Absolute Regression Chapter 791

Episode 791: So I Left Soma Behind

The sword dance troupe entered the darkness.
The moment they entered the fog, a suffocating, stifling feeling washed over them. Their entire body felt heavy, as if their clothes had been soaked in water.

If the Cheonmahoshinkong hadn’t pushed that energy away, I wouldn’t have been able to display even half of my usual abilities. Without a compatible martial art, this energy would undoubtedly be greatly affected.

After the sword dance had made all his nerves tense, he took a step forward.

Whew.

Suddenly something popped out of the darkness.

Whoosh. Phew!

It appeared to be humanoid, but it wasn’t. Its neck had been cut by a black magic sword, and with a thud, it vanished into smoke.

Then someone’s voice was heard.

“If you are a real person, why do you swing your sword so carelessly?”

The moment I heard the voice, I instinctively knew it was Geommu-geuk.

“It’s you, Dark Princess.”
“That’s right, it’s me.”

These weren’t actual words, nor were they transmitted through the air. His words were being transmitted through this dark fog.

“How did you know it was me?”
“There’s no such thing as bad luck, so how could you not know?”

Then, something stirred in the fog.
Swoosh.
The Dark Princess appeared before the sword dance.

It was the first time the two people met.

“You look just like I imagined you would.”
“How did I imagine you would?”
“Old, ugly, greedy….”

The swordsman strode briskly toward him and touched his body. His hand brushed against his body. It felt real, yet he was an illusion.

“You’re a coward. You’ll never come out unless you send all your men out, right?”

A strange smile appeared on the Dark Princess’s lips. I never expected her to be so rude on our first meeting. She was just like the young cult leader I’d heard about. She was always trying to catch the opponent off guard.

“Betraying long-held friendships, exploiting people’s hearts. That’s your modus operandi, isn’t it? Have you ever approached someone squarely and said, ‘Let’s have a go!'”

Instead of falling for the provocation, the Dark Princess said something unexpected.

“Little Leader, would you like to see what that cowardly, dishonest, has done?”

As the Dark Princess spread her hands, a scene unfolded like a fantasy next to her.

“This is what it looks like from the outside.”

Ian appeared, leaning against a rock.
Blood flowed profusely from her chest. No one came to her aid as she died.
Soon, her figure receded, revealing her surroundings. The leaders and crew members of the Guiyeongdae were all dead, dead.

Chai Lan lay cut in two, his body slashed in two, and Cheongmyeon lay dead beneath his half-broken blue mask. Seojin lay dead, his dark spirit pierced like a hedgehog, and Jihan lay dead, his face buried in flowing blood.

Ian looked around in pain.

“……I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.”

Blood gushed from her mouth.
Geommugeuk, who was watching, shouted.

“You little shit! I’ll kill you!”

The swordsman screamed in excitement. He tried to strangle the illusion, but couldn’t.

“Come out, come out, you little shit!”

The Dark Princess, who had been quietly watching the scene, spoke.

“You’re not excited at all.”

Then, the eyes of the swordsman who had been shouting loudly suddenly became calm.

“I’m sorry, I hope you were expecting me to go wild and run wild. As you can see, acting excited isn’t easy.”

The sword dance drama did not believe the facts shown at all.

“Why are you so certain it’s fake?”
“I didn’t raise him to be so weak. And he had a guardian who wouldn’t have left him to die like that. And crucially, when Ian was dying, he didn’t come to me. If he had said, ‘Little Leader, I’m sorry I couldn’t serve you until the end,’ I would have been a little nervous.”

A look of bewilderment flashed across the Dark Princess’s eyes.
Then, Geommu-geuk uttered an unexpected statement.

“Since you’ve already shown me, show me the real scenery outside. I’m curious about what everyone’s doing without me. Either you or I will disappear from this world today. We waited three hundred years to finally meet, so you have no worries, right? Honestly, you’re curious too, aren’t you? Do you know? I wonder if I’ll really go crazy seeing Ian die?”

The Dark Princess, who had been quietly watching the sword dance, waved her hand again.
Then, the initial scene of corpses scattered around disappeared, and the real lakeside unfolded before her eyes.

* * *

The attacks were focused on Ian.
The attacks were too persistent to suggest they were intended to destroy morale by killing the leader first.
There was no doubt that orders had been given to kill Ian at all costs.

But they overlooked one thing: she was far beyond their expectations.

Thanks to this, while the attacks were concentrated on Ian, Chai Ran and the three members of the group caught the ambush attackers.

This would have been a tough fight, if it had been a normal one. The enemy was a group of individuals raised without any internal energy, solely to unleash their hidden powers. Furthermore, they were trained to conceal their killing intent, making them difficult to identify.

They suddenly burst out of the crowd of screaming, fleeing civilians, unleashing their hidden powers.
In a fight where it was impossible to tell who was the villain and who wasn’t, Chai-ran and the assassins displayed their best skills. They, too, were adept at concealing their murderous intent.

Meanwhile, Team I and Team Lee saved civilians.

The ambush attacker popped out again and fired a secret weapon at Ian.

Shhh shhh shhh shhh!
Chaeng chaeng chaeng chaeng chaeng!

The dark attacks came as a surprise attack, but Ian deflected them all. Fearing they might hit someone else, he didn’t dodge them, instead striking them all with his sword. It was truly an astonishing feat.

The one who dealt with the one who unleashed the secret weapon was once again Chae-ran. Among them, who had competed for the title of the most beautiful woman in the world, one blocked the secret weapon, while the other killed the enemy.

Ian shouted as he saw the merchants trembling beside the cart, unable to escape in time.

“Go to where the unmanned people are!”

The moment he warned them, Ian felt a sense of unease.
He met the eyes of one of the merchants, and there was no fear in his eyes.

Slurp.

A device emerged from his cart, unleashing a dark energy.
It was the same whirlwind cannon he had used to attack the demon army earlier.

Shhhhh.

Ian instinctively launched his sword, but was blocked by an iron wall. He
needed to precisely target the small hole he’d created to see outside, the eyehole, to defeat the enemy.

For a moment, Ian’s heart sank.
It had been incredibly difficult to counter the arm-mounted weapons worn by the enemies earlier.
But the engine mounted on the cart seemed incomparably more powerful.

And there were not one, but three carts. Three cannons, including those on either side, were simultaneously aimed at her. In the midst of the chaos, they had been waiting for this moment.

It was the worst-case scenario, but Ian wasn’t afraid.
If he died here, the civilians behind him and their guards would all die. As a leader, that was absolutely unacceptable.

‘Let’s stop it. Ian, you can stop it.’

She disciplined her mind and concentrated with all her might.

Swish swish swish swish swish swish swish swish!

The moment the whirlwind cannon was fired!

Something amazing happened. Perhaps it was because I had exerted such extreme concentration that I could no longer sustain it?
Everything around me began to move slowly.

Through the gaping holes beyond the organ, he saw the enemy’s eyes moving.
He saw dark energy pouring out of the organ. One, two, three… …they appeared to be continuously emerging, slowly.
Dark energy was also emitted from the left and right, flying towards him.
His instincts worked out how to dodge these dark energy and which ones to strike.

The slow-flowing time has returned to its original state.

Chaeng chaeng chaeng chaeng chaeng chaeng chaeng chaeng!

She rushed forward, warding off the flying dark energy, and before she knew it, she was in front of the cart.

Shhh!

She brought her sword down vertically.

Crunch.

The iron plate that had not been cut by the sword before was cut, and the face of the man behind it was also split in half.

“ha.”

The moment she let out the breath she had been holding.

The engine on the left had also stopped firing.
Chayran had leaped over the iron wall and entered the area where Ian had turned to attack, thrusting a dagger into his neck. It was an incredibly fast move.

Swish swish swish swish swish!

The organ on the right was still firing into the air.
A dark, snake-like thing rose from beneath the cart, oriented itself completely toward the sky. Seojin’s ghostly magic had been unleashed.
It was Cheongmyeon who stabbed him in the heart, as he lost his balance and began to fire wildly into the air.

Ian stared blankly down at his sword for a moment.
The experience of time passing slowly was one thing, but the iron plate, which had never been cut with a sword, was now sliced ​​open as if by a blade.
He couldn’t fathom how that could have happened. He would have to ask Geommu-geuk later to find out.

Moments later, the demons arrived.
For some reason, the continuous barrage of explosive weapons suddenly stopped, allowing them to break formation and charge forward.
Jangho, along with the demons, were startled by the scene unfolding before their eyes. The situation had already been resolved.

The three organs were completely destroyed. The corpses of those carrying portable weapons were strewn everywhere.
The three unmanned units of the Guiyeongdae were retrieving the weapons from their arms. They intended to retrieve them all and deliver them to the iron barracks.

On one side, the common people were surrounded by the guards of the Guiyeongdae and the soldiers of the second corps.

Jang-ho realized he had underestimated the strength of the Guiyeongdae.
Ian could sense the urgency with which Jang-ho and the demons were rushing.

“Your Majesty.”
“Your Majesty.”

The two men stood facing each other.
Jang-ho could sense the difference in skill between the Ian of their old tavern drinking party and the Ian on the battlefield now, so much so that they were completely different people.

“I’m glad you’re safe.”
“Thanks for your concern.”

Jang-ho wanted to give a word of encouragement to Ian, who had fought well.

“Congratulations on your first real battle. Next time the Demon Army is in danger, please come help us.”

It was truly Jangho’s highest praise.

“Thank you, Your Majesty. We won’t be there to help, but please call us anytime.”

It was at that time that I thought everything was sorted out.

Aaaa …

Something flew towards the two.
The shield-wielding demon next to them leaped forward to protect Jang-ho and Ian.
Jang-ho and Ian turned together and injected their shields with energy.

Bang!

The three men were hurled backwards. If the two hadn’t joined forces, knowing the noise coming from the enemy was ominous, the force would have killed the demon they were trying to protect.

Oh my god.

The shield he was holding cracked and then shattered. The tactical shield, which had never broken during the entire fight, was now broken.

thud.

Someone got down there.
Everyone was startled the moment they saw him.

He was a man of enormous stature, clad entirely in iron armor. The numerous iron blocks attached to his armor made him appear even larger.

Chai Lan recognized him. No, more precisely, she recognized what he was wearing.

“Divine Iron Armor!”

The greatest work of art ever created by the Iron Gate was this Shingicheolgap, a suit of armor that embodied all their skills and abilities.

“You can never kill someone with your sword and swordsmanship.”

That wasn’t the only problem.
He was clad in weapons all over his body, with golden dragon weapons attached to his shoulders, arms, and waist. They were far more powerful than anything he’d ever encountered before.

Ian knew that the only weakness was the eyes of the iron mask protecting his face.
But judging by his opponent’s prayers, his martial arts skills were anything but ordinary. He wouldn’t give them his eyes easily.

“You arrogant demonic bastards, did you think we would run away in fear if you came at us like a pack of dogs?”

The armored man slowly raised both arms. The devices on his arms made an unpleasant metallic noise.

“How many people will survive here?”

The shield-wielding demons swarmed forward, blocking the path of the demons. Their eyes bore no fear.

“You demonic bastards, this is your grave….”

Before he could finish speaking, something flew in.

It stretched out in a straight line without any hesitation or wavering, and hit the Iron Mask’s eye with precision.

Phew!

It was faster than a meteor streaking across the night sky. It flew so fast that the sound arrived right after.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Silence fell there.

Blood flowed from the ironclad man’s eyes.
He, who seemed poised to annihilate everyone at any moment, slowly began to collapse.

thud.

When he fell to the floor, he was already dead.

Ian, and everyone else there, turned around in surprise. They were shocked to see where the gust of wind had come from.

‘No way? On this street?’

A figure appeared from behind a rock on a small hill in the distance.
He was none other than the evil soma, wearing a pure white mask.
From this great distance, he had accurately hit the bloody target.
This wasn’t the bloody target of old. This was a faster, more accurate bloody target.

Everyone knew.
The evil Soma had been watching this fight from the very beginning. The reason everyone was able to finish the fight safely was because he was quietly watching over them.

In the midst of the chaos, there must have been enemies his crew missed.
But the evil Soma wouldn’t have missed them. The silently flying Blood Angel would have sent the Reaper back.
Perhaps that fight was far more psychic-demanding than if he had fought it himself?

Jangho could finally see that the one who had defeated those who had attacked them was the evil Soma. He knew that he had been fighting alongside them throughout the battle, silently moving across the battlefield.

Ian called him with a powerful, moved face.

* * *

“Soma-sama!”

At the same time as Ian, Geommu-geuk also shouted.
Geommu-geuk’s face was filled with emotion. Had he ever felt this moved in recent times? Ian and his crew, who had put up a splendid fight, were all proud. Well done, everyone!

Conversely, the Dark Princess’s expression hardened. The scene that had unfolded like a fantasy beside her vanished with a bang.

“Don’t think this is the end.”

The Dark Princess’s illusion rippled. His rage seemed to pierce through it.

“Your evil soma will be trapped in eternal darkness today.”

When the sword dance did not respond, the Dark Princess asked.

“Don’t you believe this either?”

The sword dance shook its head.

“Trust me. They knew Soma-sama was here, so they wouldn’t have sent just those guys. They would have sent someone really, really scary. They’d have to kill or take hostage the people I care most about to somehow shake my heart. This is very important to you, isn’t it?”

Neither the power of time contained in the wrinkles nor the menace filled with dark energy could handle this heart.

“That’s why I left Soma behind instead of someone else.”

The belief in the evil Soma was absolute.

“I’m going to make sure that kind of thing never works.”