Absolute Regression Chapter 801

Even if the 801st Thousand-Year-Old Comes, You Must Eat

Gaye felt relieved.
The sword dance had said what she wanted to say to the Dark Princess.

You can curse me more if you want?

I wanted to ask the Dark Princess to open that door, come out, bow her head, and apologize.

“Don’t be so patient just because you’re a priestess.”

The problem was that the intention of the sword dance that said such sweet words was too obvious.

“No matter what, I won’t be on your side.”

She added with a pretended sigh.

“And you saw it? The Princess wouldn’t open the door even if you tried to kill me. I’m of no use to you.”

But contrary to her words, she still believed in the Dark Princess. Even if the Sword Dance were to kill her, she wouldn’t open the door, likely because she knew she wouldn’t truly kill her.

“I know how well you can dazzle people, so don’t waste your time with empty words.”

Geommugeuk admitted with a smile.

“That’s right. With that magic, I made two of your best people my own. Oh, I wonder what our evil brother is doing now. I wonder if he’s being bullied at school because I’m not around. Evil brother, you have to hold on tight!”

How could someone say something like that in this situation? Listening, Gaye felt that her common sense was truly incapable of judging or understanding this cult leader.

The reason the sword dance drama mentioned them was to say this.

“If Mr. Ak or Miss Cha were in the same situation, I would open the door and come out.”

Gaye bit her lip slightly.

“There’s no use in trying to sow discord. That door won’t open even with such provocation.”

But the discord in the sword dance drama was strong.

“The Dark Princess appeared to me twice before. Both times, she appeared as an illusion. But you just sent her away. I could have been killed by the Mazons.”

Gaye felt a pang in her chest. Even though she knew it was obvious she was being sabotaged, she was still angry. It was especially so because of the experience of Heukno failing to protect her.

“When we first met, you said, ‘Prophecy wouldn’t come to someone like me.'”
“That was because you were too shameless. I thought you’d at least offer an apology to the Lord of Heaven. I had no choice but to summon you. I’m sorry.”
“Is that one word so important?”
“Because that one word could change everything. Because I could miss the opportunity to say that one word and live a lifetime of regret.”

Gaye had never thought of such a thing.

“I already called you, so what’s the point of apologizing?”
“So that’s why you didn’t apologize, right?”

The sword dance hit her right on the mark.

“Be honest. Didn’t you ever think you should apologize? Now that you’ve heard me say it, you’re thinking, “Oh, maybe I should have?” Didn’t you? If so, you were raised that way by the Dark Princess. Did I say I’m good at seduction? You should have said that to the Dark Princess first.”

She couldn’t say anything in response. The swordplay coldly pressed her forward.

“You are no longer a priestess of the Shinnyeo Palace, but a maid of the Dark Palace. That must be why the prophecy was given to Cheonhwaruju, who left the palace.”

The enraged singer shouted.

“Shut up!”

Truth is always like a sharp blade, capable of protecting you or wounding you.
In Gaye’s case, it was the latter, and it was a very serious wound.

“Yes, I still have no intention of apologizing. And even if I die, I will never be on your side!”

Then, Geommugeuk said something unexpected.

“I’m not doing this to get you on my side.”
“Then why are you doing this to me? Why did you pretend to be friendly?”

The gaze of the swordsman turned towards the door again.

“I’m just trying to use you to open that door. You’re the key to that door.”

Gaye was dumbfounded by this outright statement. On the other hand, she was curious. How would she open it?

“If I ask you just one question, that door will open.”

What kind of question is this? A question from the sword dance world flew at her.

“How do you use the six powers contained in that bead?”

For a moment, Gaye flinched. Judging by her expression and reaction, she knew how to do it.

“You may ask other questions. Tell me who the master of the Thousand-Sal Castle is, what his story is, and what abilities he possesses. Tell me where he is now and what he plans to do next. Answer these questions and I will spare your life.”

Gaye didn’t answer.

“The best way to take revenge on the Dark Princess who abandoned you is to tell me the truth.”

That was exactly when.

Slurp.

The door opened on its own as the dark smoke that had been guarding it disappeared.

“Didn’t I tell you? You’re the key.”

Gaye’s face hardened coldly. The Dark Princess had opened the door, fearing she might reveal her secret. She had no intention of revealing it, no matter how brutal the torture. She
wouldn’t have opened the door even after losing a finger. Do you judge my resolve based on this?

‘How on earth do you see me?’

Now I knew for sure: the Dark Princess didn’t trust me.

She was so excited that she screamed angrily.

“The gate is open, so I’m useless now. Kill me! Kill me! And you two, you two, fight and die together in a double-crossing plan! I’ll be watching to see who goes to hell first.”

The feeling of being abandoned made her miserable. Abandoned by Heaven, abandoned by the Dark Princess, and of no use even to this swordsman.

Geommu-geuk looked at her with calm eyes. He didn’t rush to the door he’d barely opened. What if it closed again?
If it were him, he would have quickly cut it down and run away.
But Geommu-geuk was looking at him.

“Are you feeling a little better now that I’ve been cursing you?”

The moment I heard that, I felt relieved. How could you say that after making someone so angry?

“I feel like my clothes are going to burst and I’m going crazy just looking at your face.”
“Then stop looking and go.”

For a moment, Gaye was startled.

“You’ll save me?”
“Isn’t the life of a priestess not in the hands of man, but of the heavens?”

Geommu-geuk turned around as if he really wanted to save her. Ga-ye shouted from behind.

“Tell me the real reason why you saved me.”

The sword dance brought back memories of the princess from three hundred years ago. She who had given him a prophecy. Did you know your palace would become like this?

“Do you think your ancestors helped you?”

Gaye, who watched Geommu-geuk walk toward the door, leaving behind an incomprehensible message, didn’t leave. She ran over and walked alongside Geommu-geuk.

“I’m still not completely over it.”

Geommugeuk nodded and spoke softly.

“The shrine should have been like this a long time ago.”

So the two entered the room where the Dark Princess was.

* * *

They stood on the street of Magachon until the sun went down.

“You never know when the Thousand-Sal-Seong will arrive, so wait comfortably in the tavern until he arrives. Why waste your energy on the road before you can even fight?”

Geom Woo-jin readily accepted the proposal of the leader of the Pungcheon sect.

As he said, it was impossible to know whether the Thousand-Sal-Seong would come today, tomorrow, in a month, or never.
Nevertheless, the reason Geom Woo-Jin lit the magic fire and brought them out was because of his son. He felt that with his son’s excommunication, the wheel of fate had begun to turn.

They entered the Pungryu Tavern.
Jo Chun-bae had hurriedly vacated the tavern, so the interior hadn’t even been cleaned yet.

It was a place where the Demon Lord would be, so I couldn’t let him be in such a messy place.

“I think we need to clean up this place a bit.”

The leader of the Pungcheon sect said playfully.

“Who’s the youngest here? The youngest should clean up.”

Everyone smiled faintly at his joke about finding the youngest in this place. The atmosphere was pleasant thanks to the presence of the Pungcheon cult leader.

The leader of the Fengchun sect glanced at the Poison King. Naturally, he assumed the Poison King would be the youngest. But then,
an unexpected person stepped forward and revealed himself to be the youngest.

“I am the youngest.”

He was the Sword King.

“You’re the youngest?”
“I’m two years younger than the Poison King.”

The leader of the Pungcheon sect shouted in surprise.

“I would believe you even if you said he was my son.”
“If you put it that way….”

The Sword King couldn’t bring himself to say that he would look like a grandson to you.

“But how do you know my age?”
“I know the age of everyone here.”

It was a remark that made me realize once again that he was once my enemy.

“I’ll clean up here, so please stay upstairs. Even if the Thousand-Year-Olds come, you still have to eat.”

Since they couldn’t leave the leader alone, Kwon-ma and Dok-wang took Geom-woo-jin up to the second floor.
The leader of the Pungcheon clan, Geom-wang, was the most approachable and articulate, so they stayed on the first floor with him. He felt bad for bringing up the youngest member of the clan and forcing Geom-wang to do the work.

Fortunately, this floor was clean.
Geom Woo-jin sat where Geom Mu-geuk always sat, and Kwon Ma sat across from him.
Dok-wang sat separately at an adjacent table. Knowing that the cult leader disliked Dok-gong, he deliberately sat in an inconspicuous spot.

Kwon Ma asked Geom Woo Jin.

“Are you uncomfortable? If you need anything, please let me know.”
“No problem.”

Kwon Ma felt that the leader was enjoying the tension on the eve of this decisive battle.

“It’s been a while since I’ve felt this way.”
“Yes, that’s right.”

Others may not know, but Kwon Ma knows. This cult leader truly enjoys fighting his enemies.
He’d happily stay up for days and nights, traversing the Central Plains from end to end, just to fight a formidable foe.

In the freedom he finds, free from authority, the cult leader becomes a completely different person.
Everyone will likely be astonished. “Was he capable of such things?” they’ll all wonder.

At that moment, the words of the leader of the Pungcheon sect were heard from the first floor.

“You would have done well even if you had done the point-blank.”

Unable to bear it any longer, the leader of the Pungcheon sect was evaluating the work of the Sword King.

“The quality of the clothes is extraordinary.”

In fact, with his shabby clothes, ponytail, and bare feet, he looked like an old fortune teller, even if he hadn’t been carrying a sword.

It might have sounded unpleasant at first, but the Sword King didn’t care at all.

“I’ve even considered opening a guesthouse later.”
“It suits you, it suits you perfectly. How about a guesthouse where anyone who gets into a fight inside will risk their life? It’ll be rumored to be the safest in the martial arts world. What should I name it?”

The leader of the Pungcheon cult, who had been chattering away excitedly, began to growl in his stomach.
“I’m already hungry, perhaps because I’ve been talking so much. How many meals does the younger leader eat a day?”
“I’ll look for something quick to eat.”
“Would you mind?”

Then Kwon Ma came down to the first floor and said.

“I will prepare a meal for the cult leader.”

I thought he was keeping me from touching the food because he didn’t trust me, but that wasn’t the reason.
On this floor, Geumwoojin said something unexpected.

“That person was quite a cook when he was young.”

When Geom Woo-jin and Kwon Ma traveled the Central Plains in their youth, they often cooked for themselves. Geom Woo-jin’s cooking prowess was a skill he learned then.

The Sword King and the Fengchun Sect Leader looked at Kwonma with surprised expressions.

You’re cooking with those big hands?

The large kitchen knife in Kwonma’s hand looked like a fruit peeler.

It was a precious scene.
While Kwon Ma was chopping carrots in the kitchen, Geom Wang wiped the table with a dishcloth. The leader of the Pungcheon cult, seated in a chair, watched.

If someone were to paint this scene, the title of the painting would be:

While waiting for the Thousand-Year-Old.

Of course, it would be a picture that no one would believe.

As the three descended to the first floor, only Geom Woo-jin and the Poison King remained.
An awkward silence fell, but Geom Woo-jin, who had once visited Cheon Dok-rim and helped the Poison King mix his poison, was still there.

Geom Woo-jin spoke to the Poison King first.

“The poison sac is different than usual.”

The Poison King, who had been staring blankly out the window and lost in his own world, suddenly returned to the real world.

“It’s a pouch for war.”

Geumwoojin spoke to the Poison King in a calm tone.

“This war is not your war.”

The Poison King lowered his head slightly. I thought he was saying this because he disliked the Poison King, but that wasn’t the case.

“You must fight a war to protect the Infinite.”
“!”

The Poison King raised his head with a surprised expression. The leader’s words were intended to prepare him for losing this battle.

The swordsman’s swordsmanship ceased, and the swordsman’s slashing ceased.
The leader of the Fengchun sect naturally turned his head toward this floor.

“How can I protect Mugeuk from an enemy that my martial arts cannot reach?”

Their gazes entwined in the air. The leader was asking the ultimate weapon of the Cheonma Sect, “How will you protect Mugeuk when I die?”
The Poison King pondered for a moment, then calmly answered.

“I will protect you with a threat only I can use.”
“With what kind of threat? If you have the power to kill me, you might as well be invincible.”

Then an unexpected answer came from the Poison King.

“It’s not a threat to poison him.”
“Then?”
“After I hide, I’ll send him this letter.”

The Poison King read the imaginary threat.

“If you kill the Young Leader, I will poison everyone in the world so you will never have anything to gain. The martial arts world you conquer will become a desolate place.”

It was the most vicious and terrifying threat in the world, and it was a threat that only the Poison King could make.

The destruction of the world.

Everyone who was listening was silent, knowing that the Poison King was truly capable of such a thing.

The Poison King spoke again calmly. Considering the amount of conversation he usually had with Geom Woo-jin, he was already having ten years’ worth of conversations.

“But that won’t happen.”

“Because the leader will never, ever lose to the Thousand-Sal-Seong.” I expected this answer, but something completely unexpected came out.

“I don’t believe the Sogyo leader was born to balance the Heavenly Sect. For that to be the case, he is too outstanding and wonderful a person.”

The Poison King had a different opinion from what the Sword King had said earlier.

“Why do you think Mugeuk was born?”

To Geom Woo-jin’s question, the Poison King answered honestly.

“I believe that the sub-cult leader was born to balance the cult leader.”
“!”

Not only Geom Woo-jin, but also the three people on the first floor were surprised. They hadn’t expected the Poison King to have such thoughts.

“I am more afraid of the leader than of the Thousand-Year-Olds.”

Because I thought he was born to stop such a scary cult leader.

“That’s why I’m the most afraid of the cult leader.”