Absolute Regression

Chapter 547: Where There Is Light, There Is Also Darkness

Jin Haryeong and Yeo Jeong were hiding in a secret chamber of the Sky Flower Pavilion.

When the real battle began, they had taken advantage of the chaos and successfully hidden themselves in the chamber of the Sky Flower Pavilion.

Sounds of battle echoed from above. Breaking, shattering, and smashing.

She was overwhelmed with curiosity and worry about what was happening outside, but Jin Haryeong stayed hidden without moving an inch.

If it had been her old self, she would never have chosen to hide like this. She would have fought beside her brother and tried to protect Yeo Jeong.

Honor had meant more to her than anything else. And also, she had feared that when that door eventually opened, she might see her brother's corpse. She wouldn't have been able to endure the terror of surviving alone.

But Jin Haryeong had changed. Promises mattered more than honor now, and the person she had to protect mattered more than anything. Her faith in brother had grown beyond comparison.

Her relationship with Geom Mugeuk deeply influenced all these changes.

Even the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult thought and acted this way—who was she to say otherwise?

She could already imagine Geom Mugeuk’s reaction if he found out she had been hiding here.

—You did really well. That was the wisest choice!

And yet, he would probably tease her, too.

—Ah, I should have said I’d protect the Pavilion Mistress! Do you know how many times I almost died?

Imagining that reaction, a smile unknowingly formed on her lips.

‘Seriously, even in a situation like this, you make me into a crazy woman who’s smiling.’

At that moment, Yeo Jeong spoke to her from behind.

“Lady Jin.”

“Yes, Pavilion Mistress.”

When Jin Haryeong turned around, Yeo Jeong’s expression was perfectly composed. So much so that it made Jin Haryeong wonder if perhaps it was Yeo Jeong who was actually protecting her.

“If a moment comes when you must make a choice, don’t hesitate to abandon me.”

Jin Haryeong could tell. Yeo Jeong meant every word.

“Yes, I will.”

Was her answer too easy? Yeo Jeong's expression showed disbelief. So Jin Haryeong added,

“I made a promise to that person. That I would protect you no matter what.”

Yeo Jeong smiled gently and said,

“If the one who made that promise survives alone, he’ll understand you, Lady Jin. He will probably comfort you more warmly than anyone else.”

Jin Haryeong silently thought to herself.

‘No, he’ll hurl words of blame at me. He’ll say he died because of me, he’ll lash out cruelly. So I’ll lose all affection for him. So that I won’t be left with guilt, but some other emotion. Because he’s the kind of person who’d think doing that is for my sake.’

She now knew that Geom Mugeuk was that kind of person. That was why—why she had to protect Yeo Jeong, no matter what.

Jin Haryeong changed the subject.

“My brother… I wonder if he’s fighting well right now.”

She had always lived with the belief that if someone had to die, it should be her and not her brother. That was how important he was to the righteous Martial Alliance.

“You don’t know, do you? Just how upright and rigid my brother is. It’s honestly surprising that he became close with the Young Cult Leader.”

“Then I suppose there’s no need to worry.”

“Pardon?”

Yeo Jeong smiled as she responded to her.

“Upright people are naturally strong in times of crisis.”

*         *         *

The place they were in was a complex maze. The walls were made of thick steel, and the paths twisted endlessly.

Blood Maze Formation.

A deadly formation said to never let anyone escape once they’re trapped inside.

The one leading Jin Hagun and the martial artists of the Demon-Slaying Brigade through that formation was Jeong Gyeong of the Demon-Slaying Brigade.

“This way.”

The martial artists of the Demon-Slaying Brigade not only had strong martial skills by default, but each of them also possessed their own specialties. Some were well-versed in poisons, others specialized in the study of dark sorcery, and some were experts in tracking techniques.

Jeong Gyeong’s specialty was breaking formations.

Due to the nature of the Demon-Slaying Brigade, they often faced enemies who deployed formations or used traps. In preparation, they regularly trained and researched formation-breaking techniques.

Yet, Jeong Gyeong, who was leading the way, remained tense.

He had read every book on formations countless times. He had memorized them all, but the Blood Maze Formation was still a dangerously complex one.

Formation wasn’t something that only caused disorientation.

Each time a wrong path was taken—each time one chose a death gate instead of a life gate—one had to pay a terrifying price.

Moreover, no matter how much one studied and researched, formations constantly evolved and changed. The one trying to dismantle it could never fully keep up with its rate of development.

That was why, today, even here, he had to make not only precise calculations but also countless applications and new decisions.

Believing that the lives of all depended on his hands, Jeong Gyeong felt both fear and excitement.

“This door.”

The door they entered opened into a room covered with mirrors on all sides. Dozens of small mirrors were attached everywhere, enough to make them dizzy just by looking.

Once they had all stepped inside—

Srrrrk.

A mechanism on the platform in front activated.

Sand began to pour down on one side of a tilted balance scale. Slowly, the scale began to descend.

Seeing this, Jeong Gyeong shouted,

“We have to find the life gate before that scale hits the floor! It’s one of the mirrors!”

There wasn’t much time. In such a short span, how were they supposed to determine which of these many mirrors was the life gate? Even Jeong Gyeong, who had never encountered this kind of mechanism before, was thrown into confusion.

The martial artists of the Demon-Slaying Brigade rushed forward and began touching the mirrors, inspecting them for any irregularities.

Meanwhile, the balance scale continued to descend.

Just before the scale touched the ground—

Jin Hagun hurled his body forward and forcefully pushed one of the mirrors.

“This is it!”

The moment he shoved the mirror—

Everyone tensed, bracing themselves for what might come next. Whether poison would be released or hidden weapons would burst forth—no one could know.

At that very moment, the falling sand stopped, and the balance scale began to rise again.

The mirror Jin Hagun had chosen was the life gate.

With a metallic clack, a door opened in the wall, revealing the exit.

Everyone sighed in relief and let out the breaths they’d been holding.

“How did you know it was that mirror?”

To Jeong Gyeong’s question, Jin Hagun gave an entirely unexpected answer.

“I just guessed.”

“What?”

Everyone turned to him with shocked expressions.

At that moment, Gwanghyo of the Demon-Slaying Brigade laughed and said,

“Actually, this is better. Isn’t luck the one thing we need most right now?”

In truth, Jin Hagun’s words were both correct and incorrect. In the final moment, he had noticed that his reflection did not appear in that mirror.

Though he hadn't confirmed all the other mirrors and made a split-second choice, it was still more of a guess than a deduction—but that instinctive decision turned out to be right.

After leaving the mirror room, they continued their search for an exit.

As they steadily progressed through the maze, Jeong Gyeong eventually made a mistake by choosing a death gate. Though he had made the selection through precise calculations and deduction, a hidden trap lay within that process.

Clack!

The floor tilted like a ramp.

Rumble, rumble, rumble...

From a place above and out of sight, something heavy began to roll toward them.

“Get out of the way!”

At Jeong Gyeong’s shout, everyone tried to hurl themselves in the opposite direction.

But in that instant, Jin Hagun threw himself toward the direction the object was coming from.

“Stop it before it picks up speed!”

That was his immediate assessment of how to counter the trap.

The martial artists of the Demon-Slaying Brigade followed close behind.

Ruuumble!

What rolled toward them was a massive iron ball.

Jin Hagun’s decision was correct. Had they left it alone, it would have built up unstoppable momentum and crushed them. But now—

Crash!

Jin Hagun blocked the iron ball with his back, channeling his inner energy. The martial artists who had followed threw themselves against it with him.

Rrrrrrumble...

As those who had leapt forward summoned all their strength and unleashed their inner energy, the speed of the massive iron ball finally began to slow and then stopped.

At the same time, the slanted floor returned to its original level.

“Whew...!”

Jin Hagun let out a breath of relief.

“Are you alright?”

To the subordinates’ question, Jin Hagun gave a nod.

“I’m fine.”

“If it hadn’t been for the Division Leader’s decision, we would have been in serious trouble.”

They might not all have died from that trap, but many would certainly have been injured or killed.

In truth, deciding to charge in the opposite direction at such a critical moment was not something easily done.

Because of that, the subordinates of the Demon-Slaying Brigade looked at Jin Hagun with renewed eyes. Though he had always possessed a strong sense of justice and high martial prowess, they had never had the chance to see him display such resourcefulness and wisdom in a crisis.

Jin Hagun was demonstrating strength in adversity. Once he resolved to get everyone out alive, that sense of responsibility sharpened his focus to a remarkable degree.

Jeong Gyeong approached him with a face full of shame and bowed his head.

“I made a mistake. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. If not for you, we wouldn’t have made it this far.”

He didn’t say this just to be nice. Without Jeong Gyeong, they would have fallen into danger several times over already.

“Finding the life gate will only get harder from here. It’s okay to make mistakes. Don’t you see how many ways out we have behind you?”

When Jeong Gyeong turned around, his comrades were looking at him. It was a way of saying, even if someone made a mistake, they would all break through it together.

Jin Hagun then addressed everyone.

“Let’s break through and tell the bastard who made this exactly who we are.”

“Yes, sir!”

The martial artists of the Demon-Slaying Brigade roared in unison.

Once again, they began walking toward the next choice between life and death.

*         *         *

Suddenly, under a downpour of sunlight, the Battle King closed his eyes.

It wasn’t just sunlight. It was a heat so intense, it felt like it could dry up the entire world.

He squinted his eyes and shielded the sun with his hand. His palm felt hot to the touch.

The Battle King was bewildered by the sudden change in environment.

He stood upon parched earth, its surface cracked wide open.

And floating in the sky above was a real sun. A scorching midday sun, with not a single cloud in sight.

“What the hell is this?”

Ahead, Geom Mugeuk and the Evil Smiling Demon stood.

As the two of them walked toward him, and just as the Evil Smiling Demon flicked Geom Mugeuk’s sword—

That’s when the surroundings had suddenly changed like this.

Unlike his confused self, the Dark King immediately understood what was happening.

“Temporal and Spatial Transference Technique.”

At a glance, the Dark King recognized the technique as Temporal and Spatial Transference Technique. A flicker of astonishment passed through her eyes as she overlapped visually with the Battle King.

“It’s the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader’s secret technique. I’m impressed. I never thought that greedy old man would pass this down to the Young Cult Leader.”

What the Dark King found curious was this:

“If you could use the Temporal and Spatial Transference Technique, why didn’t you use it from the beginning?”

There was only one reason.

“Because our friends were still fighting out there.”

If he had pulled only the Battle King inside, the Dark King might have used that chance to kill Bih Sa-in or Jin Hagun.

And he couldn’t afford to bring the Dark King into the technique either. While it was possible to pull in someone nearby, he couldn’t include someone hidden inside a palanquin and thus out of sight.

Even if it had been possible, he wouldn’t have chosen to do so. If he had to fight the Dark King too, it would take too long—there was no telling what could happen to his friends or the Evil Smiling Demon.

He had intended to endure for as long as possible and use the technique only at the very end.

But after seeing the threads disconnecting from the palanquin snap, he had confirmed that Bih Sa-in was safe.

The Evil Smiling Demon was also unharmed, and Jin Hagun had already entered a formation.

And when the Dark King descended into the Battle King’s body—

That was the moment he determined it was finally time to use the Temporal and Spatial Transference Technique. But his opponent was a supreme master of dark sorcery. He could not afford even a moment of carelessness.

Even now, the Dark King’s emotions were closer to awe and admiration, not agitation or unease.

“So it was for your friends. The fear that one of them might die—that anxiety was real, wasn’t it?”

Geom Mugeuk nodded.

“And at the same time, that anxiety is also my strength.”

The Battle King, who had been listening, spoke.

“You think I can’t kill you just because it’s not night?”

Geom Mugeuk nodded again.

“Perhaps not? The Dark Heaven Night God Art wouldn’t be able to manifest its full power, would it?”

Indeed, the white ring that had once encircled the Battle King’s eyes had thinned so much it was barely visible.

“With the two of us fighting together, it doesn’t matter whether it’s night or not.”

“If that were really true, you would’ve attacked in broad daylight to begin with. You wouldn’t have made all this fuss in the dead of night like some rats.”

At the word ‘rats’, the Battle King snapped.

“Silence!”

The enraged Battle King was restrained by the Dark King.

“Hold yourself. The more you talk to the Young Cult Leader, the more it works against you.”

Then, in a composed voice, the Dark King spoke.

“The Young Cult Leader is correct. If we fight here, we’ll lose.”

She had assessed the situation with perfect clarity.

The Battle King glared like a wounded beast, but the eyes of the Dark King who overlapped his form remained calm.

Her gaze shifted between Geom Mugeuk and the Evil Smiling Demon.

In that moment, the look in the two men’s eyes was strikingly similar.

And so, even without having fought them yet, she knew. Just how flawlessly they would fight together.

“If you know that,” Geom Mugeuk asked, “why do you still look so calm?”

To that, the Dark King replied,

“Because where there is light, there is always darkness.”

It felt as if the Dark King, who shimmered from within the Battle King’s body, was smiling.

And just then—

The surroundings suddenly began to grow dark. This was a world constructed by Geom Mugeuk—light should have been absolute here.

Geom Mugeuk and the Evil Smiling Demon turned around. They could tell where the darkness was coming from.

Their gazes rose to the sky.

The moon had covered the sun.

A solar eclipse.