Absolute Regression Chapter 442

442
Is it because my heart feels lighter?

The speedboat returned faster.

When I returned to the main school, I ate and rested well. Then I took a bath and changed into new uniforms.

As I was about to go to Cheonmajeon to see my father in such a great mood, two people were waiting outside the door after hearing that I had returned.

They were Seo Dae-ryong and Jang-ho. Jang-ho’s large body seemed to have grown even larger in the time I hadn’t seen him.

Seo Dae-ryong approached me and spoke quietly in a lowered voice.

“I shouldn’t joke like this when Master is here, but if we put the two of us together, wouldn’t you count us as one Demon Lord?”

I could tell right away from those words what kind of feelings the two people had for me waiting here. If they could, they would also step forward and help me.

“The two of you are comparable to three Amazons.”

“Can I handle two Amazons?”

“The general takes two and a half, and you take half.”

“My right arm is mine! It’s me!”

Jang-ho, who had been eyeing my right arm, bowed his head respectfully to me. He always looked dependable.

“I don’t worry, because the Little Master has always shown me more than I could ever imagine, but please be careful and make good decisions.”

The reason he is so worried about me is because he is my father.

Before I knew it, Seo Dae-ryong was looking at me with a face that had lost all playfulness.

These are two people who would gladly give their lives if it were my order. They are my people who should never die, so today’s fight was also a fight for them.

“I’ll make a reservation at the Pungryu Bar. Want to have a drink with Defeat? I won’t accept that kind of joke.”

“I didn’t mean to make that joke, but you did it.”

Seo Dae-ryong smiled brightly and politely accepted the prize. Jang Ho also bowed his head while accepting the prize. It was a moment that gave me more strength than any cheering in the world.

“Let’s reserve the whole Pungryu Bar. Let’s get drunk all night long.”

I left the residence, leaving behind the two people’s cheering me on.

When I arrived at the entrance of Cheonmajeon, this time, Hyung Geommuyang was waiting for me. I could tell how important this matter was to everyone.

“I have heard everything Ma-bul-nim has to say.”

It seems that Mabul has told his brother everything about this incident.

“So? You came to help your cornered brother?”

Then my brother gave an unexpected answer.

“I came to save my father who is in a corner.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s a joke that only my brother and I can make in this martial arts world.”

“This is no joke.”

There was a reproach in my brother’s eyes.

“He trusted you and made you a disciple, and now you are disobeying his will?”

“If I get on the wrong side of my father, isn’t it better for my brother?”

“I thought so too.”

It doesn’t seem to be the case. Looking at it coming out like this,

We stood side by side without looking at each other, and looked together at the view from Cheonma Hall.

Now it’s time to have a conversation that we should have had at least once. A conversation that we can only have with you, even if we can’t have it with anyone else.

“You know what? Nobody can tell you anything about your father’s life.”

My brother looked at me with an expression that asked, “What do you mean?”

“That’s why my father never heard anyone talk about his life, about life itself.”

“Isn’t the General in Chief here?”

“Yes, they are. Mr. Whee is there too. They can speak frankly. They can talk about school life comfortably. But, hyung, do you think they would dare to talk about your father’s life and beliefs?”

“!”

My brother probably never thought about this part.

“Do you doubt their loyalty?”

“I’m saying this because I know that loyalty is real. Because it’s real loyalty, I said I couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t do it. Because I’ll accept any aspect of my father. Because I’ll endure it all. You know? When we’re close, I can’t do it because we’re close, and when we’re far away, I can’t do it because we’re far away.”

After a moment, my brother asked.

“So? Are you going to do that?”

“Okay, I’ll do it.”

My brother shouted with an angry face.

“be impertinent!”

“But we have to do it. Even my brother thinks it’s something he shouldn’t do. That’s why he’s living his whole life without any advice or counsel. We have to tell him. Dad, I think you’re mistaken. Someone has to tell him.”

My brother tried to say something, but eventually he let out a sigh. How could he not understand what I was saying?

“What if my choice is wrong? Father will correct me. Let’s use our faith in Father for this.”

My brother didn’t say anything else.

“Come in and see.”

“Still, thank you. You came here because you were worried about me.”

“I told you I didn’t come because I was worried about you.”

My brother, who was walking over there, looked back at me. I was still looking at him.

His thoughts did not change until the end.

“Still, I disagree.”

“So that’s what I’m going to do.”

I turned around again and watched my brother walk away, then went into Cheonma Hall.

But please understand this. You are one of the people I don’t want to kill. That’s why I’m fighting this fight.

* * *

I entered Cheonma Hall.

My father was sitting on the throne as usual. Today, he looked more special than on other days. It must be because I could really feel how scary the empty throne was.

“Father, I am here.”

I greeted my father in a brighter voice than usual.

I walked slowly along the bloody path covered with red carpet to the bottom of the Taesa Temple. Today, the path felt long.

I looked up at my father at the end of the bloody road.

Do you know, Father? When I returned, I stood unarmed that day and looked at you like this. Since that day, I have always looked at you.

After returning, I tried to please everyone, but at the center of it all was my father.

“I have a confession to make.”

Of course, my father knows everything I’m going to say. But I told him everything as if I had just come back from school.

“I’ve been going around to the Amazons these past few days, begging them to join my side.”

Indeed, there was no surprise or agitation in my father’s expression.

“They are my demons, so why did you ask them to be on your side?”

“Could it be because of jealousy?”

I could feel the corners of my father’s mouth slightly rising.

“My father’s demons are so cool. I guess that’s why I’m jealous.”

My father didn’t laugh. Instead, he nodded as if he sympathized with what I said.

“It’s not easy for such good people to gather in one era.”

The moment I heard that, I remembered what Mabul had said.

―Because our school has never been this strong.

Those eight good demons each changed in their own way, and each became stronger in their own way. They were getting stronger even at this moment. The stagnant Heavenly Demon Sect began to flow out unhindered.

“While we’re on the subject, why don’t you call everyone over and see each other’s faces? They say if you don’t see each other often, your hearts grow distant, don’t they?”

It was a response. If this was a stage set by my father as Mabul thought, and if my father’s purpose was to persuade me and gather the demons as one, then my father would call the demons. If not, he would just ignore it and pass by.

Father, how will you receive this number?

My father took my hand without pulling it away.

My father spoke softly.

“Call the Amazons.”

Then, Hui’s answer came from the air.

“I obey your orders.”

A silent passion spread from deep within my heart. My father really called the demons.

Since he was not the type to summon the Mazone unless it was something important, I began to strongly suspect that Mabul’s words might be true.

Father, then what are you trying to do on this stage? Are you really trying to persuade me with the Amazons as your audience? Or are you trying to suppress me with force?

There was a moment of silence. But this silence didn’t feel awkward or uncomfortable, so I deliberately didn’t continue the conversation. I held back my words. I knew I had a lot to say today.

How much time has passed like that?

Finally the door opened and a person came in.

The first to arrive was Kwon Ma. With his large body, he strode across the red carpet, looking like he was walking out of the gates of hell.

He walked down to the pavilion, greeted his father respectfully, and stood on the right side of the direction his father was looking down from.

“Welcome, Master.”

Since it was in front of his father, Kwon-ma only gave a brief nod.

I asked with my eyes.

Was the war that you spoke of with your father a war with me?

Kwon-ma must have sensed the meaning in my eyes, but he just stood there silently.

Another person came in again. He was the one who followed his father as much as Kwonma, and that was Ilhwageomjon.

The pure white uniform and her white hair matched so well. It was a complete contrast to how Kwonma had been walking. As I watched her walking lightly down the bloody path, I had this thought.

Wouldn’t the female students of our school think this way when they see her?

I want to grow old like that too.

That was the feeling I got from Ilhwageomjon these days. She was showing us firsthand that age has nothing to do with how people change.

She also greeted her father politely and stood next to Kwonma.

“Are you here?”

Ilhwageomjondo also greeted me with a faint smile.

The first two people who came were people who absolutely respected and liked my father. They chose my father without even a moment’s hesitation.

The next person to enter was the evil Soma. He walked in wearing a white mask. Like the pure white hair of Ilhwageomjeon, his mask also contrasted sharply with the red carpet.

After greeting his father respectfully, Geukak Soma stood on the opposite side of Kwonma and Ilhwageomjeon across the carpet.

It wasn’t an intentional confrontation. Since the two people were standing on one side, they naturally ended up on the other side of the red carpet.

The evil soma looked at Kwonma and Ilhwageomjeon in front of him with eyes that showed no emotion. Then, his gaze turned to me.

The two eyes in the eye sockets said this.

Dear Master, I am here.

I looked at him and smiled with my eyes.

Sir Soma, I’ve been waiting for you.

The courtesy that only exists between him and me, I love this feeling so much.

When I turned my head again, my father was watching us like this without saying a word.

‘I’m sorry, Father. I brought you here as my own because your Mazone was too cool. Please understand, he’s only one person.’

The next Ma-Zone that arrived was different from the evil Soma. He was not only the Ma-Zone of my father, but also the next Ma-Zone.

After greeting his father, the seat chosen by the Subhonmajon was next to the Extreme Evil Soma. There were two people on the other side and one person on this side, so he stood there, but in the end, they ended up facing each other.

Even when she faced Kwonma and Ilhwageomjon, she was not discouraged at all. Also, when she stood side by side with the evil Soma, the energies that stimulated the primal fears of the evil and the submissive spirit mixed together, doubling her fear.

The next Amazon to arrive was a drunkard who came in smelling of alcohol.

He stood naturally next to Ilhwageomjeon.

Unlike Kwonma and Ilhwageomjon, there was an apology in his eyes as he looked at me. He must have had a lot of alcohol after telling me that he chose my father.

When I see him like this, he looks extremely weak, but don’t I know what kind of person he is on the battlefield?

The next Amazon to come in was Mabul.

He came in with a golden glow and stood next to the horse without hesitation. Normally, it would have been normal to stand next to the two standing Sehonma-jon to maintain balance, but for some reason, he stood on the opposite side.

I could tell he was doing it on purpose. He was the one who said that this was a stage set by his father. That was why he wanted to heighten the tension of this stage.

No matter how hard you hammer at the statue, it seems like there’s nothing you can do about its quarrelsome nature.

The seventh demon was the Poison King.

He stood alone, far away from both sides, as if to keep his word that he was not on either side.

The Poison King made it clear where he stood in front of his father and the demons.

In some ways, he was the bravest of the bunch, because in this case, it was harder to choose neither than to choose one.

But in the end, by standing far away, I was keeping a promise I had made to my father. He had told him not to get involved in the Murim Iltong.

The last person to enter was Hyeolcheon Doma. He couldn’t make a decision until the very end. If he had made a decision, he would have come to me and told me.

What choice will he make today?

As he walked along the bloody path, he saw the demons standing on both sides.

I had hoped for a moment that, with the balance so unbalanced, you would take my side.

Hyeolcheon Doma stood on the other side without hesitation.

I said to him with a fake look of disappointment.

“You are going too far, sir! I believed that you would support me at least as much as I did.”

He didn’t take my words as a joke. Instead, he rebuked me sharply.

“This is too much, you cult leader. How dare you go against the will of the cult leader?”

That slightly displeased look in his eyes when he first met him. It was as if he had turned his relationship around for the first time.

I could tell by this cold reaction.

That he chose me.

Even though I was standing over there, I felt like he had chosen me.

Why?

He was worried about my relationship with my father. It was my father’s wish, and he put aside my worries and all, and only thought about that.

I worry that the more I confront my father, the more the gap between us will widen.

I guess he decided that it would be better for me to stand by my father’s side and scold him harshly.

Thank you, sir.

But I didn’t send him a message of thanks, nor did I give him a look that said I knew his heart. For now, my gratitude to him would be to follow his wishes.

But what can I do, sir? I will defeat my father and go back today.

In this way, the eight Amazons gathered in one place.

My father, the eight demons, and me.

Even if you just walk out like this and set out to conquer the martial arts world, no one would think it strange.

Finally, my father got up from his seat.

The Amazons all straightened their postures and tensed up. They, who had been shining with their own colors until now, all became black and white and hid themselves.

In the black and white picture, only my father and I revealed our presence as red as blood and blue as the sky.

My father stared at me for a moment, then slowly started walking down the steps toward the stage filled with an audience.

Absolute Return Episode 443