Absolute Regression

Chapter 590: Hasn’t Life Been an Endless Run?

We can’t leave unless we kill everyone?

Geom Mugeuk and the Sword King faced each other.

“So it means we have to kill even the ones who came here with us.”

The Sword King's expression hardened instantly, and fury poured out.

“What kind of damn formation is this?”

Bang!

The Sword King violently kicked the signboard. It shattered into pieces and scattered everywhere. That wasn’t enough to vent his anger, so he ripped the wooden post from the ground and snapped it to bits.

Meanwhile, Geom Mugeuk silently watched him.

“Aren’t you angry?”

“You’re getting angry on my behalf too.”

“We can’t stand this kind of thing.”

As the Sword King raged, he seemed to calm down for a moment.

Sreung!

He smoothly drew his steel sword.

Shiiiiiing.

Geom Mugeuk leaned his head back. The Formless Sword Energy brushed past his face.

The Sword King, holding the drawn sword, spoke.

“Are you going to do it now?”

“No, why are you venting on me?”

As soon as he drew his sword, the air around them changed instantly.

Geom Mugeuk sensed it. That the Black Demon Sword wanted to cry. It had been suppressed ever since they met the Sword King.

‘Not yet.’

Geom Mugeuk shook his head.

“I won’t.”

In that moment, Geom Mugeuk saw it. The flicker of emotion in the Sword King’s eyes, brief as it was. It was clearly something close to relief.

“If you won’t? Then what?”

Then, Geom Mugeuk said something unexpected.

“Then we just don’t leave.”

“What?”

“Let’s not leave. Let’s live here.”

Geom Mugeuk looked up at the sky and shouted. It was a cry directed at whoever had created this place.

“Hey! We’re not leaving!”

At that, the Sword King couldn’t hold back his laughter. He probably hadn’t meant it seriously, but even in this situation, that sense of ease was something he truly appreciated.

“You really are……”

The Sword King didn’t finish the sentence.

Geom Mugeuk looked around, then spoke to the Sword King.

“May I borrow one of your shoes for a moment?”

“Are you trying to make me throw my shoe at you?”

“No, if I were, I would’ve asked for both.”

What the hell is he up to? With that look, the Sword King handed over the shoe he wore at his waist.

Geom Mugeuk closed his eyes for a moment, as if offering a prayer, then tossed the shoe upward. The shoe flew high into the air and dropped to the ground. Geom Mugeuk looked in the direction the shoe pointed and said,

“Let’s try going this way.”

The Sword King shook his head in disbelief. He didn’t expect him to actually divine a direction with a shoe toss.

“Why not use your own shoe?”

“It’d get dirty.”

As Geom Mugeuk dusted off the shoe and returned it, the Sword King finally said the words he had been holding back.

“You’re insane.”

Hearing those words at last, Geom Mugeuk smiled in satisfaction.

“Why are you smiling when I just called you insane?”

“Things usually ended well with people who called me insane.”

“Then they were probably insane too.”

Geom Mugeuk laughed even louder and started walking.

The Sword King returned his sword to its scabbard and followed behind him. Perhaps it was because they didn’t have to fight immediately — the Sword King's expression appeared at ease.

“I need to take back what I said earlier. We might be the slowest ones to break this formation since it was created.”

“This formation will probably begin and end with us anyway.”

“That’s true.”

It didn’t seem likely this formation would be set up elsewhere.

The two continued walking. The wasteland ended in a high cliff.

“So this is the edge of the world made by the formation. I’m sure the other directions are all blocked by cliffs too if we walk far enough.”

The Sword King realized that Geom Mugeuk had walked to check the formation’s boundaries.

‘What exactly is he planning?’

He clearly had something in mind. And then Geom Mugeuk said something completely unexpected again.

“It’s getting dark. Let’s just stay here for the night.”

He began gathering dry branches scattered nearby and lit a campfire. He looked like someone who had forgotten they were inside a formation.

Someone else might’ve called it madness. No — there was no need for comparisons. If it were anyone else, they wouldn’t have come down here with him in the first place.

The fire began to rise.

The sparks crackled as they flew up into the air with the smoke, and the withered rocks and grass shimmered under the flickering light.

“Well, one day of rest should be fine!”

The Sword King flopped down beside the fire. Watching him, Geom Mugeuk also lay down comfortably on the opposite side.

“What’s one day? We could rest for a whole year. Let’s take a proper break.”

A similar expression spread across the Sword King’s face, as if to say, “Yeah, let’s do that.” It had been a long time since he last rested. He hadn’t expected it would be inside a formation, with the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, no less.

“Hasn’t life been an endless run? Rest well.”

“How do you know my life’s been nonstop?”

“Because you met me. I’ve been running without pause, too. Runners recognize runners.”

A faint smile crept onto the Sword King’s lips.

The two lay there, gazing up at the sky. As time passed, the sky gradually changed colors. When the twilight finally faded into full darkness, a new light began to scatter across the heavens.

“That night’s stars... I liked them too.”

Geom Mugeuk turned his head and looked at the Sword King. While watching those stars, what had he been thinking? Who had he been remembering?

“Why did you join hands with them?”

He was clearly different from the other Twelve Zodiac Kings he had seen so far.

Had it been before, he would never have answered such a question — but today was different.

“I owed a debt.”

The look in Geom Mugeuk’s eyes deepened as he gazed at him.

“It must’ve been a heavy debt.”

The Sword King gave a slight nod while still lying down.

Then, with a quiet exhale, he muttered,

“Nothing changes.”

Despite his words, a faint regret flickered in the Sword King's eyes. If they hadn’t met as enemies? Surely, this Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was someone who made others think such things.

Then Geom Mugeuk’s voice came from beyond the campfire.

“Don’t conclude things too early. It’s your life, instructor, and mine. We decide our own lives.”

After a pause, Geom Mugeuk added,

“And debts can be repaid.”

The Sword King gave no reply.

As the campfire died down, the night grew ever deeper.

*         *         *

There was a new report from the Heavenly Communication Pavilion.

The Hall Master of the Golden Dragon Martial Hall had descended into the underground arena, and a powerful expert had appeared there. Especially intriguing was the report that the person had bandages wrapped around his fists — at that, the Fist Demon King’s eyes gleamed.

He had heard that in the previous battle at the Sky Flower Pavilion, two supreme experts had fought together. No doubt, another high-level expert had arrived to support this time as well.

“Not only that — high-level martial artists believed to be their subordinates are gathering one after another at the Golden Dragon Martial Hall.”

They had officially begun to move.

After finishing the report, Lee Ahn shared her thoughts with the Fist Demon King.

“It seems like they’re waiting for the Young Cult Leader to emerge. Holding the entrance and not going underground means that what’s happening below is that important. Or… maybe they simply trust the person who went with the Young Cult Leader.”

The Fist Demon King, who had been silently nodding, made a decision. His gaze turned toward the One-Slash Sword Supreme. In this kind of situation, a decision from the Fist Demon King meant only one thing.

“We’ll wait for the Young Cult Leader.”

They would eliminate the enemies and be the ones to greet Geom Mugeuk when he returned to the surface.

A smile appeared on the One-Slash Sword Supreme’s lips.

“I’ve been waiting for those words.”

Despite the smile, her eyes glinted with the coldness of her blade.

Lee Ahn had anticipated this decision from her father.

This was likely the reason Geom Mugeuk had summoned the Demon Supremes. Because he trusted they would handle things even if he said nothing.

Yes, if one had to pick the word that least suited the Demon Supremes, it would be “retreat.” The two of them were only staying back briefly — for her and Seo Jin.

But she hadn’t expected her father to go this far.

“You’re coming with us too.”

She had thought he wouldn’t take her because it was too dangerous.

“A martial artist belongs on the battlefield. Just like the Young Cult Leader is now — down below.”

This was the Fist Demon King's view on life.

He also understood well that the more precious the child, the more hardship they needed to endure. Holding on is easy — letting go is the hard part.

“Father! Thank you.”

Lee Ahn expressed her gratitude with a bright face.

The One-Slash Sword Supreme opened the door first and looked back at the two.

“Let’s go. We can’t allow enemies to stand above the Young Cult Leader’s head.”

*         *         *

The next morning, when Geom Mugeuk opened his eyes, the Sword King was already up, standing alone and gazing at the rising sun.

“In this kind of situation, you’re probably the only one who could sleep so soundly.”

“Well, I’ve been on edge lately thanks to you, instructor, so I haven’t gotten much sleep.”

Geom Mugeuk stretched with a big yawn and stood beside the Sword King.

“If you had killed me, you would’ve broken the formation and walked out.”

“I have at least enough honor not to stab someone while they’re asleep.”

“Exactly. That’s why I slept well.”

Of course, part of it was because he trusted the fully mastered Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique.

“That’s a shame. I really wanted to fight you on that arena.”

Their gazes shifted from the rising sun to one another.

“You do intend to kill me, don’t you?”

“I can’t afford to die.”

“Well then, let’s say you kill me — would you feel satisfied, or would you feel regret? I’ll admit it first. If I kill you, instructor, I think I’ll regret it for a long time. It’ll stay with me for life.”

“You’re strategizing till the very end.”

The two laughed as they faced each other.

“Even if we’re going to fight, let’s at least take a look at the last chamber together. You know, right? How hard I worked, digging around?”

“I know. But this damn formation…”

The Sword King abruptly stopped mid-sentence, flinching. He sensed Geom Mugeuk had a plan. And that intuition was spot on.

“We don’t have to fight here.”

“How?”

“You’ve probably noticed I have a basic understanding of illusion arts and formations.”

And the answer to this problem lay precisely in the basics.

“My first principle is: all illusions and formations have a method of breaking them.”

The Sword King nodded, as if to say he knew that too.

“But if the method to break a formation is to kill someone inside it, that cannot exist in the first place. It would violate the foundational principle that ‘you live if you find the method of escape.’”

“!”

Geom Mugeuk had grasped exactly what could not be missed.

“That signboard was a trick.”

“!”

“In a situation where even after defeating all enemies the formation doesn’t collapse, and that sign remains, it naturally makes you think you have to kill your companion too. It’s the final chamber’s formation — so it must be brutal, right? That’s the kind of mindset it aims to manipulate.”

Geom Mugeuk’s eyes turned toward the rising sun in the far distance.

“There’s probably still one enemy hiding somewhere in this place. Once we eliminate that last one, it’ll count as having eliminated everyone.”

The Sword King was truly surprised and impressed. If they hadn’t seen through this deception, they would have ended up killing the very comrades they came with. If the Young Cult Leader’s words were true, then this formation was a truly malicious one — a formation designed to toy with people’s hearts.

Ah! So that’s why he walked all the way to the end of the formation — to see just how vast it was!

“Then why didn’t you say this yesterday?”

“I just wanted to share a campfire with you, instructor. Isn’t that something worth remembering too?”

The Sword King didn’t say anything. He was about to make a half-joking remark — something like, Weren’t you just trying to pry something out of me? — but he could see it in Geom Mugeuk’s expression. He had genuinely just wanted to camp with him for one night.

If Geom Mugeuk had been trying to extract a secret, he would’ve gone after it persistently, one way or another. But last night, the two of them had spent most of their time simply looking up at the night sky.

This time, it was the Sword King who threw one of his shoes into the air.

He picked up the shoe after it landed and said,

“Let’s search this way first.”

And they really did find someone.

What’s more, the enemy was not far from the starting point. Astonishingly, only one enemy remained.

“I’ll handle this one.”

The Sword King's hand carried emotion.

They had expected that the last remaining enemy would be a powerful one, but that wasn’t the case. This opponent was on the same level as the first fighters they had faced — around the level of the martial artists from the first wave.

Which made it all the more infuriating. They only had to find and kill this weakling — but by the time anyone realized that, they would’ve already slain all of their own companions.

Geom Mugeuk could feel it clearly. The one who created this formation was mocking people — mocking martial artists. The malice embedded in it was unmistakable.

Only after slaying the final enemy did the formation begin to unravel. It was the moment the formation’s condition of slaying everyone had been met. But that “everyone” didn’t include the ones who had entered the formation together.

Sssssssssss.

As the formation vanished, the two of them stood in a passage cloaked in darkness.

Clang.

A door at the far end of the passage creaked open.

The Sword King looked at Geom Mugeuk with a complex expression.

“Once again, we passed the gate thanks to you.”

The Sword King began walking toward the door first.

“Still, this time I can’t give you half. This is the kind of place where you get nothing unless you take it all.”

Geom Mugeuk followed behind him and replied,

“A shame, but it can’t be helped.”

The two of them stopped before the door at the end of the passage.

At that moment, Geom Mugeuk’s eyes turned toward the symbol carved above the door. It was a design he hadn’t seen on any of the previous walls or chambers.

This one was different from all the rest.

Yet, it drew Geom Mugeuk’s gaze more powerfully than anything he had seen until now.

At the center was a square, surrounded by six small circles.

Each circle was a different color.

Black and white, blue and red, yellow and purple.

‘No way…’

The square in the middle looked like the Secret Box, and the six surrounding circles looked like the orbs the Secret Box absorbed.

As Geom Mugeuk stared intensely at the symbol, the Sword King asked,

“What is it?”

“I take back what I said earlier.”

Geom Mugeuk opened the door slowly and said,

“Everything in this room — give it all to me.”