Bloodhound’s Regression Instinct

Chapter 107

The Inspectorate.

In the empire, infamous for its notoriety, stood the Inspectorate, ironically nestled right beside the Special Task Force. Yet, compared to the grandeur of the Task Force’s imposing headquarters, the Inspectorate resembled a dilapidated mansion, ghostly in its neglect.

Yan gazed upon this sight before advancing forward.

The guard at the Inspectorate’s gate, spotting an approaching intruder, clutched his spear and inquired, “Who goes there?”

“The Second Executor,” Yan declared.

At Yan’s response, the guard’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“The Executor, you say?”

“I’ve come to speak with the Director. Please, inform them of my arrival.”

“Wait here, please,” the guard stammered, hastily retreating to the guardhouse to use the internal communication system.

As the guard vanished like an arrow, Yan’s gaze lingered on the Inspectorate.

It might look less imposing than a rural noble’s estate, but Yan knew better.

‘The ones inside are all monsters.’

The Inspectorate was an institution established to purge the empire of its internal rot, a group that supported not only with information but also with force.

Those who dared defy the empire’s law trusted in their own formidable power.

To silently cut out such cancers, one needed a force far greater than theirs.

‘Is the current Director… her?’

Lost in thought about the Director’s identity, Yan was interrupted by the returning guard.

Thud!

The guard planted his spear into the ground and bowed deeply.

“Please, enter. The Director will see you shortly.”

Yan tilted his head at the guard’s overly polite gesture. Even for an Executor, such reverence from the Inspectorate was unexpected.

The Inspectorate, while less authoritative than an Executor, was unmatched in its long-standing reputation and power.

Shaking his head, Yan thought, ‘She must be up to her old tricks again.’

With that, he stepped inside.

Upon entering, a man with azure hair turned to Yan, waving and smiling warmly.

“Welcome, Executor.”

The man, as if he had been awaiting Yan, extended his hand with a bright smile.

“I am Dinar, assigned to guide you, Executor.”

“Is that so?”

“Follow me. I’ll take you to the Director.”

Dinar strode confidently into the depths of the building, with Yan following close behind, surveying his surroundings.

From the outside, the place was a spitting image of a haunted mansion, but inside, it was meticulously tidy.

Yet, it felt more like a noble’s summer house than the headquarters of an institution.

“Who’s that?”

“Don’t know, never seen him before. A new recruit?”

“…I don’t like him.”

The estate’s inhabitants murmured their judgments as they saw Yan, who, in turn, assessed them silently.

‘As in my past life… it’s a den of monsters.’

Most were of the fifth rank, and a few exuded the faint aura unique to superhumans.

Yan committed each of their faces to memory as he followed Dinar.

Eventually, they arrived at an office door on the top floor.

Creak.

Dinar opened the door with a sly grin.

“The Director will be with you shortly. They’ve just stepped out for a moment.”

Yan watched Dinar quietly, who, feeling his stare, cocked his head.

“Is there something else you wish to ask? When the Director arrives…”

“Enough with the games.”

“Hm?”

Dinar squinted at Yan, seemingly puzzled by his words.

Yan shook his head.

“I’ve indulged in this charade long enough, considering you’re the head of the Inspectorate.”

At that, Dinar’s expression stiffened, and his lips twitched.

He was about to speak but then hesitated, sighing deeply instead.

“How did you know?”

Dinar tore off the mask that had disguised his face, revealing a woman’s visage hidden beneath.

Her features were striking, with blue hair and pale skin, unforgettable once seen.

‘She was always fond of such pranks in her past life.’

But Yan had no intention of mentioning that.

“Your manner of speaking was too incongruent for a man.”

“Eh? That’s a stereotype, Executor. I thought you had some incredible ability or that I had slipped in my act.”

Dinar walked into her office and sat down in a chair meant for guests.

“Please, have a seat, Executor.”

She gestured to the chair opposite hers, looking at Yan.

Yan nodded and took the offered seat.

Once seated, Dinar introduced herself.

“I am Diana Polson, the one leading this unremarkable Inspectorate.”

“I am Yan, recently appointed Executor by His Imperial Majesty. I bear no surname.”

She smiled, interlocking her fingers atop her knees.

“So, what brings our esteemed Executor to such a humble place? It doesn’t seem like you’re here to get acquainted.”

Diana’s smile widened.

“I heard you’ve returned to the Imperial City with your master.”

Yan’s eyes darkened.

From the moment he and the Chief Instructor set foot in the Imperial City, the Inspectorate had been monitoring their movements.

“I wish to borrow the Inspectorate’s strength.”

“Huh? The Executor’s authority has never been invoked before, and I believe it outranks most institutions. Why would you need our power?”

“But I am alone.”

Diana’s smile deepened at Yan’s words.

“You want to borrow our reputation and sound our trumpets?”

Understanding dawned on Diana, fitting for the head of the Inspectorate.

She sought the credibility of information and the influence of the press.

As Yan nodded, Diana tilted her head.

“But why us? There’s no particular reason to, and if things go wrong, we’ll be the ones to take the fall.”

“The Inspectorate may not see it, but you, Lady Diana, will be quite satisfied.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

And that was the moment.

Boom! Boom! Crash!

A violent tremor shook the Inspectorate’s mansion, accompanied by a loud explosion.

Diana’s eyes widened as she leapt to her feet and looked out the window.

Smoke billowed from the Special Task Force headquarters next door.

There had been an accident inside.

This was the Imperial City, a zone of absolute security where no terror or accident could occur.

Yet, there was an explosion and a tremor!

Yan watched Diana rise and smirked.

“It seems the Chief Instructor has begun his work.”

At his words, Diana whipped her head around, glaring at Yan.

“What do you mean?”

The playfulness in her voice was gone, replaced by the cold charisma befitting the Director of the Inspectorate.

Yan slowly stood up and spoke.

“I intend to change the Special Task Force.”

Diana’s eyes grew cold at the revelation.

She harbored deep hatred for the Task Force’s leader.

Her fiancé had been brutally killed by him.

The charges were dereliction of duty and leaking imperial secrets to foreign lands.

Diana had investigated her fiancé’s death alone but found none of the charges the Task Force leader had claimed.

Publicizing this could prove his innocence.

But it wouldn’t bring her fiancé back to life.

Thus, Diana had repeatedly attempted to inspect the Task Force leader, to no avail.

And now, Yan has come.

“And to you, Director of the Inspectorate… no, Lady Diana, I offer the head of the Task Force leader, along with the secrets entwined with your fiancé’s death.”

* * *

At the Headquarters of the Special Task Force.

A black dragon and shadowy tendrils clashed fiercely, neither yielding an inch.

“The Task Force Commander has been busy, I see?!” The Chief Instructor laughed wildly as he dodged the energy blasts fired by the black dragon.

“Pitiful, really, to think of the strength you’ve hidden all this time,” the Task Force Commander retorted, slicing through the shadowy blades that flew at him from all directions.

“But to reveal your claws so suddenly. Have you stumbled upon some juicy information?”

“Would I be mad enough to fight you otherwise?” The Chief Instructor’s words turned the Commander’s expression grave.

‘He must be here for the document sealed with His Majesty’s signet in the intelligence room.’

There was no other reason for the Chief Instructor, who had concealed his power, to reveal himself now.

At that moment, the Chief Instructor made a motion as if drawing a sword from his waist, though there was none.

The Task Force Commander frowned at the action.

‘What is he planning?’

Suddenly, shadows began to violently entwine around the Chief Instructor’s empty hand.

Whoosh.

The shadows writhed together, forming a shape.

Swoosh.

From the Chief Instructor’s hand, the shadows extended into a sharp blade-like form.

It was the Chief Instructor’s secret technique, the ‘Shadow Blade.’

If the Task Force Commander’s ‘Black Dragon Summoning’ was the highest art of the Task Force, reinterpreted in his own way.

Then the ‘Shadow Blade’ was the culmination of the Task Force’s lesser technique, the ‘Shadow Art,’ pushed to its limits and beyond, becoming the Chief Instructor’s signature move.

‘So that’s the Shadow Blade.’

The Task Force Commander knew through spies that the Chief Instructor had devised the Shadow Blade.

But he knew little of its capabilities.

It couldn’t be helped.

The Chief Instructor had hidden most of his accumulated power.

Without ever revealing it in battle, even the spies planted with great difficulty couldn’t uncover its secrets.

‘Even if he’s a bastard, he’s still of His Majesty’s bloodline.’

An inexplicable sense of dread emanated from the Shadow Blade, along with the Chief Instructor’s overwhelming killing intent.

The Chief Instructor gripped the hilt of the Shadow Blade and drew his arm back slightly.

“To finally face the Task Force Commander properly. I might die of happiness.”

“You will die, but not of happiness.”

The Task Force Commander stepped forward with a sneer as the black dragon behind him took a deep breath.

Its throat and jaws swelled as if about to burst.

The Commander’s eyes widened as he thrust his hand forward.

“Dragon Cannon!”

Boom!

A tremendous magical force exploded from the black dragon’s mouth, sending a yellow beam streaking towards the Chief Instructor.

The Chief Instructor watched the incoming beam with calm eyes, gripping the Shadow Blade tightly.

He took a slight breath.

Flash!

As the Chief Instructor’s eyes emitted a fierce light, he swung the Shadow Blade at an imperceptible speed, slicing vertically.

“Shadow Blade Second Form – Bisection!”

The raging Dragon Cannon, sweeping through the surroundings, was cleanly split in two by the Shadow Blade’s strike, Bisection.

However, unable to completely disperse the power, the split beams demolished the Task Force Headquarters.

Boom!

A tremendous explosion sent a massive cloud of dust and debris swirling around them.

The Task Force Commander coughed, waving away the dust, and looked at where the Chief Instructor had stood.

“…!”

There was no corpse that could be the Chief Instructor’s.

“To have sliced through the Dragon Cannon…”

The Task Force Commander walked towards the spot with a grim face.

Arriving there, he picked up a document that had fallen to the ground.

-Destroyer Project

It was a confidential document stamped with the Emperor’s signet.

Having recovered the confidential document, the Task Force Commander’s goal, he calmed his eyes.

“But this alone won’t be enough to bring me down. The Chief Instructor has grown rusty compared to before.”

He muttered calmly as he turned around.

That’s when it happened.

The Task Force Commander’s eyes widened in horror.

A terrible hypothesis flashed through his mind.

“No…!”

The prototype of the Destroyer Project, which had been difficult to extract from the Chief Instructor.

With his arrival, the greatest force, the power securing the prototype, had temporarily diminished.

And the Chief Instructor had vanished, abandoning the confidential document.
.
‘The document wasn’t his objective after all!’

The Chief Instructor was merely a decoy.

There must be an accomplice, and that person was searching for the prototype.

Focused solely on the Chief Instructor, he had failed to see through such a simple deception.

The Task Force Commander quickly gathered his mana.

Whooosh!

Mana from his core surged through his body with a wild force.

It would take roughly thirty minutes to reach the location where the prototype was secured at this pace.

‘Jin is there, so he can buy some time before I arrive.’

Even if everything else was set aside, Jin was good at thinking on his feet.

Crash!

The Task Force Commander, gritting his teeth, leaped into the air, heading somewhere with urgency.