Regressor Instruction Manual

Chapter 1398. Crimson Ball (8)

From far away, in the complete darkness where nothing could be seen, a faint light came to life. Those who heard the voices bursting from this place had decided to respond.

In addition to the thirty-one ladies, the other ladies who had been hiding and those who had recklessly run away from the ballroom were casting spells one by one, lighting their own lights.

Clearly, the call to light up the salon had reached them.

Of course, it couldn’t be called a rational action.

Unlike those here who were all leaning against the wall and protecting the light together, no one knew what could be on the other side. They had basically exposed their own positions, but it wasn’t entirely meaningless.

At the very least, it showed that the hidden ladies wanted to lend their strength to this side.

“What the hell is this? Damn it, what is this nonsense?”

“What’s going on?!”

Those startled by the lights turning on everywhere weren't just the ladies here. Even the bastards on the stage panicked as the place brightened up. Lights erupted from every direction, leaving them at a loss for words. Magic could come flying from anywhere. Those serial killer bastards over there were probably thinking that way.

They could be thinking that they had stepped into a trap.

“What kind of ridiculous situation is this? Come out! Damn it, come out! All of you hiding there, get out here!”

“It’s the other ladies! The other ladies are helping us!”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Damn it, don’t be ridiculous. I’m not getting dragged down in a place like this!”

‘Characters who throw out cliché lines like that are usually the first ones to go.’

“There are other ladies!”

“Brighten the salon!”

“There are other ladies nearby!”

“Light up the salon!”

“You bastards, don’t underestimate us! You clueless girls!”

‘No, they know enough. They know more than you. They are the types who take first place no matter where they go.’

“Shoot! Keep shooting!”

“Aaaaaah!”

“Don’t fall away from the wall. Push forward. Push. Push. Move forward!”

“Aaargh, damn it!”

“Light it up!”

What mattered most was that morale had risen. Realizing they weren’t alone, hope filled the eyes of the young ladies here. The sight of lights flaring up across the area was so spectacular that they drew strength from it. The ladies whose stamina and mana were steadily being depleted gained the energy to move once more.

Now, only two enemies were left, and of course, they tucked their tails and retreated.

“Damn it!”

The men spouting some nonsense earlier decided to run away.

“We have to get outside!”

“Huh? Peneloti?”

“We need to move to where the other ladies have lit the light!”

At my words, Lady Pastel dashed straight outside. She didn’t hesitate, and honestly, I couldn’t help being a little surprised. Even though she had received professional training, this was still her first real battle. More than anyone else, she understood that the inside of the wall was safer than the outside, yet there was no hesitation in her movements.

Fear and terror glimmered faintly in her eyes, but she gnashed her teeth and threw her petite frame to get over the wall.

“Hurry! Hurry!” I urged.

“Lady Peneloti?!” Lady Paint said in shock.

“Break the wall!” I instructed.

“What are you talking about, Lady P-Peneloti?” she asked.

“Just break it! Peneloti said to break it! Move the wall out of the way right now!”

Lady Brush cleared the debris.

“Everyone, get out!” I shouted.

‘I said we were playing a land claiming game, damn it. We have to move now!’

“Only the ladies supporting the injured should stay behind. Everyone else, follow me! We’ll go up to the waiting room entrance and build a new wall there,” I instructed.

“Ah!”

Lady Paint finally understood what I wanted to do, and she encouraged the others.

“Lady Peneloti is right! Move! Hurry up!” Lady Paint shouted.

“Lady Palette, please look after Lady Pastel!” I ordered.

“Understood.”

‘How reassuring.’

Lady Cigarette took a deep breath and exhaled, and the smoke wrapped around Pastel. Cold sweat dripped down Pastel’s face as she faced the killer bastards without a wall and with nothing but her bare body.

However, the training she had received would make her move without realizing it. Besides...

‘She has done it once already.’

She knew better than anyone that she could do it. Her body felt heavy, and she was scared. If this had been her first real combat, she would have been overwhelmed by fear, but she had already gone through real combat.

Even if that debut battle happened safely behind a wall, she had to have learned something from it. It was fine even if she hadn’t realized anything from it, as long as she had the confidence.

‘Your stats are good. You aren’t all that different from those bastards.’

“Aaaaaah! Lady Pastel! Kyaaaaaah!” I screamed.

“Peneloti!” Lady Pastel called out.

“Y-you filthy bastards! How dare you touch Peneloti?!” Lady Brush shouted.

“What? We didn’t do... anything... to her...”

Pastel hurled herself forward without hesitation and didn’t even blink. I caught sight of her entering a state of flow as she faced the enemy head-on. It looked as though she had pushed her concentration to its absolute limit. Although she was receiving help from the smoke, it was still astonishing that she was facing those bastards in real combat.

Upon dodging the swing of their swords and the projectiles of their spells, Lady Pastel lashed out, striking their lower bodies with legs that were long compared to her small frame.

A loud crack echoed upon contact, and the sight made my jaw drop.

‘She really is a prodigy.’

She clearly understood the meaning of the word "spacing." She instinctively grasped what her strengths were and how she needed to move to break through the enemy.

The other ladies became filled with confidence at the sight of it, and they joined the battle as well.

Lady Hamgardia gritted her teeth and jumped into the fight with a sword, displaying her formal fencing techniques. The ladies who still had some mana left cast spells at random for now. Of course, Aina Peneloti led the ladies toward the destination.

After guiding the group of girls to the designated point, she quickly said, “Put up a wall.”

“Okay, Lady Peneloti!” the ladies answered.

“Just like before!” I added.

‘I think we’re doing a good job.’

At the very least, it seemed like we had taken over all the areas where faint light remained visible.

“If anyone else is out there, please help us with this!” I requested.

“...”

“We are going to build a wall here!” I instructed.

“There’s an injured lady here, Lady Peneloti,” a lady reported.

“I’m coming right now. Please take care of her,” I requested.

‘Things are really chaotic.’

Even in the chaos, some of the ladies moved like trained assistants, as they already knew what they needed to do. The task given to them was simple—build walls and hold off the enemies. Ignire some flames, move again, and build more walls.

After that, all that remained was to secure the territory they had claimed.

More and more ladies maintaining their lights revealed themselves. One lady, who had to have been protecting the servants, trembled and pointed a steak knife at us.

“You can relax now.”

“...”

“Let us fight together.”

The shelter that first began in the salon had advanced all the way to the waiting room.

There weren't just ladies; there were young men and nobles as well. It seemed they had been hiding in various places, and their arrival increased the number of people who could fight.

We didn’t say things like we would succeed or we could do it, but we had definitely taken a proper first step. Everyone had to be feeling a sense of accomplishment, as the things we protected and won with our own hands were right in front of us.

What was surprising was how skillfully Lady Paint was managing all of it. She gathered the injured in one place, asked for help from those who could help, and tried to organize everything.

Of course, the process wasn’t smooth.

“What is this... What are you doing right now?” a noble asked.

“We’re trying to take back the light,” Lady Paint answered.

“Who told you to—”

“It was our own decision. We only wanted to help,” she interrupted.

“Have you not made it even more dangerous? Those creatures will soon swarm this place. It would’ve been better to wait for reinforcements to arrive from outside. You practically set fire to a beehive,” the noble complained.

“Whatever the case, it’s better than sitting here and waiting to die. If you have no intention of fighting, then hide inside the salon. I’m not going to beg or plead for you to join us,” she told them.

‘There are always uncooperative people like them.’

People who'd say you'd done something useless or that you had things even more dangerous were guaranteed to show up in a place like this.

There was no need to persuade them or argue with them. Even if it was just temporary, Lady Paint had gained control over the ladies gathered here. No matter what someone muttered beside them, the ladies already knew what they had to do and how they had to act. Everyone wanted to run away, but they knew that they had to stay here.

“Where should we go next, Lady Peneloti?” a lady asked.

“I’m thinking we should clear a path all the way to the dining hall,” I answered.

“The enemies aren't attacking. Could they have all pulled back?” she asked.

“No. They’ll definitely gather more people and come here. They must’ve heard the commotion. We don't have enough time, but for now, we need to reinforce the wall and take care of the wounded. We still have to find the ladies and workers who are hiding somewhere.

"Assign the guards to the wall, and the rest of you will search the interior. The enemy could be hiding there as well. Lady Palette, can I leave that to you?” I asked.

“Yes, Lady Peneloti,” Lady Palette answered.

‘I really am the perfect second-in-command.’

Like a tactical officer for this shelter. I wasn’t the actual leader; To the public, Lady Paint was the leader. Somehow, I felt like I needed to make a good impression.

While I was stuck in useless thoughts, Lady Pastel feeling exhausted from the difficult battle turned to me and asked, “Um, Peneloti, are you okay? Were you hurt earlier?”

“Yes, I am fine, Lady Pastel. Are you alright?” I asked.

“Yes, thanks to Palette helping me. But more importantly, there are too many injured ladies. We treated them as best we could, but... do you think we could clear a path to the storage room inside the castle first? We might be able to get some potions there. And weapons, too...” she asked.

“The storage room... is on the lower floor,” I mumbled.

“So it might be a bit too difficult,” she said.

“...”

“...”

“Right now, it’s too hard,” I told her.

‘I’m not even sure whether the potions there would properly heal them...’

Stabilizing this place had to come first. Many of the ladies were exhausted. We gained much from the recent fight, but we also lost a lot. Until we had encouraged the weary ones and they recovered enough strength to move again, we had to devote ourselves to managing the shelter we had painstakingly secured.

“We did get here quickly, but even so, moving to another floor...”

“...”

“It’s because of Lady Rainelpia, right?” I asked.

‘Yes. The girl whose face was burned.’

“Yes...”

‘I planned to leave most of the injured alone... but she needs treatment.’

Of course, I had no choice but to send a message.

"Commander, Belier and Alps are carrying out rescue operations nearby, right?"

— Shouldn’t you know that better than me?

"Please tell them to bring a few potions when they come this way."

— ...

"..."

— Very well. In any case, this is convenient. I was actually thinking of contacting you.

"Oh? So there’s something going on. What is it?"

He muttered in a casual tone.

— It seems they've made contact with Song Jung-Wook.

It was news that the Brigade had reached its target.