Absolute Regression

Chapter 435: The One Who Awakened the Cult Leader’s Dream

I had long known that Father dreamt of unifying the martial world.

The key issue was when he would draw his sword—that was the question of timing.

If the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s guess was right, then the timing was earlier than I had expected.

“You haven’t even fully uprooted the forces working in the shadows of each faction yet, have you?”

And yet you’re thinking of war in this situation?

I knew well that Father wasn’t the type to handle major events emotionally. He wasn’t the kind of man to create another enemy while already confronting one.

And there’s no way the Blood Heaven Blade Demon wouldn’t understand that.

Though we had grown distant, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon had been closer to Father than anyone else in his younger years. That’s why he knew Father better than anyone. And that was also exactly why he was making such a guess.

“As you know, the martial world has been peaceful for a very long time. There hasn’t been a real fight in ages. But this time, as we dealt with those behind the scenes, the Demon Supremes awakened.”

He was right. The Demon Supremes had all returned and taken part in battle. Facing formidable enemies, they had finally experienced real combat. For masters at the Demon Supreme level, the chance to face opponents of equal skill was a rare opportunity one might only encounter a few times in a lifetime.

“Through facing them, we naturally began preparing for war in earnest.”

What the Blood Heaven Blade Demon said next was truly surprising.

“And above all else, the cult now possesses a power stronger than anything before.”

“What do you mean by that?”

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon silently looked at me.

“Surely… you don’t mean me?”

He nodded.

He was right. During the confrontation with the hidden forces, my martial arts had grown more than anyone else’s.

“Because of you, the cult’s chances of unifying the martial world have grown much higher.”

Again, he was right. If I achieved mastery of the Nine Calamities Demon Art and joined forces with Father, the task of unifying the martial world might be accomplished more easily than if Father were to do it alone.

Then came the final, shocking remark from the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

“Perhaps the one who awakened the Cult Leader’s dream… is you.”

“!”

I couldn’t refute those words. Whether they were true or not, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s words carried weight.

After all, I had been the one to influence Father the most recently.

“Of course, my guess could be wrong.”

Father had changed a lot recently. Maybe after seeing how I interacted with the Demon Supremes, he simply thought he should get closer to them too. If that were the case, I’d be glad.

If not, perhaps he was just placating the Demon Supremes to eliminate the hidden forces once and for all. If that were his true intention, how wonderful would that be? ꭆ𝓪𝐍Ꝋ𝐛ÈŠ

Truly, there is nothing more difficult than reading Father’s inner thoughts.

The final reason for the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s speculation lay in the distant past.

“The Cult Leader had dreamt of unifying the martial world since his youth.”

“Did he ever speak to you about it?”

The look in the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s eyes deepened as he recalled the past.

“It was before he ever ascended to the position of Heavenly Demon. Back then, the Cult Leader traveled across the Central Plains with the Fist Demon King, fighting as they went. Just like you now, they roamed around without any escorts. Then one day, the Cult Leader returned to the cult and said something to me with a thrilled look on his face.”

Back when everyone was young—what had Father said to the Blood Heaven Blade Demon?

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon repeated Father’s words exactly as they had been spoken.

—I must take this martial world as my own.

The moment I heard those words, the image of my father in his youth surfaced in my mind.

That moment when he first began to dream of unifying the martial world. What had sparked that dream? Had he seen something beautiful in the martial world? Or something vile?

“Since then, the Cult Leader has never brought it up again.”

“It was probably the first and last time. Father isn’t the kind of person who goes around telling just anyone about dreams like that.”

When you want to speak of the passion boiling in your heart, and there’s only one person you can confide in—that was the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

Because of that past between the two of them, it made sense that the Blood Heaven Blade Demon could say with confidence that while he could give up on his own children, he couldn’t give up on Father.

My heart grew heavy. Could I really make Father abandon the dream he had cherished since then?

“What about you, Elder?”

“What do you mean?”

“If Father gives the order to strike the Alliance, what will you do?”

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon lowered his gaze to the book in front of him. It was clear that he was troubled.

“Please, speak freely. I’m already prepared to be disappointed!”

I said it like a joke, but the Blood Heaven Blade Demon didn’t take it as one.

“I’m not ready to disappoint you. Not you, and not your father.”

Those words revealed his true feelings. No matter how close he had grown to me, no matter how distant he had become from Father, defying the Cult Leader’s command would never be easy. Beyond all personal ties, they were still the Cult Leader and a Demon Supreme.

The very fact that he was struggling with it showed how much he cared about me.

“I won’t let you face such a moment of choice.”

And not just the Blood Heaven Blade Demon—this would apply to the other Demon Supremes as well. I would never let them be forced to choose between me and Father. This issue was a matter between Father and me alone.

“What do you plan to do?”

“You already know what kind of demonic path I dream of. No matter what, I have to convince Father.”

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s eyes returned to the book. He stared down at it in a daze for a moment, then murmured softly.

"Not everyone can live the way they wish."

I couldn’t tell if he was saying it to me, to Father, or to himself.

Saying I’d come back with my nightclothes and sleep later, I left the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s quarters. I figured he’d prefer to be alone.

I decided to view the situation in a positive light.

This was a turning point not only in my relationship with Father, but also with the Demon Supremes. A moment had come for those relationships to move to the next level. Getting close was easy. The real challenge always came after that.

Now, we stood at the threshold of a new test in our relationships.

When I returned to my quarters, I saw someone practicing martial arts in the yard.

It was Jeokyeon, the chief of my escort unit. He must have already heard that I’d returned, and waited here for me.

I observed his training without disturbing him. His skills had clearly improved since I last saw him. It meant he’d undergone relentless training while we were in the Northern Sea.

When he finished his session, I revealed myself.

"You’ve gotten much stronger."

Jeokyeon respectfully greeted me at my appearance.

"Young Cult Leader! I’d been praying for your safe return."

His face was filled with joy.

"I heard you had returned and waited here. The other escorts wanted to be here too, but I sent them back to continue their training."

Just hearing that was enough to know how seriously they were all training—ensuring their daily regimen wouldn’t be interrupted even for a moment.

"Take off the blindfold."

"I’m fine."

"I keep saying—*I’m* not fine with it."

Whenever I saw his eyes, I thought of Lee Ahn’s All-Body Petrification Technique. Feeling the loyalty of the escorts who endured such pain just to protect someone—I wanted nothing more than to end that pain as soon as possible.

The moment he removed the blindfold, I was shocked.

His eyes had returned to normal.

"You’ve achieved mastery!"

As if he had been planning to surprise me, Jeokyeon finally smiled.

"It’s all thanks to you, Young Cult Leader. I believe the times you tended to my eyes helped me make rapid progress in training the Ghost Eye Technique."

But I knew that wasn’t the real reason. He had endured severe pain and undergone harsh training.

"Then why were you still wearing the blindfold?"

"It just felt strange to take it off all of a sudden."

"Take it off. Once you do, martial maidens will be trailing you everywhere."

"All the more reason to keep it on, then. I’ll be trailing you instead, Young Cult Leader."

Was it because the pain in his eyes was gone? He seemed much more cheerful than before. Though the joke didn’t quite suit him, he quickly excused himself, likely feeling awkward.

"Then please rest well."

"Jeokyeon."

"Yes, Young Cult Leader?"

I couldn’t just let him go like that after he’d waited up so late to see me.

"You’ve got to have a drink to celebrate."

I drank with Jeokyeon, and we shared various conversations.

Just as I had reported everything that had happened to us, Jeokyeon also shared all that had taken place within the cult. He had prepared every detail in case it might be of help to me.

He also told me that the escort members had greatly improved their skills, and spoke of how hard they were all training.

“Maybe it’s because they all want to accompany and protect the Young Cult Leader—everyone is training with everything they’ve got.”

I always told them: if you want to come with me, you have to become stronger.

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon had been right. The cult’s overall power was growing stronger in every corner.

Especially those connected to me—they were all growing stronger. Even One-Slash Sword Supreme, who hadn’t fought in the battle against the hidden forces, had improved through her sparring with me.

Maybe what he said was really true.

Maybe I really was the one who awakened Father’s dream.

The next day, I went to the Valley of Wicked to meet with the Evil Smiling Demon.

Both my bed and his were still in place at his quarters.

On top of that, there was now a desk and chair that hadn’t been there before.

The Evil Smiling Demon was sitting at the desk, looking at something.

“I’m back.”

His eyes behind the mask beamed with delight as he looked at me.

“You’ve returned?”

The Evil Smiling Demon greeted me with the same unchanging warmth.

“I see you’ve added a desk.”

Of course, it was a desk and chair painted in pure white.

“It’s convenient to have it.”

Then he lifted what he had been looking at and showed it to me. It was a ledger filled with numbers.

“I’ve recently started studying this.”

Seeing him like that reminded me of when I followed him into the Central Plains. Back then, Cheong Myeon would whisper the ledger details to him through sound transmission, but now he was reading it himself. He must have learned how to read ledgers in the meantime.

I thought it was a good sign. When masters at the Demon Supreme level reached the next stage, inspiration often came from unexpected sources. That’s what made them so terrifying. The Blood Heaven Blade Demon reading books, the Evil Smiling Demon studying ledgers.

It all began after I placed my bed here. I could feel what was in the Evil Smiling Demon’s heart when he placed that desk.

I had shown my care by giving him a place to lie down and rest—and he, in turn, responded with an even greater change. He was saying, “It’s thanks to you that I’ve changed like this.”

“How was the Northern Sea?”

“It was a beautiful and awe-inspiring place. You’ve been there often, haven’t you?”

I assumed so, given how much the Evil Smiling Demon loved the color white.

“I’ve only been once. I absolutely can’t stand the cold.”

I laughed out loud at the unexpected answer.

This time, he asked the question.

“Then I assume you also visited the Northern Sea Ice Palace?”

“More than just visited—I actually stayed there for a while.”

“I’ve heard they don’t accept outsiders. As expected of the Young Cult Leader.”

I sat at the edge of my bed and told him in detail what had happened in the Northern Sea. Especially about the Blood King and his subordinates—I didn’t leave a single detail out.

Though repeating the same story could sometimes feel tedious, I didn’t let it bother me. I believed even the smallest detail might someday become a life-saving piece of information.

After finishing my recount of events in the Northern Sea, I brought up the most important reason for today’s visit.

“I heard that you met with Father recently.”

“Yes, I did.”

“I’m curious what you two spoke about that day.”

A flicker of puzzlement passed through the Evil Smiling Demon’s eyes behind his mask. After all, I was asking about a conversation between the Heavenly Demon and a Demon Supreme. No matter how close we were, it wasn’t a topic to ask about so casually.

“I know it’s a rude question.”

“I’m sure you have your reasons.”

I didn’t hide anything from him regarding this matter.

“I’m starting to wonder if Father has begun to move for the sake of unifying the martial world.”

The moment I said “unifying the martial world,” the light in the Evil Smiling Demon’s eyes intensified.

“I saw him drinking with the Drunken Demon yesterday. That’s when I thought—maybe he’s finally drawing his sword.”

Only then did the Evil Smiling Demon seem to understand why I had asked that question.

“When I met with him, he didn’t mention anything about unification. We only talked about matters within the cult and everyday things. Mostly, he talked about you.”

“About me?”

“Yes. He asked me to look after the Young Cult Leader.”

Father, personally asking the Evil Smiling Demon to look after me?

I suppose it could happen, now that our relationship had improved recently.

Still, the unease wouldn’t go away.

“Are you worried?”

“To be honest, yes. Enough to come visit you like this and risk being rude.”

Beyond my relationship with them—what were the Demon Supremes truly thinking?

Since my regression, they had changed a lot. Their relationships with me had shifted, too.

But had their view of the martial world changed as well? For example, if I asked this:

Did the Evil Smiling Demon prefer a peaceful martial world? Or did he long to charge across a battlefield, radiating demonic energy?

Could I say with certainty that he favored peace? Was the man before me truly that kind of person?

That was when the Evil Smiling Demon spoke—as though he had read my thoughts.

“I can endure it.”

I understood the heart behind those words. This was how he felt about me.

“I don’t want you to live a life where you have to endure, Soma-nim.”

His eyes behind the mask seemed to ask—*is there really a way?*

“Starting now, I’m going to find one. I’ll make Father, and all the Demon Supremes, use words other than ‘endure.’”

What words should take the place of ‘endure’? Even I didn’t know yet.

“Young Cult Leader.”

“Yes, Soma-nim.”

With clear and profound eyes, the Evil Smiling Demon spoke softly.

“No matter what order comes, I will follow you. Your demonic path is my demonic path.”