Absolute Regression

Chapter 439: Don’t tell me even Father became a gatherer?

Father is here?

The Poison King, who played the most important role in Father’s unification of the martial world.

Father had arrived first to meet him.

Even so, I felt more of a pleasant tension than worry.

It felt different from before. If up until now he had been testing me, this time, I could feel his intent to face me in a real match. It must mean that he acknowledges me to that extent.

In that case, I should enjoy this match with Father.

This whole process is a memory with Father, and part of my life. I always tell myself, but I won’t live a life solely for revenge. One life like that is enough. In this life, I’ll enjoy it. Even matches like this with Father.

I spoke loudly so my voice would be heard inside the building.

“Father, your son is here! Please let me in as well.”

Sangseon looked flustered. I must be the only person in the world who would shout like this at the Heavenly Demon. Truly, the Young Cult Leader is impossible to manage—seeing that expression on Sangseon’s face, Father’s voice rang out from inside.

“Come in.”

It was a puzzling situation.

Normally, the Poison King should have spoken. He should’ve conveyed Father’s will by saying, ‘Escort the Young Cult Leader inside.’ But Father himself was telling me to come in?

When I opened the door and stepped inside, an unexpected sight unfolded before me. That sight told me everything. Why Father had answered instead of the Poison King.

The Poison King was concocting poison, and Father was helping him. It was such an unimaginable scene that I simply stared at them blankly.

In front of the Poison King was the vat he used for making poison. And around it, over a dozen bottles floated in the air.

The one levitating those bottles in the air was none other than Father. He was helping with the poison concoction from a distance well outside the poison’s effective range using Void Telekinesis. A distance as far as the entrance where I was standing.

“Black, a little more, please!”

Drip drip drip.

“Green, stop now!”

As he spoke, the bottle with a black paper tag poured out liquid, while the one with a green paper tag stopped pouring.

“This time, pour Blue, Red, and Purple simultaneously.”

Then, the blue, red, and purple bottles floating in the air all tilted at once, pouring out their contents.

Sssssss.

Smoke rose from the mixed poisonous liquid.

Even as he gave directions, the Poison King’s hands moved busily. Amid the rising toxic smoke, he stirred the liquid with a wooden stick and added other poison ingredients. ṟ𝘈Ꞑ𝘰ꞖƐŠ

It was truly a magnificent scene. At a glance it might not seem like much, but both Father and the Poison King were displaying the utmost mastery and concentration.

“Blue, pause for a moment! Switch to Brown instead.”

Once again, as the Poison King commanded, the blue bottle stopped, and the brown bottle began to move.

Father’s skill in manipulating objects with Void Telekinesis was unbelievably precise and refined. It felt as if he had given the bottles life and will.

The Poison King was watching the falling liquid closely and mixing in powder accordingly.

The poison created in this process could only be withstood by the Poison King. That’s why he normally carried out this task alone.

Pouring this, mixing that. In the midst of this hazardous and intricate process—

“Everyone stop!”

At the Poison King’s shout, the bottles floating in the air all halted at once.

A single drop that shouldn’t have been included splashed and began to fall inward.

The next moment—

That one drop froze in midair.

Father had stopped it with Void Telekinesis.

A still silence fell.

With a single droplet suspended in the air, it felt as though time had stopped.

It then gently floated back through the air and returned to the bottle it had come from.

At last, the Poison King’s poison-making process was complete.

The Poison King’s face was flushed. He hadn’t even noticed I had entered. His entire focus was on the poison.

More than the fact that he was concocting poison alongside Father, what mattered most to him was completing the poison. I knew well that the idea of ‘working respectfully with the Cult Leader’ never existed in his mind to begin with.

The Poison King retrieved the finished poison, sniffed it, and ran a few tests.

Was the Poison King currently in his own world—or was he in reality? I had always been able to tell where the Poison King stood, but right now, I wasn’t sure.

Once he had completed a few checks, his expression brightened with joy, and he spoke with a face full of elation.

“It’s a success.”

The Poison King was genuinely happy.

“This time, the mixture came out right. I kept failing on my own, but thanks to the Cult Leader’s help, I succeeded.”

This, I think, is the Poison King’s greatest strength. When it comes to poison, he willingly accepts help from others. Like when he asks the Demonic Buddha to gather poisonous herbs, or like today, when he received help from Father.

A person prone to shutting themselves off in their own world might let pride or stubbornness get in the way. But he is unexpectedly free of such arrogance.

That’s why I think the Poison King is a frightening person. He’s someone who can’t be easily defined.

“Oh? When did you get here?”

The Poison King noticed me only then. It wasn’t that he had pretended not to know—I could tell. He had been so terrifyingly focused on poison-making.

“I arrived a while ago.”

“I’ve successfully concocted the Absolute Death Poison.”

“Congratulations.”

The Absolute Death Poison was a newly formulated poison by the Poison King—a poison he had failed to create dozens of times before. Though Sangseon had assisted him, as seen earlier, the blending process was extremely delicate and complex, making it difficult to produce. And yet, he had succeeded with Father’s help.

“Such a shame! I should’ve been the one to help you succeed.”

“Then we’d have failed again today.”

This was the Poison King’s way of expressing thanks to Father.

I gave Father a belated greeting.

“My greetings are late—I thought you were in the middle of something important.”

I must not forget. The one who allowed me in here was Father. He had meant to show me the process of concocting poison with the Poison King.

“I didn’t know you were here.”

“Stopped by while passing.”

Father, do you realize that whenever you ‘stop by,’ people’s fates change drastically? Please, never say you plan to drop by the Alliance!

I pictured myself standing with Father atop a massive game board.

In this match against the Poison King, the move Father played was poison concoction.

What conversation had the two shared before I arrived? Did Father ask the Poison King to look after me? Or was he trying to firmly secure the Poison King as one of his own?

“I returned safely from the Northern Sea.”

“Did you?”

Even at my greeting, the Poison King only gave a half-hearted reply. He was staring at the completed poison in awe, completely absorbed in it. He only answered and asked questions because Father was present.

“Did you manage to collect any poisonous herbs that grow only in the Northern Sea?”

“Well, I tried, but…”

I had searched for herbs during the journey back. But I hadn’t found any suitable ones to bring as a gift.

“The poisonous herbs must’ve all hidden in embarrassment at the sight of me. It’s all Father’s fault—I’m far too handsome because I take after you.”

A sneer crept onto Father’s lips. It had been a while since I’d seen that sneer, and it lifted my mood. Father, please smile like that more often. For now, let these encounters remain tests, not true matches.

“Father, next time, let’s go pick herbs with the Poison King. Surely you won’t let yourself be used as a gatherer too.”

I had meant it as a joke, to lead into a story about turning the Demonic Buddha into a gatherer through a bet. But Father suddenly turned to the Poison King with an unexpected question.

“When was that again?”

At the abrupt question, the Poison King paused to recall.

“Four years and seven months ago.”

“Already been that long?”

With disbelief, I looked back and forth between the two of them and asked:

“Surely that day, four years and seven months ago… wasn’t the day you two went picking poisonous herbs together?”

From the expressions on their faces as they looked at each other, I could tell.

That ‘surely not’ was, in fact, true.

Father often surprised me, but this time, I was truly shocked. No matter how hard I tried to imagine it, the image of Father and the Poison King gathering poisonous herbs together just wouldn’t come to mind.

Moreover, the Poison King remembered the exact date of that day.

That meant it was a treasured moment for him too. And at the same time, it made me realize how hard it would be to truly bring the Poison King to my side.

Suddenly, the words of the Evil Smiling Demon came to mind.

―Convincing the Cult Leader is probably just as difficult.

Somehow, I think I’ll have it even harder.

At that moment, Father said his farewell.

“I’ll be off now.”

In response, the Poison King bowed deeply with formal respect. He didn’t repeat his thanks for the help with the poison blending.

Yet, I had the feeling that if Father were to ask someday, “When was that again?” the Poison King would clearly remember and answer this very moment.

Before leaving, Father looked at me. In his gaze, I saw the words:

My move is done. Now it’s your turn.

I could feel Father’s confidence.

In a method that neither pressured nor restricted, I was reminded once again that his composure came from strength.

As soon as Father left the residence, I turned to the Poison King and asked,

“Did you ask for help with the poison preparation first? Is that why Father came?”

“There’s no way I could’ve done that. I happened to be about to prepare poison when the Cult Leader appeared without notice. I tried to postpone it, but he offered to help.”

From the start, he likely hadn’t shown the intense focus I saw earlier. They must’ve had various conversations during the preparations.

“May I ask what the two of you talked about today?”

An astonishing answer followed.

“We didn’t exchange a single word.”

“You mean not even one word?”

The Poison King nodded. Father had come, helped with the poison, and left—just like that.

It struck me that this silent move was far more powerful than any attempt to persuade the Poison King with a hundred arguments.

And now you just leave like that? How am I supposed to win this?

Saying anything to the Poison King that went against Father’s unspoken intent would only backfire right now.

No amount of flattery from me could beat that one silent, heavy-handed blow of Father assisting in poison-making without a single word.

“I’ll be leaving as well for today. It’s a strategic retreat.”

Still, I couldn’t leave just like that. So I subtly hinted that my visit today wasn’t simply a courtesy call.

It must’ve sounded a bit out of the blue, but the Poison King didn’t ask what I meant. Father came. I came. He must have sensed that something was going on. For some reason, the Poison King stopped me.

“Since you’re already here, help me with something before you go.”

“Just say the word.”

“Let’s start by bottling this poison.”

The Poison King brought out a box. Inside were about a dozen bottles, and the box was designed to store them securely so they wouldn’t break.

These specially crafted bottles were made to be sealed perfectly, so no poison could leak out.

“I’ll do it. Please rest.”

The Poison King sat on a desk a little distance away and silently watched me.

I filled the bottles with the Absolute Death Poison. It was exactly ten bottles. From that, I could tell he had made exactly enough poison for one box. If the concoction had failed, it would’ve either been too much or too little.

How many could this poison kill? Hundreds? Thousands?

“Pack that and follow me.”

I placed the poison-filled bottles back into the box, picked it up, and followed the Poison King.

He led me deep into the Heavenly Poison Forest.

I had searched for poisonous herbs here with him before. But the place he was taking me today—I had never been there before.

The Poison King walked deeper into the forest, forging a path where none existed.

Was there even such a place in the Heavenly Poison Forest?

It felt like entering a new territory within the forest. This area was filled with all kinds of poisonous creatures more vicious and dangerous than anything outside.

What’s more, we were now walking through a swamp. But it wasn’t an ordinary swamp. If a person fell in, they would never be able to get out—this was a death swamp.

The mist hanging over the swamp, like drifting fog, was also laced with poison.

This was truly a place that needed no guards, no formations.

No one but someone with Complete Poison Immunity or the Poison King himself could ever enter here.

I stepped on the same stones and branches the Poison King did, carefully crossing the swamp.

Tsssst-tssst-tsssst!

Strange sounds echoed from all directions. As we walked, the Poison King would occasionally stop and examine the condition of the poisonous creatures. With a boyish face, he explained to me what each one was and how it was doing. That one was angry because it couldn’t mate, or this one was in pain somewhere. He could perceive things ordinary people never could.

Past the swamp, we reached a cave.

Even inside the cave, poisonous creatures were everywhere. If it weren’t the two of us, even a skilled expert wouldn’t be able to take a single step in here.

At the end of the cave stood a massive iron door. The Poison King unlocked it and led me inside—a large storage room.

The moment I stepped in, I was overwhelmed by the sight that spread out before me.

The vast space was filled with bottles. Hundreds of display stands stood there, and on each stand, bottles were placed. I could immediately tell—every single one of those bottles contained poison. There were over thousands—an overwhelming amount.

“All the poisons of the Cult are stored here.”

This was the secret warehouse where the deadly poisons of the Heavenly Poison Forest were stored. In times of war, these poisons would be unleashed upon the world.

Why had the Poison King brought me here?

“Put the poison you brought over there at the end.”

I placed the bottles of Absolute Death Poison neatly in a row at the spot he pointed to. The Poison King wrote the name of the poison on the bottles. The other bottles standing beside them also had their names written on them.

Snake Poison, Madness Poison, Blood Poison, Intestine-Severing Poison, Slash Poison, Soul-Severing Poison, Annihilation Poison, Yin-Yang Poison, Shadowless Poison, Corpse Poison, Parasite Poison, Lost Soul Poison……

There were countless poisons—truly too many to count. Every terrifying poison that existed in this world was here.

What stood out was that the arrangement of the poisons was completely different from what I had expected. I thought the stronger poisons would be deeper inside, but instead, the bottles containing the Formless Deadly Poison were placed right next to the entrance. It gave the impression that the more powerful the poison, the faster it needed to be used.

“What would happen if all the poisons stored here were released into the world?”

The Poison King answered from behind me.

“Everyone would die.”

It wasn’t just exaggeration.

I became curious about the Poison King’s thoughts. So, before asking whether he stood with Father or me, I asked this first. It was the first question I’d ever asked him since we met.

“Poison King, why do you make poison?”