Absolute Regression

As I stepped out of the gambling den, sunlight streamed in, and in that light, projectiles came flying at me.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

I effortlessly deflected the projectiles with the Black Demon Sword. Thanks to the New Eye Technique, the sunlight did not blind me.

The heads of the assassins on the roof opposite who had thrown the projectiles were shattered in succession.

It was the hand of the Evil Smiling Demon extended towards them.

His Demonic Art, the Frantic Demonic Palm, had been unleashed.

The moment his extended palm folded and his index finger pointed at something.

A force shot out from his fingertip like light.

Piiing! Thud!

Another assassin, who was rushing from beyond the roof, had a hole pierced through his chest and fell.

It was his other Demonic Art, the Blood Disaster Finger.

With that palm and that finger, he had risen to the position of Demon Supreme.

I believe the nickname “Evil” was also influenced by these two martial arts. The sight of enemies’ heads or bodies bursting and holes being pierced was far more stimulating than being pierced by a sword.

Since we left the cult together, this was the first time I had properly seen his martial arts. I knew better than anyone how terrifying these two martial arts were. When he started to go wild, hell unfolded at his fingertips.

The Evil Smiling Demon slowly pointed his finger at me. The tension that he might unleash the Blood Disaster Finger at any moment flowed from his fingertip. Dodging the Blood Disaster Finger from this close range would not be easy.

In the next moment!

Piiing! Thud!

The Blood Disaster Finger that brushed past my face pierced the forehead of a masked man rushing from behind me.

I did not move an inch.

“Just now, not moving was harder than dodging.”

“Is that so?”

“You have to suppress your reflexes to dodge, which is actually harder than avoiding it. Especially for a master like you, Young Master. Indeed, it was you who killed Yasuo.”

Flash.

This time, my Black Demon Sword slashed through the air. The blade energy from my sword brushed past Soma’s face and cut through the body of a masked man who was charging from behind him.

“I did not kill the Soul Reaper Demon Supreme. How long will you keep asking?”

“I won’t ask anymore. I’m certain now.”

There were too many enemies charging at us to argue any further. My blade energy and the Blood Disaster Finger pierced through another assassin’s body.

“There are many enemies.”

“Let’s go.”

The Evil Smiling Demon and I walked together. At this moment, I felt a slight thrill. Who could have suppressed the desire for a good fight but the Evil Smiling Demon?

With the Wind God’s Four Steps, the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique, and the Soaring Sword Art that reached the Eleven Stars, I was also suppressing my desire to unleash my skills.

Since the opponents were assassins trying to kill me, I could unleash my martial arts without any reservations.

As we walked down the alley, four masked men jumped over the wall and attacked us simultaneously.

I moved three times faster than the one who tried to stab me and cut him down, then turned to look behind me. I wasn’t interested in watching the Evil Smiling Demon or Cheong Myeon fight. I only watched Lee Ahn’s fight.

She was slower than me, but she dealt with her enemies in the same manner. There was no room for mistakes due to her relentless training.

She dodged the incoming sword by barely brushing her shoulder and then cut him down in one stroke.

Swish!

The assassin fell, his jawbone sliced through.

She wasn’t flustered or tense.

You’re doing well, Lee Ahn.

We emerged from the alley into the street where a carriage was parked.

The people acted as if they had no idea about the ambush that had just happened in the alley.

The yawning shopkeeper, the clerk arranging goods in front of him, the old woman sweeping the street, the child running past her, the old man sitting by the roadside, the middle-aged peddler soliciting customers with his stand across the street, the couple arguing, the woman shouting from the second-floor window at the man looking down below.

A mundane scene of everyday life unfolded like a painting.

As we blended naturally into the picture.

A sense of discord and danger surged within me, triggering the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique.

“Be careful!”

Just as I warned, the attack began.

Everyone we saw turned out to be assassins.

Swish! Swish!

The peddler and the arguing couple brandished daggers and lunged at me. They used perfect cooperative techniques, the man aiming for my left and the woman for my right. My eyes even caught the thick poison coating the blue blades of their daggers.

The Black Demon Sword cut swiftly and precisely.

When I sliced from the man’s shoulder to his chest, the woman’s dagger brushed past my ear.

Despite their quick movements, indicating they were the best assassins among the Black Kill, I could see her eyelashes trembling.

The Black Demon Sword flew towards her from an unseen place, causing her eyelashes to flutter even faster. The moment she tried to react, swoosh!

As I turned around after slicing through her waist, the Evil Smiling Demon was dealing with a peddler.

The peddler, who was carrying his goods on his back, threw poison powder at him.

With a wave of the Evil Smiling Demon’s hand, the poison powder was sent back towards the peddler. Covered in his own poison, the peddler screamed and rolled on the ground.

At the same time, the woman who had been throwing hidden weapons from the second floor was pierced through her vital point and died. The man who had been emitting sword energy below was shattered into pieces by the Frantic Demonic Palm.

I wasn’t just standing around watching this unfold either. I deflected the hidden weapons the woman had thrown while simultaneously neutralizing the man’s sword energy with my own sword. The Evil Smiling Demon and I had executed a perfect combination technique.

Among the assassins, a child charged at Lee Ahn.

“Cut him down, Lee Ahn! He’s not a child!”

He only looked like a child; in reality, he was an older adult.

Fortunately, Lee Ahn was not as soft-hearted as I had feared.

Twisting her body to dodge the child’s attack, she calmly cut him down. At that moment, an old man who had been sitting by the roadside rushed at her, aiming a poisoned dagger at her face. The dagger was coated with a poison so deadly that even a scratch would be fatal.

Even in this life-and-death moment, I just watched. Hoping Lee Ahn would fend for herself, I did not send out my sword energy.

Thunk!

The old man’s dagger stopped right in front of Lee Ahn’s eyes as she leaned backward. Meanwhile, her sword was lodged in the old man’s heart. She had narrowly taken him down, thanks to her flexibility despite her stout figure.

Although I was more surprised than she was, it was ultimately a good thing I didn’t intervene. This single experience would make her grow more than years of training.

While she dealt with the two, Cheong Myeon finished off the shop owner and the clerk. If the Evil Smiling Demon hadn’t killed the old woman sweeping with his vital point technique, Cheong Myeon would have been dead.

One could see why Cheong Myeon had devoted his life to serving the Evil Smiling Demon from this incident.

All these events happened simultaneously within a single breath.

It was only because of the exceptional skills of the Evil Smiling Demon and me that we got through unscathed. The attackers’ perfectly coordinated assault, designed not to interfere with each other’s movements, was truly terrifying.

With her face flushed, Lee Ahn sighed and said,

“I killed both the child and the old man.”

It was a joke, but it eased her heart nonetheless.

“He’s older than you, and just imagine how many people he must have killed by the time he became an old man.”

“That really put my mind at ease.”

After calming her down, I entered a nearby shop.

The merchant who originally worked there was lying in a corner, having his pressure points sealed. This was all orchestrated while we were inside the gambling den.

The reason why the assassins didn’t kill the merchants was to avoid the smell of blood. Otherwise, they would have slaughtered everyone.

Just as I unsealed the merchant’s pressure points and was about to turn around.

Whoosh.

An attack came from behind.

Slash!

I turned like lightning and beheaded the man whose pressure points I had just unsealed. He collapsed, shocked by my swift reaction. He was another assassin, a backup plan for the failure of the outside operation.

This ambush was unexpected and dangerous. Anyone else would have fallen victim to it.

The real merchant was in a room further inside, collapsed with his pressure points sealed. I unsealed him and left the shop.

I went from house to house, unsealing the pressure points of the original owners who had been captured there.

Aware of the possibility that assassins might be among them, any disguised assassin lost their life to my sword without even getting a chance to draw their weapon.

When I freed the last person and came outside, another assassin was being blown apart by the Frantic Demonic Palm of the Evil Smiling Demon.

The assassin had been hiding in a box in front of the building the Evil Smiling Demon passed by.

Even in a situation where the possibility of a successful assassination was slim, they attacked as planned. They had been thoroughly trained to attack at the designated time, knowing they would die. They weren’t human but killing tools raised without fear.

“I’ll bring the carriage.”

Cheong Myeon walked across the street to fetch the carriage.

The Evil Smiling Demon said to me.

“If they place a bounty of a million nyang on assassins, their backer must be no ordinary person.”

“Yes, if compared to our Cult, it’s likely someone with the status of a Demon Supreme. Though they’re using external blades to avoid detection now, once the main body is exposed, we might face masters of unimaginable skill.”

The eyes of Soma gleamed with a desire for victory. Among the Eight Demonic Supremes, he would be bitter to be considered second when it came to belligerence. The stronger the enemy, the more he burned with fervor.

It was at that very moment.

Swish! Slash!

A blade aura sliced through the carriage’s passenger compartment.

The person who sent the blade aura was Lee Ahn. Detecting the assassin who was hidden behind the carriage and targeting Cheong Myeon as he was about to sit in the driver’s seat, Lee Ahn released the attack.

Inside the diagonally sliced compartment, the assassin lay fallen, severed.

Cheong Myeon got off the carriage. Even though the assassin had perfectly concealed his presence, failing to detect him was a clear mistake.

Cheong Myeon bowed his head to Lee Ahn. Lee Ahn bowed back to him as well.

“Well done, Lee Ahn. It’s a good thing you saved someone like Cheong Myeon’s life.”

Seeing Lee Ahn’s face, now flushed with excitement, I playfully said,

“You might be the first to have damaged Soma’s carriage.”

At my words, Lee Ahn flinched, then hurriedly bowed to the Evil Smiling Demon.

“My apologies!”

The Evil Smiling Demon accepted my jest.

“That carriage is very expensive.”

Lee Ahn quickly responded,

“I will compensate for it.”

“How?”

“I will purchase the same carriage with my monthly salary.”

“It will take several years of your salary, won’t it?”

After pondering for a moment, Lee Ahn spoke in a desperate tone,

“Please give me a discount!”

At that moment, the Evil Smiling Demon burst into laughter. Although I had made him laugh several times, this was the loudest.

“For someone so ugly, you sure are funny.”

Even though he blatantly called him ugly, Lee Ahn did not seem offended at all.

“If you give me more of a discount, I’ll make you laugh even more!”

Then Cheong Myeon came over and quietly said,

“I’ll add my salary to it as well.”

This time, I laughed. Knowing that Cheong Myeon wasn’t the type to say such things made it all the more amusing.

After easing the tension, Soma gave an order to Cheong Myeon.

“Mobilize every secret network to find out where Black Kill is hiding.”

“Yes!”

At that moment, I spoke to Cheong Myeon.

“Use the Heavenly Communication Pavilion network. Given the gravity of the situation, Sima Myung will surely understand.”

Earlier, it was the Heavenly Communication Pavilion that provided information regarding Black Kill. If it’s the Strategist Advisor I know, he would have already granted permission for us to use that information.

“Understood.”

“And take Lee Ahn with you.”

“Of course.”

I wanted to use this opportunity to give her a proper range of experiences, beyond just repaying a life debt.

“She needs to pay for breaking the carriage, right?”

“Yes, I’ll be back. Young Master.”

Lee Ahn left with Cheong Myeon.

I then calculated the damages suffered by the merchants today and gave them some money.

“Is this just a show of generosity?”

“It is generosity, but who would I be showing it to? You Soma? He’s the last person it would work on.”

“To those merchants. Or maybe to yourself.”

I nodded in agreement and spoke calmly.

“Perhaps. But does it matter if it’s for show or not? What matters to those people is whether they get compensated or not.”

“You’re really persistent about pretending to be good.”

“Even pretending to be good, my sword is still stained with blood today.”

The Evil Smiling Demon said nothing in response.

I walked slowly and untied the horses that were hitched to the broken carriage.

“The weather is nice. Why don’t we ride the horses to the next village?”

“Sounds good.”

I mounted a horse first, and the Evil Smiling Demon followed suit. We began moving slowly, each leading an extra horse.

After a long while without increasing our pace, the Evil Smiling Demon asked me,

“Aren’t we being too leisurely?”

I looked up at the clear sky and said,

“What do we have to hurry for? It’s always the ones who are in a rush who fail.”

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