Demon looked down.

“...Sigh.”

Puppeteer was still seething with murderous intent. Even in the midst of the fall of the Pleasure District, she still hadn’t come to her senses yet.

Annoyed, the Dream Demon grimaced.

This is already hard enough without you.

Well aware that fighting the Puppeteer alone right now was too risky, she made a swift decision, and her left eye began glowing a vivid purple.

Swoosh-

Seeing the storm of dream butterflies sweep across the area, Four quickly retreated. What then appeared from the swarm of butterflies were demons with horns protruding from their heads—the Zone Chiefs.

“You’re not going to back down, are you?”

The Dream Demon gazed down at Puppeteer from the building's rooftop.

Meeting her gaze, Puppeteer stayed eerily calm.

“If you kill yourself right now, maybe I’ll back off.”

“...I see.”

Simultaneously realizing no more words were necessary, the two Ten Evils locked eyes once more.

Boom!

The Pleasure District crumbled around them.

***

At the top floor of Nightmare Tower, inside the Dream Demon’s executive office, mayhem reigned. A flood of reports from all sides was rushing in, overwhelming the secretaries managing the Pleasure District under the Dream Demon's command.

“Boss! All the newly expanded buildings have completely collapsed!”

“A massive sinkhole just appeared in Zone Nine! It seems to be connected to the nightmare!”

“There’s a string of incidents in Zone Thirteen. Residents are turning purple and undergoing grotesque transformations...”

Disasters of catastrophic magnitude were happening across all zones, plunging the entire Pleasure District into pandemonium.

Their dream had become a nightmare.

With no end in sight to the madness, the secretary chief, Alex, turned to his colleague with a pale, stricken face.

“How’s the recovery process for the Pipeline going?”

“We’re trying to restore it from the original sections, but the cracks are spreading faster than we can keep up. Plus, all the Zone Chiefs have been summoned...”

“Damn it...”

The Pipeline, which connected the Dream Castle to the Pleasure District, was vital infrastructure that kept the entire dream realm running. But currently, it was being severed by mysterious cracks in several places. What made it even worse was that the Zone Chiefs, who were supposed to be handling the situation, had all been called away to fight Puppeteer.

Taking stock of the situation, Alex tore at his hair in frustration.

I don’t see a way out of this.

Unless the Dream Demon subdued Puppeteer and sealed the cracks immediately, there was no way to stop the catastrophe. The looming disaster was far too enormous for him to handle.

What’s happening? Could a Perfect One have become involved? Alex bit his lip.

If a Perfect One had truly gotten involved, not even the Dream Demon would be able to guarantee her survival. Consumed by helplessness, Alex’s face grew even paler.

Thud-

“...Huh?”

For some reason, his vision had flipped upside down. The next moment, his head hit the desk with a dazed expression and began rolling lifelessly. Following suit, the heads of the other secretaries in the room also began tumbling down one by one, letting silence drape the room.

Now, all that was left was the lone young man whose head remained intact—Amir.

Confirming that everyone else in the room had been decapitated, Amir withdrew his magic.

Swoosh-

Melting, the Transparent Ice Blade created by his Frost Alchemy disappeared into the air.

That was easier than I expected, he thought, rising from his seat and glancing around the room.

With the Pleasure District collapsing, Amir seized the opportunity to eliminate the executive secretaries, thus paralyzing the command chain of the Pleasure District.

Normally, the secretaries would have still posed a significant challenge despite being weaker than the Zone Chiefs in combat. However, the panic caused by the Pleasure District's downfall made them easy targets.

I didn’t expect him to take apart the entire Pleasure District...

Surveying the reports flooding in from various sectors, Amir couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He had expected some kind of explosion or structural collapse in the newly expanded zones, not the whole Pleasure District being brought to ruin.

He had no idea how Se-Hoon was pulling such a thing off, but he did finally figure out why Se-Hoon had been so confident all along.

Still, I have to stay on my toes for whatever’s coming next.

Considering where he was about to head, Amir knew he especially couldn’t afford to lower his guard. His eyes sharpening, he created a dagger with Frost Alchemy before heading outside.

“Everything’s falling apart; who cares about the Ten Evils?”

“Get out of the way, you bastards!!”

Though the Nightmare Tower was relatively safe because it was directly above the Dream Castle, panic had already spread among the staff members. People were trying to get out, cramming the elevators and stairs. Rogue fights and even murders were breaking out everywhere, transforming the interior into a scene of total chaos.

Should I just kill them all right now?

Frustrated by the chaotic situation that prevented him from easily making his way down, Amir scowled. Before he could act, however, he heard his name called.

“Amir.”

Se-Hoon had suddenly appeared beside him.

“You... how did you—?”

Stopping his arm from swinging his dagger on reflex, Amir stared in surprise at Se-Hoon. It should have been impossible to teleport within the Nightmare Tower due to the barrier cast by the Dream Demon.

“I managed to implant the Dream Demon’s Eye into mine, so I can roughly mimic her abilities now.”

“What the...”

“I know it’s surprising, but we don’t have time for this. I’ll explain everything while we move.”

Se-Hoon’s right eye then flickered with a purple hue, and in an instant, the chaotic scenery around them shifted to the interior of an elevator.

Ding!

The elevator began descending toward the Dream Castle below the tower. Confirming there were no problems so far, Se-Hoon spoke up. “For now, things are going smoothly. The Pleasure District is collapsing, and the Dream Demon is too busy fighting Puppeteer to do anything about it. For the moment, this stalemate will continue.”

Their next goal was to infiltrate the Dream Castle and rescue Amir’s cousin, Zayed, to eliminate any potential wild cards. Afterward, they would summon Wurgen to finish off the weakened Dream Demon.

However... a new variable had recently come to light.

“There’s one problem, though... the location of the Pleasure District is completely different from what I expected.”

“The location...?”

Amir couldn’t understand. Wasn’t the Pleasure District constructed on the border between dreams and reality, supported by the Dream Demon’s dream magic?

“Due to its borderline status between dreams and reality, it has to exist in the real world as well. Originally, I thought it was somewhere on a continent contaminated by the Abyss of Demons.”

In his memories, the Pleasure District had been located in Argentina, a part of the South American continent tainted by the Abyss of Demons. So naturally Se-Hoon assumed it would be there again.

However, when the Pleasure District started collapsing, he had glimpsed a completely different landscape outside.

“We’re not just on any contaminated land.”

“Not just on any? What do you mean?” Still not understanding, Amir furrowed his brow.

“The City of Nightmares.”

Se-Hoon’s eyes narrowed to slits.

“We’re on top of one of the Six Great Demon Realms.”