Bloodhound’s Regression Instinct

Chapter 103

Returning to the mining village, Yan chuckled at the sight of the deserted town. The miners, once abundant when he first arrived, had left in search of other work due to the collapse of the mines. The villagers, suspected to be part of the revolutionary army, had vanished since emerging from the tunnels, likely recalled by an order.

Then, Yan encountered a familiar face.

“Ah, you’re still here?”

It was Tom, who had been helpful when Yan first came to this place. He was carrying a large backpack, seemingly filled with tools and clothes.

“I dropped something important. Have you seen a pendant by any chance?”

“A pendant? Haven’t seen one. Anyway, you should leave soon too. Heard rumors that an investigative team will swarm in soon. No good getting tangled up in that.”

It seemed some miners had caught wind of a potential revisit by the investigative team.

As Yan nodded, Tom waved and left the mining village.

“See you next time if there’s a chance!”

“Yes.”

With Tom’s departure, the mining village became a ghost town, devoid of any human presence.

Yan began to roam around the village without hesitation, focusing on the places he had stayed when he first emerged from the tunnels. Despite his thorough search, he couldn’t find anything resembling the pendant.

After more than an hour, Yan sighed deeply.

“If it’s not here despite all this effort, it’s likely I dropped it in the mines.”

Yan slowly walked towards the entrance of the tunnel.

“Nothing’s changed since I came out.”

The positions of the scattered corpses remained the same.

Yan carefully inspected the surroundings as he moved further in.

Then, he felt a sense of dissonance.

Whoosh!

Yan quickly turned his head.

There stood a young man with snow-white hair, smiling lightly at him.

Yan’s eyes darkened.

‘I didn’t sense his presence at all.’

His heightened senses, a result of his growth, failed to detect someone approaching this close.

It meant the person was either highly skilled or adept at concealing their presence to fool his senses.

‘But that face seems familiar… Who is it?’

As Yan scrutinized the stranger’s face, the white-haired youth pulled something out of his pocket.

Ting.

A silver pendant.

It was the one he had lost.

Yan’s brow furrowed upon recognizing it.

The white-haired youth twisted his lips, spinning the pendant on his finger.

“Looking for this?”

“How do you have it?”

“Got it from Uncle Owen.”

The youth casually mentioned Owen’s name.

Yan’s eyes widened slightly.

‘Ah, now I remember.’

There weren’t many with white hair. And among the revolutionary army, few could casually call Owen by name.

The intersection of those two groups.

‘Theo Beowulf.’

The man thought to be dead by Lorena, the Grand Duke of the North whom Duke Beowulf sought to kill.

‘The power behind the revolutionary army after the Armenian uprising caused by the Chief Instructor.’

And one of the super-strong, who had never lost a fight against Lorena, the Sword Star of the Empire’s Seven Stars.

In the future, he would be considered on par with the Four Dukes.

“Why don’t you speak? Is this what you’re looking for?”

Yan nodded slightly, unable to take his eyes off Theo, preparing for a sudden attack.

‘He might be a second-class powerhouse decades in the future… but for now, he’s around fourth-class.’

He could handle him using all the magic he had learned and memories from his past life…

‘But then, the pendant might break.’

As Yan nodded, Theo’s smile deepened.

“Do you know what this is?”

“Do you need to know?”

“Yeah, I think I do.”

At Theo’s words, Yan’s eyebrows twitched.

It seemed he had come to rescue Owen, but why was he arguing over this pendant?

Especially when the investigative team could arrive at any moment for a re-examination.

Yan’s fingers twitched.

He secretly channeled mana into his legs to avoid detection by Theo.

‘I’ll just retrieve the pendant and escape!’

While he might not win in a fight, a snatch-and-run was certainly doable.

Despite Theo’s overwhelming talent, Yan had far more experience.

“Hmm?”

Theo’s lips curled up as he noticed something about Yan.

Sweat began to bead on Yan’s forehead.

Then, something caught his eye.

Behind Theo, who was looking at him, a stalactite hung precariously, as if it could fall at any moment.

‘That’s it.’

It could distract Theo, if only for a moment.

Yan’s gaze lowered.

And soon after…

Boom!

As Yan predicted, the stalactite fell, and Theo glanced back.

When his attention was on the falling stalactite…

‘Now!’

Yan exploded the energy stored in his mana heart and kicked off the ground.

The stone floor burst as Yan’s form shot towards Theo like a streak of light.

Theo, looking back, started to turn his head forward.

‘Enough!’

Yan thought he could snatch the pendant before Theo fully turned around.

But…

Swoosh.

Without even turning his head, Theo dodged Yan’s hand.

And the pendant, which had been on his finger, was now on his wrist.

He glanced at Yan with a sidelong look.

“I might give it to you if you answer well.”

“Nonsense.”

Yan didn’t give up and dropped his body lower.

Then he forcefully scraped the ground with his right foot.

Swoosh!

Theo effortlessly dodged Yan’s kick with a light leap, his casual demeanor unshaken.

“Seriously?” he quipped, still managing to answer without difficulty.

He lifted the pendant that dangled from his wrist. “What use would this have for me?”

Yan, realizing his kick had failed, put all his weight on his left leg and straightened up as if propelled by a spring. His hand transformed into a claw, swiping towards Theo’s wrist with clear intent to snatch the pendant.

Just then, Theo’s eyes curved like crescent moons, pulling his wrist back just enough. It was still within Yan’s reach, but the pendant was the problem. If he didn’t stop, it would shatter to pieces.

Yan, taken aback, hastily retracted his outstretched hand. Following this, Theo simply stood there, not counterattacking, just observing Yan.

“Why did you stop?” Theo asked with a sly smile. “Was it because you feared breaking this pendant?”

Yan glared at Theo with sunken eyes. “What are you trying to do?”

“I’ll ask again. Why do you want this pendant so badly? You seem capable enough to flee.”

Silence.

“It’s a family photo inside, isn’t it?”

Though Theo hit the mark, Yan’s expression remained unchanged.

Suddenly, Theo turned his head back with a bright laugh. “Uncle, I think you’re right!”

Footsteps thundered from behind, and the figure that appeared was…

“…Owen.”

It was Owen, whom Yan thought he had eliminated. Yan knew Owen was robust, but surviving the mine’s collapse was unexpected.

“We meet again.”

“Uncle, is this the guy? What should we do?”

Yan’s face contorted in confusion, unable to comprehend their conversation.

Owen scratched his head, looking at Yan, who was glaring at them with a furrowed brow. The reaction seemed almost anticlimactic after their life-threatening confrontation.

“Prince, I understand your distrust, but how about listening to what we have to say?”

Yan sheathed the dagger he had drawn and straightened up. There was no need to escalate the conflict when they were being so amicable.

‘Besides, if they both attacked together, escape wouldn’t be easy.’

Yet, the wariness in his eyes did not fade.

Owen sighed deeply and pulled out a weathered photograph from his bosom, handing it to Yan. In it, Owen and Theo stood side by side, smiling brightly, along with several others.

Suspicion rose in Yan’s eyes, especially at the central figure.

“…Father?”

“Are you finally willing to talk?”

The father in the pendant and the father in the photo were identical, save for a few more wrinkles on his face.

Next to the father in Owen’s photo was the Chief Instructor, smiling so brightly it was almost unrecognizable. It wasn’t the cynical or mad laughter Yan had seen before, but one that seemed genuinely joyful.

Yan placed his finger on the photo held by Owen, sensing for any magic that might be present. But there was no trace of mana.

This meant the photo was an unaltered, genuine picture of his father.

Yan closed his eyes tightly.

‘This isn’t just some involvement with the revolutionary army.’

Most of the individuals in the photo held high ranks within the revolutionary army, as far as Yan knew.

But even during his time as the head of the special task force, he had no knowledge of his father’s involvement.

Owen looked at Yan with a bitter smile.

“So that’s why you were so curious about ‘the mark of the beginning.’”

Yan cut to the chase.

“Tell me about my father.”

Now that he realized his father was more than just involved with the revolutionary army, but a high-ranking figure, Yan needed to formulate a new plan. And for that, he needed information.

Theo was the one who answered Yan’s question.

“He is the commander of the revolutionary army that leads us.”

“…Lies.”

In his past life, after the Armenian uprising, the special task force had somewhat tracked down the revolutionary army’s commander.

But it was someone entirely unrelated to his father.

Owen chuckled self-deprecatingly and nodded at Yan’s confident assertion.

“Yes, he’s not the commander now.”

“Don’t talk nonsense, Uncle! The commander has always been him!”

Theo glared fiercely at Owen, his face flushed with genuine anger.

Owen just smiled bitterly.

“To be precise, he’s the former commander. He’s stepped down due to unavoidable circumstances.”

Yan looked at Owen, dumbfounded.

‘My father… the former leader of the revolutionary army?’

His head throbbed with pain.

All his efforts to uncover the connection between the revolutionary army and his father had led him to stand in opposition to them.

“And the Chief Instructor?”

“The Chief Instructor? Oh, you mean that guy.”

Owen chuckled as if he had just understood.

“He was the one who followed your father the most. And… now he’s hardly involved in the revolutionary army’s affairs.”

As they spoke, Theo glanced somewhere distantly, his expression turning sour.

He then handed the pendant back to Yan.

“The hounds have caught the scent and are here. It’s time to part ways. I’d like to take you to headquarters, but the situation is a bit tricky right now.”

Saying so, he helped Owen up and tossed something onto the ground.

Whoosh!

It was a portable teleport gate, a rarity even within the empire.

Theo waved at Yan with a smile.

“See you next time! I’ll send you a way to contact us soon!”

With those words, he stepped into the gate.

And a final voice echoed out.

“Ah! If you see that guy, send him my regards!”

‘That guy’ was likely referring to the Chief Instructor.

As Theo and Owen completely disappeared into the gate, a sudden question struck Yan.

Yan shouted desperately.

If his father was with the revolutionary army…

What about his other family?

“Then, where is Mother?!”

But the gate had already blurred, and no answer came from beyond.

Yan closed his eyes.

“I made a mistake. I should have asked that first.”

His mind, overwhelmed by the unexpected revelations, wasn’t working quickly.

And then…

“There’s someone here!”

“Hands up! Move and we shoot!”

Ahead, a group that appeared to be the special task force’s investigative soldiers approached with a threatening tone.

Yan extended his arms in surrender, thinking to himself.

‘I’ll have to ask the Chief Instructor when I return to the training center.’

According to Theo, the Chief Instructor also seemed to have a close connection to his father.