Absolute Regression

Chapter 486: Sorry, but There is No Next Time

Myungshin silently stared at the coin Geom Mugeuk held out.

He had once said this to the King of Killing.

―Did you say the Young Cult Leader resembles me? Then, you’ve vastly overestimated me.

That was not something he should have said to the King of Killing. Because the one who overestimated him was right here.

Myungshin did not take the coin that Geom Mugeuk held out.

"I am not the kind of assassin who accepts a request for just a single coin."

Myungshin began to walk again.

Geom Mugeuk followed behind him.

"Ah, of course, I know very well that you’re the second most expensive assassin in the Underworld."

But what arose in Geom Mugeuk’s heart was a thought different from his words.

‘No, you are that kind of assassin.’

The act of accepting a request for a single coin lay in the future.

He would later leave the organization, wander the Central Plains, and live as an assassin who took a child’s single coin as payment. When someone suffered injustice, he would avenge them. In return, he might receive a ball of rice or set out for a killing after hearing a single tune.

And in the end, he would be killed by the King of Killing.

The reason he left the organization was because the King of Killing made him carry out a killing that violated his principles.

The King of Killing was merciless. The person whom he tricked into killing, claiming he was a villain, was in truth a remarkable man. A supremely virtuous person, admired and respected by all.

Myungshin, as always, conducted his own investigation into the target, but he could not escape the carefully laid scheme of the King of Killing.

After that incident, Myungshin was deeply shaken and disappeared from sight.

Perhaps he lived as an assassin who helped people because of the innate kindness he was born with, combined with the guilt of having killed an innocent person. And eventually, the King of Killing found him and killed him. ℞𝓪ɴȯ₿Еs

What did the King of Killing say when he killed him?

Did he strike a deep wound in Myungshin’s heart before killing him? Or did he say something else entirely before dealing the fatal blow? That remained unknown.

In any case, before the regression, the King of Killing lived and Myungshin died. But in this world now, the one who must live is Myungshin, and the one who must die is the King of Killing.

The two walked in silence for quite a while.

Myungshin was contemplating.

In fact, this was a chance. Things felt awkward now, but at this moment, it seemed Geom Mugeuk would follow him no matter where he went.

‘Should I just take him with me like this?’

Even if he didn’t follow, he could just make plans for next time.

Despite the unexpected opportunity that had come his way, Myungshin hesitated. And it was because of the words Geom Mugeuk had spoken.

―Somewhere in this world, I thought it’d be nice if there was at least one cool assassin who would take a child’s single coin as payment and kill the wicked.

The moment he heard those words, his heart trembled.

Was it because he genuinely wanted to live as that kind of assassin?

Or was it because of the anger he felt toward Geom Mugeuk, who seemed to be trying to sway him with such sentimental words?

Even if it was only for a brief moment, Geom Mugeuk’s words had shaken his emotions. If it had been another assassin trying to kill him, that moment would have been the perfect opening.

Whether he knew of this complicated turmoil or not, Geom Mugeuk remained carefree.

"Now then, shouldn’t we have a drink to ease this awkwardness between us? Let’s go."

Instead, it was Geom Mugeuk who took the lead.

Myungshin followed behind him.

‘If I take him there... the Young Cult Leader will die today.’

If he failed to carry out this mission—

‘I will die.’

Because he would be the one to ruin the largest-scale assassination to date, one so critical that even top-class assassins from outside had been called in. Especially now, when his relationship with the King of Killing was already strained, escaping responsibility would be even more difficult.

"What are you thinking about so deeply?"

Whether I should kill you or not.

"Can’t you just walk away from all this?"

"Why say something like that all of a sudden?"

The Young Cult Leader suddenly disappeared.

That’s what he wanted to report to the King of Killing. Because he didn’t want to kill the only person who had made him look deep into his own heart.

And that wasn’t even the worst of it. The moment he killed the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult, he’d have to spend the rest of his life hiding. The King of Killing may have had a clear reason for accepting this assignment, but Myungshin didn’t. Emotionally, he just didn’t want to do it.

"Did you receive an order to kill me?"

Startled by Geom Mugeuk’s sudden question, Myungshin flinched inside, but didn’t show it. He simply kept walking.

"So you really did, didn’t you?"

Myungshin stopped in his tracks.

"I never said a word."

"Most people, if they’re wrongly accused, would deny it just to avoid a misunderstanding, wouldn’t they?"

"What does a little misunderstanding matter?"

But Geom Mugeuk didn’t let even a single word pass by lightly.

"Those who say ‘it’s just a misunderstanding, it’s fine’ are usually the ones who hate being misunderstood the most. Just like how those who love talking behind others’ backs absolutely loathe being talked about themselves."

He saw through him perfectly. Though he said otherwise, Myungshin did hate being misunderstood. He despised those who spoke carelessly without knowing the full story.

"The world isn’t made up solely of your experiences, you know."

As if in agreement, Geom Mugeuk gave a firm nod.

The more Myungshin talked with Geom Mugeuk, the more irritated he became.

Because this man, who should have been the target of his assassination, kept making him reflect inward—a task meant for assassins, not for their targets.

Whether he understood this or not, Geom Mugeuk ceaselessly stirred Myungshin’s emotions.

"According to your principles, am I someone who deserves to die, or not?"

Myungshin remembered that the King of Killing had asked him the same question.

―You said you don’t kill unless they’re evil, right? Then, is the Young Cult Leader evil? Or is he good?

Myungshin hadn’t been able to answer the King of Killing then. And now, he couldn’t answer Geom Mugeuk either.

Based on the collected information, he wasn’t an evil man. The only justification for killing him was the fact that he held the position of Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult.

But what if the Young Cult Leader truly wasn’t evil? Then it would mean violating his own principles. Was he, perhaps, trying to gloss over that truth by using the excuse of the Demonic Cult? Hoping, deep down, that all of this would just pass him by?

"You tell me. Are you an evil man, or are you not?"

Geom Mugeuk answered without hesitation.

"Of course, I’m someone who shouldn’t be killed."

"And why is that?"

"If your principle is not to kill unless they’re evil, then my principle is that evil must be killed. I’ve taken your principle one step further. In the end, you could say we’re the same kind of person."

Hearing Geom Mugeuk’s principle spoken aloud made it sound unbelievable—but it was the truth. It was listed as the most important detail in the information gathered on him.

The Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult, who forgave no evil?

Naturally, he had assumed it was deception—some form of disguise.

But what if it wasn’t? Then it was a truly astounding disguise, an extraordinary deception. And he kept feeling that maybe, just maybe, the information might be true.

Instead, the prior investigation was becoming a poison. Without it, he would never have trusted the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult to begin with.

While those thoughts passed through his mind, the two arrived at the marketplace.

"Well, like I said, let’s go to the place you choose today."

Myungshin’s heart pounded.

‘Should I take him there? Or should I hold back today?’

If it had to be done eventually, was there any reason to delay? Knowing that today was the opportunity, Myungshin still hesitated.

"If you know a better place than here in this village, we can go there instead."

Though a storm raged within Myungshin’s heart, his expression remained calm and clear like still water.

"There’s a tavern a bit further out—would that be alright?"

If Geom Mugeuk insisted on staying here, he didn’t intend to force him.

But instead, Geom Mugeuk approached and tugged on his sleeve.

"You should’ve said so earlier. Let’s go. Even if it’s just one drink, we should have it somewhere good."

Just like that day when he had stepped boldly out of the iron cell, grabbed his hand, and pulled the handle together—today, too, Geom Mugeuk was deciding his own fate.

‘Yes... this is the fate you’ve chosen for yourself,’ Myungshin told himself, trying to feel at ease.

But as they left the marketplace and continued walking, Myungshin’s heart remained uneasy.

He kept thinking about that coin that had rested on Geom Mugeuk’s palm.

‘I must not get drawn in.’

That coin was nothing more than a demonic weapon that had pierced his heart.

As he walked, lost in thought, Geom Mugeuk spoke words that brought Myungshin’s steps to a halt.

"Before long, your superior will deceive you into killing someone who must never be killed by making you believe they’re an evil man. What will you do then? Will you kill him? Or will you leave the Underworld?"

"Why would they do such a thing to me, the second-in-command of the Underworld?"

But contrary to the certainty in his words, Myungshin was recalling what the King of Killing had once said to him.

―What if you make a mistake because of these pointless principles? Will you retire in guilt? Or maybe even take your own life?

Looking back, that mistake would be the one made by the King of Killing. A mistake of misjudging a good man as evil and giving the order to kill. The King of Killing, he knew, wasn’t the kind of man to make such a mistake. So why had he said that?

But soon, Myungshin concluded that this too was part of his opponent’s scheme.

‘He must’ve found out about the tension between me and the King of Killing and is digging into it relentlessly.’

Stopping in his tracks, Myungshin glared at Geom Mugeuk.

"Are you trying to sow discord between me and him?"

He had expected Geom Mugeuk to deny it, of course.

"I am."

But Geom Mugeuk admitted it without hesitation.

"If I want to bring you over to my side, even sowing discord is necessary."

And the way Geom Mugeuk openly stoked division was powerful.

"Was it really him who saved you?"

Myungshin’s expression hardened immediately.

"As a child, you were the sole survivor of a slaughtered household. You were pinned beneath a toppled wardrobe, barely alive. And you were saved."

Myungshin was shocked. The Young Cult Leader knew that the King of Killing had saved him. And he knew it in vivid detail.

‘No one knows about that…’

Startled by how he had learned of it, Geom Mugeuk calmly replied.

"I am the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. If I wish to know, I can even find out who the Alliance Leader of the Martial Alliance had a crush on and at what age."

But what truly stunned Myungshin wasn’t that he knew.

"What do you mean, it wasn’t him who saved me?"

"Let’s say someone pushes another into a river, then pulls them out again—can you really say they saved that person?"

Myungshin’s eyes widened in disbelief.

"The organization that accepted the request to slaughter your family... was the Underworld."

What made this act of division so powerful was that its foundation was truth.

Myungshin had trained endlessly to maintain emotional composure as an assassin.

But at least in this moment, he could not suppress the surge of turmoil and fury.

The memory of that childhood moment resurfaced.

When the heavy wardrobe was lifted, the darkness cleared, and light returned to his vision.

And in that light stood a boy, gazing down at him.

With eyes as cold as ice, devoid of any emotion, the boy looked down at him in silence.

"You knew, didn’t you?"

No—I didn’t.

He had only been seven years old then. He had simply lived with the intention of repaying the one who saved him.

He hadn’t even dreamed of avenging his family. No, he hadn’t had the luxury to dream. From that point on, he had begun assassin training. And he had lived as an assassin ever since.

But what dominated him now wasn’t betrayal—it was doubt toward himself.

Perhaps, just as Geom Mugeuk said, he had known all along.

Was that why he had never asked?

Why did you save me that day? No—why were you passing by there in the first place?

He had never asked the King of Killing. Not even once.

Perhaps he had sensed it all along. That the King of Killing would answer with cold indifference, We exterminated your family. As you know, it was just business.

Was it because he feared hearing such words?

Had he been willfully ignoring the truth all this time?

‘What are you thinking?! Don’t fall for such a cheap trick!’

It was nothing more than an insidious act of manipulation. A scheme crafted by a Demonic Cult member using the knowledge that he and the King of Killing had drifted apart.

‘Despicable!’

Though he turned the blade away from himself and toward Geom Mugeuk, the hand gripping the hilt still asked:

‘Are you not simply avoiding the truth staring you in the face?’

Geom Mugeuk asked,

"Did I sow some discord?"

Myungshin wanted to respond with a calm smile, but what burst out instead was a voice tinged with emotion.

"It’s a thrill in the moment, isn’t it? Stirring up someone’s heart like that. But do you know? With that single moment of thrill, you’ve lost my trust forever."

Myungshin resumed walking with firm steps.

Geom Mugeuk walked alongside him.

"There should be an old request log somewhere regarding your family. Unless your superior erased it, maybe he hoped you’d see it one day."

Myungshin clenched his teeth. Though he told himself it was a trick, he couldn’t deny it outright—because the King of Killing he knew was someone capable of doing exactly that.

Why had that hollow man saved him?

Why had he, of all people, been allowed to cling to the icy cliff wall of the man’s inner self?

He still hadn’t found the answer.

The one benefit of this emotional exchange with Geom Mugeuk was that it made it easier to bring him to the shelter.

The narrow street bustled with travelers.

"I didn’t know a place like this existed."

Geom Mugeuk spoke as if nothing had happened, and Myungshin replied in a softened tone.

"I come here sometimes."

But within Myungshin’s heart, two conflicting desires clashed.

The desire to finish the mission quickly.

And the hope that Geom Mugeuk would suddenly lose his appetite for drink and leave, saying something like, I’ve suddenly lost my taste for alcohol.

He was the kind of man who stirred people’s hearts and provoked their anger—and yet, Myungshin couldn’t understand why he kept hoping this man would live.

‘Go. Even now—just go!’

But Geom Mugeuk stepped forward with lively strides into the street. His steps toward a trap of death were far too lighthearted.

"A new batch of silk arrived yesterday. Take a look before you go!"

A clerk from a fabric shop.

The dozing owner of a tea house.

A woman calling over a running child with a wave.

A merchant balancing a tray and calling out to passersby.

And many others.

The assassins were perfectly blended into the street. These were the elite—top-class assassins with the finest skill.

A flawless spectacle composed of killers at the pinnacle of their craft. Can you truly endure this?

Myungshin looked at Geom Mugeuk. The man actually seemed excited.

"Since I got the dagger as a gift, I’ll pay today. Next time, it’s your turn. Let’s make peace and have a great time drinking tonight."

‘Sorry, but there is no next time.’

"That tavern over there?"

"That’s right."

"The vibe already feels great. You should’ve suggested this place from the start."

And so the two stepped into the tavern. The cheerful-looking owner, who had been chatting with other customers, came forward to greet them.

"Welcome."

He addressed Myungshin as if they were familiar.

"Please, sit wherever you’re comfortable."

Geom Mugeuk spoke to the tavern owner.

"I can tell just by looking at a tavern owner’s face whether the liquor’s good or not."

He stared intently at the owner’s face, then made his decision.

"This—this looks like a taste I’ll never forget."

At that, the owner beamed and clapped his hands with a crisp slap slap.

"I’ll serve you something unforgettable tonight!"