Absolute Regression Chapter 486

486
Myeongsin looked at the coin that Geommugeuk held out silently.

I said this to the king of Sal.

– You said that the leader resembles me? Then you overestimated me.

Those words were not meant to be said to the King of Sal. There was someone here who overestimated himself.

Myeongsin did not accept the coin that Geommugeuk offered.

“I’m not the kind of person who takes on small business deals.”

Myeongsin started walking again.

The sword dance followed suit.

“Oh, of course I know that your ransom is the second most expensive on the list.”

But a different thought came to Geommugeuk’s mind than what he had said.

‘No, you can’t live like that.’

It is in the future that he will receive this one coin.

He left the organization and wandered around the central plains, living as a thief who received a coin from a child as a bribe. When someone was wronged, he would take revenge. In return, he would receive a rice ball, and sometimes he would go on a killing spree after listening to a song.

And in the end, he is killed by the King of Sal.

The reason he left the organization was because he had committed murderous acts that were out of line with his principles because of the King of Sal.

King Sal was merciless. The person who tricked the wicked into killing Myeongsin was a great person. He was a very good person who was respected and praised by the people.

As always, Myeongsin investigated the target of the contract in his own way, but he could not escape the scheme of the king who had deliberately deceived him.

After that incident, Myeongsin was greatly shocked and went into hiding.

The reason he lived as a murderer helping people was probably because his innate good heart was compounded by the guilt of killing innocent people. And eventually, the murderer found him and killed him.

What did the king say when he killed him?

Did he kill Myeongsin after causing him great emotional harm? Or did he kill him after saying something else? I don’t know.

Anyway, before the return, King Sal lived and Myeongsin died, but in the current world, the one who should live is Myeongsin, and the one who should die is King Sal.

The two walked in silence for a long time.

Myeongsin was worried.

Rather, it was an opportunity. At this time, something was awkward, and it seemed like the sword dance would follow me wherever I went.

‘Should I just take it like this?’

Even if you don’t follow, you can just wait for the next time.

Even though an unexpected opportunity came, Myeongsin hesitated. That was because of what Geommugeuk had said.

―I think it would be nice if there was a cool assassin somewhere in this world who would kill bad guys in exchange for a coin offered by a little kid.

The moment I heard those words, my heart thumped.

Was it because I really wanted to live like that?

Or was it because of his anger at the swordplay that tried to deceive him with such words?

It was a brief moment, but his emotions were shaken by the words of the swordsman. If someone else had tried to kill him, he would have waited for that moment.

Whether he knew about these complicated feelings or not, Geommugeuk was at peace.

“Well, let’s have a drink to ease this awkward relationship. Let’s go.”

Rather, the sword dance took the lead.

Myeongsin followed behind him.

‘If you take him there… … the young sect leader will die today.’

If I fail this mission.

‘I’m dying.’

Because it would be ruining the greatest murder ever, to the point of calling in special assassins from outside. Moreover, it would be even more difficult to avoid responsibility, especially when the relationship with the King of Murder is not so good these days.

“What are you thinking about?”

Kill you or not.

“Can’t you just leave?”

“Why are you suddenly saying that?”

The leader suddenly left.

Because I wanted to report this to King Sal. Because I didn’t want to kill the only person who had allowed me to look deep into my heart.

And that’s not all. From the moment you kill the leader of the Demonic Cult, you will have to hide for the rest of your life. There must be a clear reason why King Sal accepted this job, but it was not for him. It was something he did not feel like doing emotionally.

“Have you received an order to kill me?”

Myungshin was inwardly startled by the sudden question from the swordsman, but he didn’t show it and just kept walking.

“I guess that really happened.”

The spirit stopped.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Don’t most people say no to something that isn’t true, at least to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings?”

“What if there’s a little misunderstanding?”

The sword dance did not let a single word pass.

“People who say it’s okay because it’s a misunderstanding are people who really hate being misunderstood. Just like people who like to badmouth others hate being badmouthed themselves.”

You saw it exactly. That’s what he said, but Myeongsin hated being misunderstood. He hated people who spoke carelessly without even knowing the truth.

“The world is not all about your experiences.”

Geommugeuk nodded vigorously as if he acknowledged it.

The more Myeongsin talked to Geommugeuk, the angrier he became.

Because Salsu, whose job is to look into others, was constantly being made to look into himself.

Whether he knew his feelings or not, Geommugeuk continued to shake his emotions without stopping.

“According to your principles, I am the one who should be killed, right?”

Myeongsin remembered that Salwangdo had also asked this question.

―You said you wouldn’t kill anyone who wasn’t a bad person, right? Is the leader a bad person or a good person?

Myeongsin could not answer either to King Sal or to Geommugeuk, the person involved.

Based on the information collected, he wasn’t a villain. The only justification for killing him was his status as a leader of a demonic cult.

What if the leader of the cult is not a villain? Then it would be breaking the principle. Or is he trying to use the excuse that he is a member of the demonic cult to get away with it? Hoping that all this will pass.

“Tell me. Are you a bad person or not?”

Geommugeuk answered without hesitation.

“I am the kind of person who should not be killed.”

“Why is that so?”

“If your principle is that you don’t kill anyone unless they’re evil, my principle is that you must kill evil people. I’m a person who goes one step further than your principle. In the end, we can be seen as the same people.”

That principle of the Sword Dance was something that was hard to believe even when you heard it directly, but it was true. It was the most important information about him.

A cult leader who does not forgive evil?

Of course I thought it was a lie and a disguise.

If so? It was a really great disguise and deception. I kept thinking that the information might be true.

Rather, the preliminary investigation was poisonous. If not, I would never have trusted the leader of the Demonic Cult in the first place.

Meanwhile, the two arrived at the market.

“Okay, as I said, let’s go to the place you chose today.”

Myungshin’s heart was pounding.

‘Should I take you there? Or should I endure it today?’

If I had to take her someday, why would I put it off? Even though I knew today was the chance, Myeongsin hesitated.

“If you know of another good place other than this town, let’s go there.”

Although a storm was brewing in Myeongsin’s mind, his expression was calm.

“I know a pub a little bit away. Is that okay?”

If you just told me to eat here, I wouldn’t have any intention of forcing you to take me.

But as the swordsman approached, he grabbed the hem of her clothes.

“You should have said so earlier. Come on, let’s go. Even if we’re going to have a drink, we should drink it somewhere delicious.”

Just as if he had strode out of the iron cage, grabbed her hand, and pulled the handle together, today too, Geommugeuk was deciding his own fate.

You should feel at ease and think, ‘Yes, this is your destiny that you have decided.’

As he walked away from the market, Myeongsin’s mood was not very good.

The coin that was on Geommugeuk’s palm kept coming to mind.

‘You shouldn’t get involved.’

The coin is just a secret weapon that flew into his heart.

As he was walking along, lost in thought, words came out of Geommugeuk that stopped Myeongsin in his tracks.

“Sooner or later, your leader will trick you into killing someone who absolutely should not be killed by calling him a villain. What will you do then? Will you kill him? Or will you leave the underworld?”

“Why would you do that to me, the second-highest ranking person in the underworld?”

But, contrary to his conviction that it would never happen, Myeongsin was recalling what King Sal had said.

―If you set such a useless rule and make a mistake later on, will you wash your hands of the guilt? Or will you commit suicide?

If you think about it, that mistake was one that King Sal would make. It would be a mistake to mistake a good person for a bad person and give orders. The King Sal that I know is not the kind of person who would make such a mistake. Why would he say something like that?

But soon, Myeongsin thought that this was also a trick of his opponent.

‘He figures out that there’s a conflict between him and me and he digs into that relentlessly.’

Myungshin stopped walking and glared at Geommugeuk.

“Are you trying to sow discord between me and him?”

Of course I thought you’d say no.

“exactly.”

The sword dance was admitted without question.

“I may have to sow discord to bring you over to my side.”

And the discord caused by the open swordplay was powerful.

“Could it really be that person who saved you?”

Myungsin’s face hardened.

“When you were young, you were the sole survivor of a destroyed family. I saved you from death when a wardrobe fell on you.”

Myeongsin was surprised. The little sect leader knew that Salwang had saved him. And he knew in great detail.

‘Isn’t this something that no one knows about?’

In response to the surprise of how he knew, Geommugeuk calmly answered.

“I am the leader of the Cheonma Sect. If I wanted to know, I could find out everything, including when the leader of the martial arts world was and who he had a crush on.”

What surprised Myeongsin was not that he noticed the fact.

“What do you mean he didn’t save me?”

“Let’s say you push someone into the river and then rescue them. Then you’ve saved them?”

Myungshin opened his eyes wide at the thought.

“The place where you accepted the order to destroy your family was the underworld.”

What makes this slander so powerful is that its ingredients are truth.

He was a famous person who had practiced countless times to maintain peace of mind while living as a monk.

But at least for this moment, he couldn’t stop the outburst of passion and confusion.

That moment from my childhood came to mind.

As the heavy wardrobe was lifted, the darkness cleared and light appeared.

A boy looking down at himself in that light.

The boy was looking down at her silently, with eyes as icy as ice, without any emotion.

“Didn’t you know that too?”

No, I didn’t know.

I was only seven years old at the time. I lived with the vague thought of repaying the favor of having been saved.

I never dreamed of avenging my family. No, I didn’t even have the luxury of dreaming. That’s when I started receiving training as a killer. That’s how I’ve lived as a killer up until now.

But what dominated him now was not a sense of betrayal, but self-doubt.

A suspicion that perhaps he knew as the sword dance said.

So maybe that’s why you haven’t asked until now?

Why did you save me then? No, why were you passing by that place of all places?

I have never asked the King of Sal until now.

Perhaps it was a premonition? The King of Sal indifferently said that we would destroy your family. As you know, it was just a coincidence.

Are you afraid you’ll hear something like that?

Could it be that I was trying to ignore all that truth?

‘What are you thinking! Don’t fall for that trick!’

It’s literally just a clever scheme to sow discord. The scheme by the demonic cult based on the information that there was a rift between them and the King of Sal.

‘How vicious!’

He turned the blade away from himself and towards the sword dance, but the hand holding the handle of the sword was buried.

‘Isn’t this also avoiding what we have to face?’

Geommugeuk asked.

“Have you been causing some trouble?”

Myeongsin wanted to speak with a relaxed smile, but now her words were full of emotion.

“It’s thrilling to be instigating a rift, right? But you know what? That one moment of thrill is what made me lose my trust forever.”

Myeongsin started walking briskly again.

The sword dance walked side by side with it.

“Your family will remain in the old records. If your chief had not destroyed them, you may have been hoping to see them someday.”

Myeongsin bit his molars. Even though he thought it was his opponent’s trick, he couldn’t completely deny it because the King of Sal that he knew was that kind of person.

Why did that empty person save himself?

Why did he stick himself to his inner ice cliff?

I haven’t found the answer yet.

One thing that was good about the emotional fight with the swordplay was that I was able to easily bring him to the shelter.

The small street was bustling with travelers.

“I didn’t know there was a place like this.”

Geommugeuk spoke as if nothing had happened, and Myeongsin answered in a softened tone.

“It’s a place I come to sometimes.”

But in Myeongsin’s mind, two thoughts were clashing.

The desire to quickly finish the mission.

Suddenly, the taste of alcohol has diminished, and I wish the sword dance would go away.

I don’t know why I keep wanting him to live, when he’s such a harassing and frustrating person.

‘Go now!’

But Geommugeuk was the first to stride down the street. His steps toward the death trap were very brisk.

“New silk arrived yesterday. Come and see it!”

As a clerk at a timber merchant.

As the owner of Daru who is dozing off.

As a woman beckoning to a running child.

As a merchant carrying a stall and soliciting customers.

In other appearances.

The assassins were completely one with this street. They were the most skilled assassins among the assassins.

Can you endure this perfect orgy of real people reaching the peak of murder?

Myeongsin looked at the sword dance. He looked rather excited.

“I received a dagger as a gift, so I’ll buy it today. Next time, you buy it. Let’s make up and have fun drinking today.”

Sorry, there is no next time.

“Is that the tavern over there?”

“That’s right.”

“The atmosphere is already great. You should have told us to come here sooner.”

So the two entered the tavern. The pleasant-looking owner, who had been chatting with the customers, greeted them.

“Are you here?”

The chief pretended to know Myeongsin.

“Please take a seat where you feel most comfortable.”

The swordsman said to the owner.

“I can tell just by looking at the bar owner’s face whether the alcohol tastes good or not.”

The swordmaster stared intently at the owner’s face and decided on the taste of the alcohol.

“I think this is a taste I’ll never forget.”

Then the owner laughed heartily and clapped his hands loudly.

“I’ll finish it off today!”

Absolute Return Episode 487