Absolute Regression

Chapter 438: The Cult Leader’s War Had Begun

“So even if this martial world becomes a sea of blood, I will follow the Cult Leader’s demonic path.”

I could tell that the Fist Demon King was speaking from the heart.

Yes, this was the kind of man the Fist Demon King was.

His loyalty couldn’t be swayed by persuasion or appeasement. No threat worked, and no human relationship could pierce through.

Once he gave his loyalty, he followed through to the end.

Of course, that didn’t mean I believed those words reflected the Fist Demon King’s true heart.

Would he truly wish to turn the martial world into a sea of blood and kill people?

If anything, such desires might be hidden in the blood of the Evil Smiling Demon, but I knew well that the Fist Demon King wasn’t that kind of person.

Suddenly, the image of the Evil Smiling Demon standing beside the Fist Demon King came to mind. The two of them were facing each other.

They were both showing a will that went against their own desires.

Out of loyalty to me.

Out of loyalty to my father.

Had fate tied them differently, they might have spoken words of the opposite meaning. Was it because they lacked conviction? No way! It was because they were passionate men who could suppress their own desires for the sake of those they served.

That was why I suddenly felt grateful to the Evil Smiling Demon. It was through the Fist Demon King that I realized just how much strength he had been giving me.

And I was grateful to the Fist Demon King as well.

Because he was protecting my father with such loyalty.

“Understood, Master.”

I answered politely. There was no need to argue over what was right or wrong.

Because for my father, for the Fist Demon King, and for me—

These were beliefs and aspirations shaped over long years.

And those words he once said—

I respect your demonic path.

That alone was enough.

“Thank you, Master.”

Perhaps because I stepped back cleanly, or because I was truly grateful—

As he silently stared at me, he suddenly spoke.

“Do you think the Cult Leader is preparing for war?”

It was a question that made me flinch. A question that hinted at something immense to come.

“Then… isn’t he?”

Then, from the Fist Demon King’s mouth came the most shocking words I’d heard since we met today.

“The Cult Leader has already begun the war.”

“!”

I looked at the Fist Demon King in shock, but he simply turned and strode away, leaving only those words behind.

As I watched his broad back, I felt my heart race.

The war… had already begun?

Geom Mugeuk, who had left the Eastern Fist Faction, headed toward Maga Village.

He was craving a drink and also wanted to see Jo Chunbae.

“Young Cult Leader!”

Truly, Jo Chunbae’s joy at seeing Geom Mugeuk was no less than any Demon Supreme’s.

“Have you been well, innkeeper?”

“Thanks to you, I’ve been doing quite well.”

All the customers drinking on the tavern’s first floor stood up together to greet Geom Mugeuk.

The people of Maga Village liked Geom Mugeuk. Ever since he established a branch of the Underworld Pavilion here in this marketplace and frequented the Flowing Wind Tavern, this place had become more secure than any other village in the martial world. ꞦА𐌽òΒĚṥ

No one would believe it—the fact that the number of crimes or violence committed in front of the main base of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was fewer than those happening before the Murim Alliance’s main hall.

Geom Mugeuk took his usual seat on the second floor. Jo Chunbae followed him up with only some liquor and simple side dishes.

“How’s business lately? Haven’t customers been flooding in?”

After the three-way summit, the Flowing Wind Tavern became the most famous tavern in the martial world.

It gained fame just from being the site of the summit, and rumors that Heavenly Demon, the Murim Alliance Leader, and the Unorthodox Alliance Leader had each left writings there only added to its reputation.

So I’d expected the area in front of the tavern to be flooded with customers.

“Occasionally, some visitors drop by to see the wall, but it’s not enough to interfere with business.”

It seemed the insatiable curiosity of the martial artists wasn’t enough to overcome the daunting wall that stood in front of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s main base.

There were no orthodox or unorthodox martial artists at all, and the occasional guests were mostly demons or their families.

Then again, with such grand figures leaving behind writings, maybe it only added to people’s sense of unease.

After all, who wouldn’t feel nervous at the thought: ‘What if I just came to sightsee, and then some demon sitting there suddenly stood up and shouted, “How dare you look at it with such blasphemous eyes? I’ll rip your eyeballs out!”’ That fear was real.

“Maybe later, people will line up instead.”

Once those who left those inscriptions are dead, this place will finally become a famed landmark. Like how paintings become masterpieces only after the artist dies.

“By then, I probably won’t be around.”

Jo Chunbae let out a sigh, but his face was bright. Every day, he boasted about the wall’s writing and the summit to at least one drunk guest, living a cheerful life. His joy made him feel younger. Truly, thanks to the wall, Jo Chunbae was aging in reverse.

Jo Chunbae went downstairs to cook, and Geom Mugeuk drank alone.

His gaze naturally drifted toward the writing left on the wall.

Murim Alliance Leader Jin Paecheon, here glimpsed a new demonic path.

The image of the Alliance Leader writing that phrase came to mind. Then he looked down to the next line.

Unorthodox Alliance Leader Baek Jagang, here witnessed a disciple’s dance.

Baek Jagang’s figure came to mind too.

He recalled the moment they had danced together that day.

But if war were to break out, that moment would be reduced to nothing more than a demonic scheme. People would believe the three-way summit was merely a trick to lull them into a false sense of security.

At that moment, the words of the Fist Demon King echoed in his mind.

―The Cult Leader has already begun the war.

What did he mean the Cult Leader had started a war with? Was it with the orthodox or the unorthodox factions? Or was he referring to the power working behind the scenes this time?

Both possibilities were valid. One touched on Father’s dream, and the other on his pride.

But if such movements had already begun, Gowol would have noticed.

Did it mean they were moving so covertly that even Gowol’s eyes had been deceived? If not that—then who exactly was the target?

This wasn’t something I could even ask Father about. It was something the Fist Demon King had gone out of his way to tell me.

As I sank into thought and drank a few more cups, Jo Chunbae brought up the side dishes.

“Innkeeper, it’s been a while. Accept a drink from me.”

“Oh my, such a precious drink to receive.”

Jo Chunbae accepted Geom Mugeuk’s drink with a theatrically humbled expression.

One of Jo Chunbae’s strengths was that he never became careless just because someone got close. He understood. Mistakes were always made when you let your guard down just because you’d grown close. Even casual jokes that turned into slips of the tongue came from the assumption of familiarity.

Because he knew that, he always maintained a consistent attitude. Even if he received a drink at the moment of death, he would accept it with humility. That was exactly why he was someone you wanted to treat well.

“It’s been a while since I drank the Young Cult Leader’s liquor—tastes better than ever.”

“I’ll have another drink as well.”

As Jo Chunbae refilled Geom Mugeuk’s cup, he cautiously asked,

“Is something troubling you?”

“Do I look troubled?”

Jo Chunbae gave a slight nod. Well, with years of bartending under his belt, how could he not know? Just as we could assess a fighter’s skill by how they held a weapon, he could read someone’s emotional state by the way they held a drink.

“I have a lot on my mind from standing against my father.”

At that, Jo Chunbae let out a soft exclamation—“Oh dear.”

“I shouldn’t have asked, should I?”

“I didn’t hear anything.”

He waved his hands and shook his head quickly, so I poured him another drink.

“Still, I trust our innkeeper is on my side.”

Jo Chunbae let out another moan of “Oh dear” as he received the drink. Getting close to Geom Mugeuk had now brought him the experience of being on the side that opposed even the Heavenly Demon.

Normally, he would only drink a single cup before returning to work, but today he accepted another.

“Do you remember that time?”

“What time are you referring to?”

“When those esteemed figures left their writings on the wall, I was full of worries.”

What if the wall got damaged? What if someone stole it? It was such a worry that he couldn’t sleep lying down at night.

“Thanks to the advice you gave me then, I’ve been at ease ever since.”

Back then, when Jo Chunbae had been fretting endlessly, Geom Mugeuk had said this:

―If, some day, someone were to deface that wall and disappear for one reason or another, that too would become a part of history. Perhaps it might even become the more interesting part of the story.

That had been a great help to Jo Chunbae. If he hadn’t heard those words, he might have collapsed from nervous exhaustion.

What unsettles people—and what gives them peace—isn’t always something grand or complex.

Sometimes, it’s just a single offhand comment that keeps you up all night. That one line becomes a lasting wound in your heart that torments you endlessly.

But this time, I realized that the opposite could also be true.

“If the wall disappears, that might actually be more fun!”

Amazingly, that thought triumphed over his anxiety. Just as a single word can wound a person, a single word can also heal. That’s what he experienced this time.

“Those words erased my worries like magic. At times, I even think, ‘Why hasn’t someone stolen that wall yet?’ and indulge in such extreme thoughts.”

What Jo Chunbae really wanted to say was this:

“The things I worried about didn’t happen easily. So much so that I now wonder why I worried so much in the first place. So please, don’t torment yourself with worry. Everything will be fine, Young Cult Leader.”

And then, in his own way, he added:

“Please wait just a moment. I’ll prepare a special dish just for you!”

Watching him head down to the first floor, Geom Mugeuk felt a sense of calm wash over him.

There was a comfort that the Flowing Wind Tavern gave, a comfort that Jo Chunbae gave. It was why this place felt like a world within the Temporal and Spatial Transference Technique of reality.

As he sat there drinking, someone entered the Flowing Wind Tavern.

A man carrying a great blade on his back came up to the second floor—it was Seo Daeryong.

“For some reason, I had a feeling you’d be here.”

“What are you doing here at this hour? What about your evening training?”

“I decided to take a break for the day.”

“Because of me?”

“Pardon? What do you mean?”

I wondered if Seo Daeryong had heard about everything from the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, but that wasn’t the case.

“Master said he was going to the Daecheon Mountains, so he told us to take the day off.”

“What’s he going to the Daecheon Mountains for?”

“He didn’t say.”

Seo Daeryong added playfully,

“Well, the Young Cult Leader, who knows all things under the heavens, must already know the reason, right?”

“Of course I know.”

He’d said it as a joke, but hearing me say I knew, Seo Daeryong widened his eyes.

“You really do? Why did he go to Daecheon Mountains?”

“To settle his troubled heart.”

The night sky at the summit of the Daecheon Mountains was truly a spectacle, with stars pouring down like rain. He was probably standing there now, trying to sort out his thoughts about Father and me.

“Why was he troubled?”

“Because I made him that way.”

The Young Cult Leader and the Master—this matter concerned the two people closest to him, so Seo Daeryong naturally became cautious.

“What exactly is going on?”

“Yes, you’re my right-hand man. You should know what’s happening.”

Geom Mugeuk shared the current situation with Seo Daeryong. After listening to it all, Seo Daeryong’s gaze sharpened, and he spoke with resolve.

“If only I had the right to make a choice too.”

“Then it wouldn’t have been one against two—it would’ve been one against three, right?”

“You really are sharp.”

Though he said that jokingly, Seo Daeryong knew for sure.

If such a situation really came to pass, he would side with the Young Cult Leader. Even knowing it would mean risking his life to defy the Cult Leader, he felt certain he would stand by Geom Mugeuk.

He felt not fear at that realization, but relief.

The relationship between Geom Mugeuk and the other Demon Supremes was one of equals, but his own relationship with Geom Mugeuk was different.

Geom Mugeuk had taken an ordinary investigator and made him the Lord of the Underworld Pavilion, had helped him become the disciple of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon. More than anything, he had pulled him out of a dark, discontented life and led him into a world of light.

That was the kind of man Geom Mugeuk was.

He felt relieved at himself—at the fact that he wouldn’t say something cowardly like,

‘But no matter what, we can’t go against the Cult Leader, can we?’

“The matter’s so important, we ought to do a secret ballot!”

The fact that he could joke like this so casually made Seo Daeryong proud and grateful for who he had become.

“So, who are you planning to visit next?”

The remaining Demon Supremes were the One-Slash Sword Supreme, the Demonic Buddha, the Soul Reaper Demon Supreme, and the Poison King. Seo Daeryong had no idea who would take the Young Cult Leader’s side.

“I tried to bring down the cliff, but it didn’t budge.”

Geom Mugeuk drank and said,

“Guess I’ll have to climb it and pick herbs instead.”

There were many ways to make someone take your side. Persuading with logic, moving them emotionally, overpowering them with strength, or negotiating—giving something and taking something in return.

And right now, I was heading to meet someone for whom none of those methods would work easily.

When I arrived at the Heavenly Poison Forest, it wasn’t Sangseon who welcomed me, but another poison practitioner.

“Young Cult Leader, Sangseon has asked me to guide you. Please follow me.”

I walked through the Heavenly Poison Forest with him. A venomous snake flicked its tongue from a tree branch, and poisonous insects rustled beneath thick piles of leaves, making eerie noises.

‘It’s been a long time since I came here too.’

I asked the guide,

“Does the Demonic Buddha still come around these days?”

“Yes, I believe he visits often to collect herbs.”

The Poison King and the Demonic Buddha—by appearance and personality, the two didn’t match at all. Yet the shared memory of the three of us gathering herbs together had somehow blossomed into a friendship between the two.

Between the Poison King and the Demonic Buddha, the easier one to predict was the Demonic Buddha.

He had always been on my brother’s side from beginning to end. Above all, my brother’s opinion would heavily influence him. Unfortunately, my brother would never defy Father. I didn’t know for certain, but chances were the Demonic Buddha would follow Father as well.

Even if not for my brother’s sake, the Demonic Buddha was someone with deep ambition for power. If it came down to choosing war or peace, he would raise his hand for war, not peace.

That meant I had to bring the Poison King to my side—no matter what.

After walking for a while, I finally reached the Poison King’s residence. Sangseon was standing outside.

‘Why send a subordinate when he’s just standing around doing nothing?’

That question was quickly answered.

“You’ll need to wait a little.”

“Is the Poison King in the middle of making an important poison?”

“No.”

Sangseon’s answer was something I hadn’t expected at all.

“The Cult Leader is here right now.”