Absolute Regression

“They say you don’t notice the filled space, but you sure notice the empty one. It feels so empty without Lee Ahn here.”

Seo Daeryong’s lament was met with Jangho’s agreement.

“The empty space is significant.”

They were on their way to the Flowing Wind Tavern in Maga Village.

Jangho was a large man, while Seo Daeryong was small, making the two of them a contrasting sight that drew the gaze of passersby.

“Who would have thought I’d miss Lee Ahn more than the lord?” 1

Usually, they drank with Lee Ahn, making a trio. Last time, only the two of them drank together. It was definitely less fun than when the three of them drank together.

Lee Ahn and Seo Daeryong used to dominate the atmosphere with their chatter, but with her gone and the taciturn Jangho remaining, the mood inevitably dampened.

Of course, there were positive aspects. By sacrificing the fun, they gained an opportunity to get to know each other better with seriousness. It was during this time that Jangho first revealed his childhood dream of becoming a painter.

Seo Daeryong’s question was met with Jangho’s certainty.

“Of course, she’s doing well. Do you know who she went with? Don’t worry.”

“It’s not worry; it’s envy. Lee Ahn must be experiencing all sorts of unimaginable situations. I envy her. I want to be there, surprised alongside Lee Ahn!”

“Don’t forget that the Evil Smiling Demon is with Lee Ahn.”

“Thinking about it… maybe it’s better that I have Lord Jangho by my side.”

Jangho chuckled. Seo Daeryong felt that Jangho’s manly laughter alone made the drinking session worthwhile. He wished he could resemble Jangho’s laughter.

With such idle chatter, the two men arrived at the Flowing Wind Tavern.

Just as they were about to enter, the owner, Jo Chunbae, came out and gestured for silence.

“You shouldn’t go in now.”

“Why not?”

“The Demon Supremes are inside.”

“Who?”

Seo Daeryong peeked inside and looked at the second floor of the tavern.

At the spot where they usually drank, his master, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, and the Demonic Buddha were sitting opposite each other, drinking.

Startled, Seo Daeryong quickly withdrew.

“We’ll drink elsewhere today.”

“Yes, please do.”

After sending the two away, Jo Chunbae returned inside the tavern.

He glanced up at the second floor. Even from a distance, he could sense the peculiar tension between Gu Cheonpa and Ma Bul.

“Why did you want to meet me?”

To the Blade Demon’s question, the Demonic Buddha did not reply.

It was unlike the usual Demonic Buddha. Instead of his typically sharp tongue, he seemed tired for some reason. Ma Bul drank alone.

“We aren’t so distant that we can’t share a drink, are we?”

“Distant? After spreading rumors about me being a traitor, what kind of senior are you?”

“A traitor is a traitor.”

“Isn’t it you who’s the traitor now? Considering you came to see me, leaving the Eldest Young Master behind.”

“You’ve always acted like you knew everything. That’s why you’ve always looked down on me.”

The corners of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s mouth curled up. However, instead of retorting, he drained his glass. Not long ago, he would have found the Demonic Buddha pitiful. A little man full of greed. ṝÁƝÖᛒƐ§

But this arrogance changed after meeting Geom Mugeuk.

“It’s not easy, is it?”

At Gu Cheonpa’s words, the Demonic Buddha looked up. He tried to discern the intent behind the comment, but the Blood Heaven Blade Demon simply filled his glass.

Thinking it wasn’t a remark meant to mock him,Ma Bul inadvertently replied.

“… It’s not easy.”

Regretting his words immediately, the Demonic Buddha realized he had given the Blade Demon a chance to taunt him. Sure enough, Gu Cheonpa prodded.

“You thought you were the Eldest Young Master’s right hand, didn’t you? But no, you’re just a kept fish. Perhaps a golden carp at best.”

“Is it so hard for you to share a drink with a junior pleasantly? Your petty, twisted heart can’t even allow that?”

“You should have behaved better before. And if you’re a senior, stay a senior until the end. If you’re someone else, then act like it from the start.”

“Always so damned unreasonable!”

Bang!

Ma Bul slammed the table. The table shattered, and everything on it fell to the ground.

“Next time, don’t break it. Our side doesn’t break tables.”

“What the hell are you talking about? Are you senile?”

The Demonic Buddha left the place angrily.

‘Damn it!’

The moment he broke the table, he lost. Why did he even bother coming to see the Blood Heaven Blade Demon?

He hated that Gu Cheonpa had seen his turmoil. The thought that the Blood Heaven Blade Demon would look down on him even more made him furious.

‘Fine, you dried-up old man, scorn me all you want.’

Watching his retreating back, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon also rose from his seat.

But there was no sign of the contempt or ridicule that the Demonic Buddha had expected. Instead, a sigh, similar to the one Ma Bul had let out earlier, escaped from the Blade Demon.

“Yes, it’s not easy.”

Gu Cheonpa gave money to Jo Chunbae as he left the tavern, covering both the cost of the drinks and the broken table.

“It’s alright,” Jo Chunbae said.

But as the Blood Heaven Blade Demon glared at him, he quickly accepted the money.

“Don’t mention the broken table to the young master.”

“What? Oh, yes! Of course, don’t worry.”

With that, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon also left the place.

Jo Chunbae watched his back for a moment before going upstairs to clean up the broken table.

Even without the young master, people continued to visit. Recently, the One-Slash Sword Supreme had also come alone, stayed for a while, and left. She ordered drinks but didn’t have a single sip.

Jo Chunbae knew.

The reason they came to his Flowing Wind Tavern wasn’t just because the drinks were good, the food was delicious, or the atmosphere was pleasant. They were all missing someone. 2

* * *

I was sitting on a cart parked in an open field, looking up at the sky, when I saw Bih Sa-in and the seven Thirteen Wolves approaching from a distance.

They had chosen the meeting place again this time.

An open field with clear visibility in all directions. It showed that they were worried about an ambush.

I understood him. When your life is constantly under threat, you become hyper-alert. Yes, he needed to be careful. Yet even though he was this cautious, he eventually died.

Seeing that I was alone, Bih Sa-in looked puzzled.

“Did you come alone?”

“Yes.”

The Evil Smiling Demon had entrusted me entirely with this task. I had left Lee Ahn behind, who wanted to follow.

Bih Sa-in’s expression slightly hardened.

It seemed his pride was hurt. Even though I wasn’t the official successor yet, I was still of the Heavenly Demon bloodline, walking around alone. On the other hand, he was accompanied by seven of the Thirteen Wolves, which must have made him feel like a coward.

I wanted to tell him that such pride was useless. That having a bruised ego wasn’t worth anything. This was all because he was young.

“Have you already found a clue?” he asked.

“Yes.”

Though he had expected it, he couldn’t hide his surprise at my confirmation.

“How did you find it so quickly?” he asked, his eyes filled with suspicion.

“I didn’t find it; they came to me.”

I lifted the tarp covering the cart. Inside were the bodies of five people.

“Just as you warned, there was an ambush.”

I didn’t mention that they had targeted the Sky Flower Pavilion Mistress. Whether he knew about the existence of Sky Flower Pavilion or not, I decided there was no need to reveal it.

“These are the Five Shadow Blood Hands of the White Night Valley.”

“How did you find out?”

“Do not underestimate our Cult’s intelligence network. We know enough about you.”

Bih Sa-in’s face twisted. He merely frowned slightly, but it made his expression look as if he were angry. The scars on his face were deep and hideous.

“The White Night Valley took on this contract. If you find them, you can learn who is behind it. How you get the leader of the White Night Valley to reveal the contractor is up to you. How about it? Is this enough of a clue as promised?”

Bih Sa-in remained silent for a moment. He wanted to say that this wasn’t enough, but there was no way I would allow that.

“Did you expect me to find out who was behind it and bring you their head?”

“No need to provoke me. This is sufficient. From today, the White Bird Trading Company will withdraw from Guiju. I will also calculate and send the losses from the past two years.”

“As expected from the successor of the Unorthodox Alliance! Well then, until we meet again.”

Just as I was about to turn away, I heard Bih Sa-in’s transmitted voice.

—Young Master.

But that was all. It ended there, like a ghostly whisper carried by the wind, without conveying the next words.

Bih Sa-in had intended to say something to me in secret but changed his mind.

I stared at Bih Sa-in’s face. I did not look at his scars, only his eyes.

Despite the scars making him appear far more vicious and strong-willed than he was, I could see it. The look of a young man struggling to survive.

Speak, Bih Sa-in. Whatever it is, if you want to change your fate, say it.

But Bih Sa-in ultimately said nothing more and turned away. The seven Thirteen Wolves pulled the cart and followed him.

I watched their retreating figures for a long moment before I, too, left this place.

* * *

When I returned, Soma was strolling through the courtyard of the Sky Flower Pavilion. He seemed calm, but I sensed it. He was still angry and was trying to calm himself down.

I walked alongside the Evil Smiling Demon.

“The White Bird Trading Company has decided to withdraw from Guiju. They have also agreed to compensate for the losses of the past two years.”

“The Second Young Master managed to resolve in a few days what has been troubling me for the past two years.”

“They only accepted our proposal because they fear you, Lord Soma.”

“No need for humility. Thank you, Young Master.”

The Evil Smiling Demon, who had expressed his gratitude, stopped in his tracks.

“I will personally kill the one who ordered the death of the Sky Flower Pavilion’s Mistress. Even if it means being imprisoned again for a few years.”

The Evil Smiling Demon looked at me, his eyes asking what I thought. I conveyed my thoughts through my gaze.

“Of course, you must kill him. He tried to kill someone you care about, so naturally, you must kill him yourself. Even if it were me, I would kill him.”

Soma’s eyes gleamed pleasantly, as if my unexpected answer had pleased him.

“Don’t you want to return to the cult? That way, you can escape responsibility for my actions.”

“Watching your world in a daze, I almost forgot why I left in the first place.”

“Shall we return?”

“No, show me more of your world. Show me more, and then we can kill that bastard behind it all and go back.”

I was endlessly knocking on his door. Unlike my hopes for the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, I didn’t wish for this door to swing wide open.

I just wanted it to be half-open, so we could face each other at the point where we were neither friends nor foes.

I know who you are. You regretted your life as you were dying, that empty life filled with evil.

Is the current you the same as the you from back then?

“Second Young Master, there is nothing more to see in my world. This is all there is. Now, I have to meet those managing the gambling dens and the leaders of the underlings following us. Young Master, you’ve dressed up my world as something grand, but in the end, my world is about scaring people and taking money. Sometimes I cut off the arms of those who embezzle, and kill those I don’t like.”

You have changed. In your pre-regression life, you were never this honest.

When I met you before the regression, you were old, too old to change anymore.

How could I have become your friend?

Maybe I was like you back then?

With my life fossilized by my obsession of obtaining materials for the Great Regression Technique, maybe you felt a sense of kinship with me and that’s why you liked me so much.

“There’s only one way to keep the Evil Smiling Demon’s world from becoming boring.”

“And what is that?”

“When a war breaks out. The world will become a sea of blood, and you’ll be flying in the sky. But that’s a world I don’t want to see. I still want to see this world. How you handle the gambling den managers, how you deal with the underlings.”

A fervor I hadn’t seen before flickered in Soma’s eyes and then disappeared.

I walked a few steps ahead and then turned to him.

“Come on, let’s go. Let’s cut off the arms of those who are embezzling money.”

1 : Ouch !!! XDXDXD

2 : A bit sad, but wholesome ^^

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