Absolute Regression

The moment his eyes met those of the Evil Smiling Demon, a shiver ran down his spine.

When villains recognize each other, it’s chilling and terrifying to the point that he forgot the excruciating pain in his shoulder.

“I asked if it was you.”

He forgot what the question was, and the Evil Smiling Demon didn’t wait for an answer.

*Ping!* *Thud!*

When Soma unleashed the Blood Disaster Finger, his other shoulder was pierced.

“Aaaaahhhh!”

He screamed in agony. No matter how much of a martial artist he was, the pain of having his flesh, bones and nerves pierced in one shot was unbearable.

Watching this, I jumped down from the wall and walked towards the Evil Smiling Demon.

I looked down at Black Kill Master and asked,

“Who offered you a position in the Unorthodox Alliance?”

Of course, I already knew who it was. But I needed to hear the name in front of Soma.

Black Kill Master clenched his teeth, showing he would never answer.

“Please, move your foot.”

The Evil Smiling Demon was still stepping on his shoulder.

When he moved his foot, I saw the pierced and crushed shoulder. He wouldn’t be able to use martial arts, let alone chopsticks.

I pressed the acupoints on both his shoulders to stop the bleeding and ease the pain. I made it clear that this wasn’t an act of kindness.

“You can die here without saying anything. But since you’ve annoyed us, it will be a painful death. If you tell us, you will live.”

Black Kill Master glared at me with eyes filled with pain and distrust.

I didn’t rush. Given that his current state was due to me and the Evil Smiling Demon, he was someone who had experienced all sorts of hardships. He wouldn’t open his mouth easily.

I picked up the hidden weapon he had dropped. It was his poison-coated hidden blade, Wind Wheel.

Even if its owner was worthless, the Wind Wheel itself was an excellent hidden weapon.

I threw the Wind Wheel at the wall.

*Shhhhhhh!*

The Wind Wheel flew swiftly, scraping along the wall, and then returned to my hand. Deep marks, like those made by a monstrous bird’s claws, were left on the wall.

When I handled the Wind Wheel effortlessly, Black Kill Master was shocked. The Wind Wheel was a dangerous hidden weapon that could cut off fingers if handled improperly.

With a trembling voice, Black Kill Master asked,

“Who are you?”

“It seems you’re feeling better, asking my name.”

“Who are you!”

Black Kill Master shouted. He had already judged that he wouldn’t survive.

“Geom Mugeuk.”

Upon hearing my name, Black Kill Master was astonished. Since I had come with the Evil Smiling Demon, he couldn’t help but believe my identity.

I showed the Wind Wheel to Soma and asked, “Can I take this?”

“I wouldn’t even take that worthless weapon if you gave it to me,” he replied.

“Thank you.”

I put the Wind Wheel away. It was a weapon worth keeping, whether to use when I was too lazy to draw my sword or to gift to a subordinate who used throwing weapons.

I squatted down next to the Black Kill Master again and quietly looked down at him. His face was full of despair and emptiness. Just moments ago, he had been dreaming of a brilliant future, but now, in an instant, he had fallen into the abyss. How great must his sense of loss be?

“As long as you’re alive, opportunities will come again. Who knows if you’ll transform into an absolute master tomorrow or if your life will change by meeting an unparalleled beauty? Just name a name.”

How could he not want to live? Even with shattered shoulders, it’s human nature to think there’s a way to recover somehow.

“If I name a name, he’ll kill me.”

“If you name a name, we’ll kill him.”

“How can I believe you’ll let me live?”

“Sorry to say, but you hold no value to me. Whether you live or die, what does it matter to me?”

This seemed to be a more convincing argument. I could feel the Black Kill Master contemplating. Eventually, he named someone.

“Naeng Yeop.”

Naeng Yeop, the leader of the Gui Su Squad, the most elite unit of the Unorthodox Alliance. He was the most prominent master in the Unorthodox Alliance.

It was a lie. A lie born from the Black Kill Master’s desire for revenge, hoping we would die trying to kill Naeng Yeop.

“Well, it’s your freedom to lie, and it’s my freedom to rip off your arm.”

I abruptly stood up, stepped on his shoulder, and started to pull his arm.

“Aaaargh!”

I pulled with the intent to actually rip it off.

Crack.

No matter how strong-willed the Black Kill Master was, he couldn’t endure the pain of having his arm torn off.

“Stop! Please stop! Aaah! Seok Gwan-chu! It’s Seok Gwan-chu!”

This time, a proper answer came out. The mastermind behind this incident was the Unorthodox Alliance’s Great Elder, Seok Gwan-chu.

“Is it really him?”

The Black Kill Master closed his eyes tightly and said nothing.

Seok Gwan-chu was a highly respected elder in the Unorthodox Alliance, having been in the Elder Council for so long that he was almost forgotten. The idea that he would get involved in a power struggle was unimaginable.

The leader of the Black Kill would never have decided to disband his organization and join the Unorthodox Alliance if it hadn’t been for the persuasion of someone like Seok Gwan-chu.

“Keep your promise to spare my life.”

“Of course…”

At that moment!

Thunk!

The head of the Black Kill Master was smashed to the ground like a watermelon.

The hand of the Evil Smiling Demon was directed at him. He had killed him by releasing the Frantic Demonic Palm.

I finished saying what I was going to say to the Black Kill Master.

“Of course, I can’t keep that promise. The person standing on you is the Evil Smiling Demon.”

Soma didn’t say a word. The dead Black Kill Master didn’t even matter to him.

When I searched the Black Kill Master’s bosom, a thick envelope came out. It was filled with high-value banknotes, totaling a million nyang. Since he had already received the full amount in advance, it seemed that the success of the assassination didn’t matter to him.

I gave that money to the Evil Smiling Demon.

“This is the money he received for the commission to kill you, so it belongs to you.”

Then Soma took out five hundred thousand nyang and kept it for himself, giving me the envelope with the remaining five hundred thousand nyang.

“We almost died together, so we should split it evenly. Don’t refuse and take it.”

“Then I will gratefully accept it.”

The Evil Smiling Demon was not someone who was excessively greedy for wealth. If he had been a person driven by greed, he would have been a different person standing before me.

The baggage that the Black Kill Master was planning to take was filled with treasures. Due to the nature of his work, he didn’t deposit his money in a bank but rather converted it into precious treasures for safekeeping.

“If we sell this, it will fetch a good price. Let’s have Cheong Myeon sell it when he comes later.”

“You can keep it, Young Master.”

“You should take it, sir.”

“Consider it a prize for losing to you in martial arts.”

“It’s too big of a reward. Buying you a drink would be much cheaper.”

“My drink costs more than that.”

I laughed pleasantly. I didn’t refuse what was being offered.

Gowol once told me that money has no name tag. Its value is determined by how it is used at the time.

The Evil Smiling Demon asked me.

“Do you believe it was Seok Gwan-chu’s doing?”

“Isn’t that why you killed him without asking further?”

“No. I killed him just because I didn’t like the look of him.”

I chuckled, thinking that might actually be true.

“From what I saw, he didn’t seem to be lying.”

“Seok Gwan-chu. It’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time. He must be around ninety years old. I can’t understand why an old man like him would covet the position of the Unorthodox Alliance leader.”

“Seok Gwan-chu has a grandson he adores. From what I’ve heard, his ambition is immense.”

“Is it because of the affection for his kin?”

“The love an elderly master has for his kin, especially when death is near, is beyond our comprehension. Anyway, if Seok Gwan-chu is behind this, it won’t be easy to deal with him.”

Nodding in agreement, Soma seemed to be pleased at the prospect of facing a formidable opponent. Despite the difficulty, there was a look of great joy in his small eyes.

An hour later, Lee Ahn and Cheong Myeon arrived.

“It must have been tough getting here, but let’s take care of this first and then rest.”

I took Lee Ahn with me to the market.

We went around several places and sold all of the Black Kill Master’s treasures.

Even though we sold them for slightly less than the market price, we still made four hundred thousand nyang.

“If he had just lived well with this money, why did he have to be so greedy? Even with just this money, he wouldn’t have been able to spend it all before he died.”

“Human greed knows no bounds, right?”

“Lee Ahn, if I ever become greedy in the future, you must stop me. If it comes to that, remind me how I ridiculed the Black Kill Master for his greed.”

“I might be too preoccupied with my own greed.”

“You?”

“I realized it while training in martial arts. I am indeed a very greedy person. I’m constantly tormented by the desire to achieve greatness quickly and fight against strong opponents.”

“That’s not because of your greed, but because of the Soaring Sword Art.”

“Because of the sword art?”

“Supreme martial arts like the Soaring Sword Art tempt and provoke the practitioner. You know what happens if you get consumed by it, right?”

Lee Ahn nodded. Being very smart, she understood what I was saying.

I took her to the Central Plains Exchange.

Out of the nine hundred thousand nyang we earned, I deposited six hundred thousand nyang under my name and gave three hundred thousand nyang to Lee Ahn for her to deposit. Even three hundred nyang was a lot of money, so when I handed her three hundred thousand nyang, she was astonished.

“Young Master, I absolutely can’t accept this money!”

“This isn’t money for you to buy drinks with.”

“Then what is it for?”

“In the future, when you manage the Haunted Shade Corps, there will be times when you need money for your subordinates. Use it then.”

“But it’s such a huge amount!”

“You need to learn how to handle large sums of money.”

“This is the first time in my life I’ve seen such a large amount of money.”

“Now, to buy you off, I’d need at least three hundred thousand nyang, right?”

“No matter how broke I am, I wouldn’t be swayed by that amount.”

“Then how much would it take?”

Lee Ahn seemed to ponder for a moment before holding up three fingers.

“Three million nyang?”

Lee Ahn shook her head.

“Oh, thirty million nyang?”

She still shook her head.

“…Three hundred million nyang? Surely not three thousand nyang?”

At that, she laughed and said, “Three billion nyang. Find that much, and you can buy me.”

“Even if you gathered all the money in the world, you wouldn’t reach that amount.”

“That’s who I am.”

We both chuckled. Honestly, I felt good. Someone who couldn’t be bought with money was willing to risk everything for me.

“If you have any money left over, buy yourself something delicious.”

“I’ll have plenty left over.”

“You can keep it all.”

On the way back, I asked Lee Ahn casually, “What do you think of Cheong Myeon?”

“He seems like a good person.”

“No, I mean, how about him as your subordinate?”

“What?”

Lee Ahn was taken aback.

“As my subordinate?”

“Cheong Myeon, the leader of the first squad of the Haunted Shade Corps. Doesn’t it sound fitting? The organization is called the shadow of a ghost, and he wears a blue mask. It suits him well, right?”

I said this knowing well Cheong Myeon’s loyalty.

“It’s not about whether it suits him or not. Cheong Myeon aims to be the next Demon Supreme. He’s actually the most likely candidate.”

But he would never become the Demon Supreme. The Evil Smiling Demon would live too long for that to happen.

Wouldn’t it be better for him to start a life as a squad leader of the Haunted Shade Corps, rather than spending his life serving the ill-tempered Evil Smiling Demon?

He could become the squad leader, then later the division leader, and who knows what else in the future.

Right now, life is headed towards a stifling conclusion, but a new life offers an open-ended outcome.

“If it feels too burdensome, you can ask him to lead the Haunted Shade Corps only until it’s established.”

“Do you think he would agree?”

“There’s no reason he wouldn’t.”

“Oh, come on. Still.”

“Lee Ahn, do you think being the squad leader of the Haunted Shade Corps is lower than being the heir to the Demon Supreme?”

“…Of course, it’s lower.”

“Lee Ahn!”

“Yes!”

“As my direct subordinate and the leader of the Haunted Shade Corps, you hold a higher position than the heir to the Demon Supreme. Because I will become the Heavenly Demon.”

Sensing the sincerity in my words, Lee Ahn bowed her head.

“I’m sorry. I never meant to disrespect you. It just feels overwhelming when I think of the Demon Supreme.”

“I understand. From now on, we’ll change our standards. Then making Cheong Myeon a squad leader won’t seem so burdensome.”

“Yes.”

“Besides, Cheong Myeon might refuse. We can’t force him. The Evil Smiling Demon wouldn’t easily allow it either. We’ll have to take it slow and be patient.”

You don’t yet understand how difficult it is to win over someone’s heart.

“Since he’s going to be your subordinate, you must put in the effort to win him over.” 1

“Yes.”

With that, we returned to the Black Kill Master’s hideout.

Soma, who had been waiting for me, asked about our next steps.

“What do you plan to do now?”

“If we confront Seok Gwan-chu directly, it might trigger a war between our Cult and the Unorthodox Alliance. So, I plan to put someone else forward to fight.”

“Who is it?”

“Bih Sa-in.”

Bih Sa-in, the heir to the Unorthodox Alliance, was the perfect person to confront Seok Gwan-chu.

I looked intently at the Evil Smiling Demon and spoke quietly.

“We will intervene in the succession battle of the Unorthodox Alliance.”

1: Lol, he’s acting like he’s already a caught fish XDXDXD

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