Absolute Regression

Chapter 606: There’s a Gathering I Have to Attend

You’re asking what we were talking about down there?

In response to the Sword King’s confidence, Geom Mugeuk made him a proposal.

“Let’s make a bet. If the two of them end up being in the sparring arena!”

“To become friends?”

That was what the Sword King had naturally expected, but Geom Mugeuk shook his head.

“No. This is too important to be decided by other people’s business.”

“Then what kind of bet are you suggesting?”

“Let’s say the loser has to grant the winner one request. Separate from whether we become friends or not.”

Just what kind of scheme was he trying to pull now? The Sword King looked at Geom Mugeuk suspiciously, but how could he possibly know what lay inside the man?

“But you must fulfill it, no matter what.”

Normally, the Sword King should have said something here.

How could he promise such a thing without knowing what the request would be?

He should have asked about the content, laid down conditions. Said something like, “I can’t grant that kind of favor,” or “Don’t even bring up something like that.”

But the Sword King didn’t ask anything.

“Fine. Let’s do it.”

Perhaps this was what made people drawn to the man called the Sword King.

“Then tell me what you want first.”

“Are you admitting defeat already?”

“Of course not. It’s just that I’ll never have to grant you anything anyway, so I’m curious what it is. You won’t say it if you lose, right?”

The Sword King scoffed.

“Then should I go ahead and make the request now?”

“Go ahead.”

Geom Mugeuk had spoken half in jest, but the Sword King answered seriously.

“If the Demon Supremes are confirmed dead, don’t seek revenge. Just leave for today.”

The once-light mood grew heavy.

“Are you afraid I’ll try to kill you?”

The Sword King didn’t answer and instead changed the subject.

“Let’s go up now. Ah, there’s something I need to grab before we go.”

He walked over to the bookshelf and picked out a secret manual to give to Yeon Baekin, tucking it into his robe.

“You’re a man of your word too. You really are something.”

“Am I really?”

The Sword King’s gaze held a strange, unreadable weight.

The two of them stepped out of the final room. The Secret Box was left alone for now. They would come back for it once things upstairs were settled.

Retracing their steps past the checkpoints and mechanisms they had dismantled, they arrived below the chair that led to the surface.

“I’ll head up first.”

At that, the Sword King stopped Geom Mugeuk and stepped forward.

“No. I’ll go up first.”

“Don’t tell me you’re worried about me?”

“I’m worried about our people.”

But Geom Mugeuk could tell. That the Sword King was worried about him. If the enemy had truly been strong enough to kill two Demon Supremes, then at the very least, they wouldn’t have to worry about Geom Mugeuk. What the Sword King feared was that Geom Mugeuk might lose control in a fit of revenge and attack him.

The Sword King activated the mechanism without a word.

“Ah, I was supposed to go up first. Don’t fight, just exchange pleasantries!”

And just like that, he let the Sword King go up first.

When Geom Mugeuk followed and reunited with the three others, he glanced at the Sword King and spoke.

“Now, let’s continue the conversation.”

At Geom Mugeuk’s words, the Fist Demon King and the One-Slash Sword Supreme looked at each other. Their thoughts were similar.

As expected! The Young Cult Leader truly is the Young Cult Leader!

They had already learned just how formidable the Sword King was through the brief exchange of internal energy earlier.

And yet he came up here with such a powerful opponent and casually suggested continuing the conversation? It seemed the two had been fighting not with swords but with words down there.

Lee Ahn voiced what the two were thinking.

“At the very least, our Young Cult Leader hasn’t had his soul taken by anyone.”

At her soft remark, the Fist Demon King and the One-Slash Sword Supreme smiled faintly.

Before long, the Sword King opened his mouth.

He admitted defeat in the bet without resistance.

“What’s the request?”

It had clearly seemed like the bet was made with a specific favor in mind, but Geom Mugeuk didn’t answer immediately.

“It’s a request for a friend.”

Meaning he would only say it once they were friends.

At that, the Sword King responded as if all the camaraderie they had built had crumbled and returned to square one.

“Then I suppose it’ll never happen.”

Geom Mugeuk understood. Yes, the atmosphere now was different from when it was just the two of them.

His comrades were dead, and Demon Supremes now stood in their place. He probably felt as though he had returned to harsh reality.

Any further persuasion would have to take place within that reality.

Trying to convince someone in front of the Demon Supremes was twice as difficult. Becoming friends with someone so much younger under the watchful eyes of others was surely no easy matter.

Geom Mugeuk sent a sound transmission to the Sword King.

—It would be best if I could speak with you alone, without those three, but they’re worried about me, so they absolutely won’t leave.

What he meant was that he had no choice but to finish the conversation here, even with the Demon Supremes present.

And then, at that moment—

“I think I’ll go wash up.”

The Fist Demon King turned away first.

Geom Mugeuk called out to him urgently.

“Master! You’re leaving me behind?”

By calling him “Master,” he showed that the Fist Demon King clearly treated Geom Mugeuk not as the Young Cult Leader, but as his disciple.

“I didn’t bathe for a few days waiting for you, and now I feel grimy.”

With that, he strode off.

The One-Slash Sword Supreme followed behind him.

“Young Cult Leader, I’ll wait at the lodging. Finish up and come when you’re done.”

“What if someone else shows up while I’m here alone?”

Just then, Lee Ahn responded with a grin.

“Whoever it is will have a rough time.”

As she passed by, she bowed her head slightly to the Sword King.

“Thank you for your efforts.”

With an expression that seemed to say, So you understand how I feel, the Sword King silently nodded.

Geom Mugeuk shouted at Lee Ahn.

“You should be saying that to me.”

Lee Ahn pretended not to hear and followed behind the One-Slash Sword Supreme.

The Fist Demon King, the One-Slash Sword Supreme, and Lee Ahn all knew well what kind of person Geom Mugeuk was.

Since he had asked to continue the conversation, they now understood that stepping away would help him. That much, at least, they had come to grasp.

“Bring some liquor and tasty snacks on your way back!”

With Lee Ahn’s final remark, the three of them walked away into the distance.

As he watched them leave, the Sword King spoke to Geom Mugeuk.

“Whether they would stay or go—that’s what we should’ve bet on.”

That’s what he said, but the Sword King knew.

Those three understood the Young Cult Leader better than anyone. And at the same time, they truly cared about him from the heart.

How could he not know? After witnessing the overwhelming presence they displayed earlier as Demon Supremes, and the loyalty they showed when reunited with Geom Mugeuk?

And so, only Geom Mugeuk, the Sword King, and Yeon Baekin remained in that space.

In truth, the one who had been most delighted by the Sword King’s appearance was none other than Yeon Baekin.

He had no idea how long he had waited for this moment. He had even betrayed kinship ties for this day.

Even after the Demon Supremes had left, Yeon Baekin stood awkwardly, anxiously watching the two men. With the Golden Dragon Martial Hall in ruins and the Demon Supremes now his enemies, he wasn’t in his right mind. The only hope left to him was the secret manual.

And now, knowing that Geom Mugeuk was the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, he couldn’t even bring himself to meet his gaze.

At that moment, the Sword King pulled the secret manual from his robe and tossed it toward him.

“This is what I promised you!”

The secret manual came flying as if to say, Here, take it!, and Yeon Baekin dove to catch it.

His mouth stretched wide in delight.

‘I endured everything for this moment. Once I master the ultimate technique, I’ll repay every humiliation! Now, they’re all dead!’

But as soon as Yeon Baekin read the title on the cover, he flinched. His expression stiffened the moment he flipped through the contents.

“This is a spear technique manual, isn’t it?”

“It is. If you master that spear art, no one will dare treat our Hall Master Yeon lightly.”

For someone who had studied swordsmanship to now start learning spear techniques from scratch—especially at his age—was no easy feat. How long would it take for someone that old to master something entirely new?

“You! You’ve deceived me, haven’t you?”

The Sword King paid no mind to his outburst.

“I’m someone who doesn’t keep promises. Would you want to be friends with a man you can’t trust?”

When the Sword King asked, as if testing him, Geom Mugeuk responded with an ambiguous answer.

“This side isn’t exactly trustworthy either.”

Flash!

Splat!

In an instant, a sword aura flew through the air, and Yeon Baekin collapsed, coughing up blood from his chest.

“What do you think? Of such a heartless friend?”

But in truth, it wasn’t out of cold-heartedness that he had been killed.

Yeon Baekin had committed more than enough crimes to deserve death. He was responsible for the death of Im Hyeon, the older brother from Seo Jin’s hometown, and had even tried to kill his own younger brother, Yeon Baekin.

On top of that, fearing that the officials from the martial arts hall who emerged from underground might spread rumors about the hidden archive, he had hired a contract organization to eliminate them all—cleansing by murder.

The moment he made that decision, fate had already condemned him to death. The only question was when.

Now, only two remained.

The Sword King and Geom Mugeuk stood alone on the sparring platform.

Whiiing—

A wind blew between them and swept past.

At that moment, Geom Mugeuk felt that perhaps standing across from him on this sparring stage was his destined path with this man.

If this truly was fate—

He would not simply accept it as it was handed to him. He would knock on it, pull at it, push it away, and shout that this wasn’t it. He would try everything he could before he said—

If this really is fate, then I will accept it.

“As expected, I’ve ended up standing with you alone on this sparring stage.”

The Sword King nodded. He thought that the outcome of this fight would determine whether they would become friends.

“Let’s use this sparring stage… in our own way.”

Geom Mugeuk desperately pushed the massive wheel of fate that had rolled toward him, trying to shift it aside.

Because he knew better than anyone that even a slight change in direction now could send it to an entirely different destination far down the line.

“In our own way, you say?”

“Yes, in our own way.”

Geom Mugeuk had no desire whatsoever to engage in a deadly duel with him.

“We met as instructor and officer, didn’t we?”

To the Sword King, who still didn’t understand his intent, Geom Mugeuk said something shocking.

“Please teach me swordsmanship.”

The Sword King was visibly surprised. While the earlier class could be chalked up to a formal setting, he hadn’t expected to hear such a request here and now.

“You really are insane to the very end.”

“Well, would the Demon Supremes have run off leaving their Young Cult Leader behind if I wasn’t? Even my own heart ran away.”

The Sword King silently stared at Geom Mugeuk for a moment, then said,

“Fine. I’ll teach you a move.”

He slowly walked toward Geom Mugeuk.

He closed the distance until he was almost close enough to touch with a thrust, and then slowly drew his sword.

And with a speed that was neither fast nor slow, he extended his sword forward.

Shwik.

There was no intricate technique, no flashy form, no hidden trick. It was a motion you’d find in a beginner’s manual for those first learning swordsmanship.

The Sword King simply drew his sword—and thrust it straight forward.

As the sword flew toward his heart, Geom Mugeuk screamed internally.

'A perfect thrust!'

It was a single move that embodied the essence of the Sword King’s swordsmanship, and that one move seemed to say this:

All sword techniques originate from this very motion.

Swish.

The Sword King’s blade stopped just in front of Geom Mugeuk’s heart.

A brief silence followed. Geom Mugeuk didn’t ask, Why didn’t you strike when you could have? They had long since passed that stage.

He bowed respectfully and said,

“Thank you for the lesson.”

It wasn’t something he said just for show. That one move the Sword King had just demonstrated would profoundly influence Geom Mugeuk’s path in learning swordsmanship from this point onward.

Clink.

As the Sword King returned the iron sword to its scabbard, he spoke.

“Becoming friends with you… feels like a losing deal.”

At last, the word “friend” came from his mouth first.

“There’s no gain or loss between friends, is there?”

“That’s not what I meant…”

It wasn’t about Geom Mugeuk being lacking or unworthy.

“One’s a master, another’s a Demon Supreme. And I… I’m just the friend? That’s too much of a loss for me.”

He was comparing himself to the Fist Demon King and the One-Slash Sword Supreme.

A wave of emotion surged through Geom Mugeuk’s heart. He’s saying it. He’s asking—just a little more, hold on to me a bit tighter.

“The Demon Supremes are the ones losing more in the end.”

“Why?”

“Because no matter how long they live, they’ll never be friends with the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. They’ll envy you, I’m sure of it.”

Stepping forward, Geom Mugeuk looked him straight in the eye and said,

“If fate has pushed us this far, shouldn’t we accept it?”

“It wasn’t fate… you pushed.”

Then, in a quiet, almost indifferent voice, he said:

“…Let’s do it.”

“Pardon? What did you say?”

It was a bit louder than before, but still quiet as an ant’s whisper.

“I said let’s do it. Let’s be friends.”

Hearing the words he had longed for so deeply, Geom Mugeuk raised his voice with excitement.

“I can’t hear you. What was that again?”

At last, the Sword King shouted loud and clear:

“I said let’s be friends, you rascal!”

Geom Mugeuk beamed with joy.

“Thank you. Really, thank you.”

He understood just how difficult a decision this had been for the Sword King. That’s why Geom Mugeuk jumped up and down in delight. He was so happy that he wondered what he would’ve done if the answer had been no.

“But even if you become the Cult Leader, we’re still friends.”

“Then it’s not a loss for you at all, is it?”

The Sword King nodded.

“If I’m going to be friends with the future Cult Leader of the Demonic Sect, I suppose it’s not such a bad deal after all.”

“In return, you’ll have to live a long life. My father is quite vigorous, you know.”

“I’ll use rejuvenation techniques if I have to, just to be friends with the Cult Leader.”

Wearing a pleasant smile, the Sword King bid farewell.

“I’ll be heading back now. I’ve got debts to repay.”

“You’re not going to tell me where it is, are you?”

“No.”

“And you’re not going to take me with you, either.”

As expected, the Sword King nodded and began walking away.

“I’ll take care of retrieving the Secret Box myself.”

He didn’t say he’d come back. Nor did he say they’d meet again.

As Geom Mugeuk stared at the shoes dangling from the Sword King’s waist, he brought up something the Sword King had forgotten.

“Now that we’re friends, I’m going to use the request I saved.”

The Sword King stopped walking and answered as if he already knew what the request was.

“I won’t die. Don’t worry.”

Whoooosh—

A solemn wind blew between the two of them.

“That’s not the request, though.”

With an awkward expression, the Sword King turned around.

“Why not? Isn’t this exactly the kind of moment you’d make a request like that?”

“How could I kill someone as strong as my friend? Just… don’t go killing people just because they piss you off.”

That remark made the Sword King laugh in the end. It was proof of how much Geom Mugeuk trusted him.

“Then what is the request?”

The request he had vowed never to refuse was:

“There’s this friend gathering I go to, right? When it’s held next time, you must attend. It’s mandatory. We drink, we sing, we even dance.”

At some point, the Sword King had taken off his shoe and was about to throw it at him.

“Just send me the invitation!”

As he walked off into the distance, the Sword King turned back to look at Geom Mugeuk. Had he ever turned around to look at someone like this before?

The young friend he had just made stood silently, watching him walk away.

Was it because he stood alone on the sparring platform? That clear, deep gaze somehow looked lonely.

The Sword King called out in a loud voice.

“My name is Ak Gunhak.”

Those two eyes that had seemed so lonely now sparkled with a bright smile.

It was a name Geom Mugeuk already knew.

Ak Gunhak, the First King of the Twelve Zodiac Kings.

That was the Ak Gunhak he had known.

But in this new life, Ak Gunhak would live on under a different meaning.

As Geom Mugeuk’s friend, Ak Gunhak.

“That’s truly a wonderful name.”