Absolute Regression Chapter 88

From the 88th time the umbilical cord was cut.

The blacksmith, who had washed off the blood, stood in front of Donggyeong, and was helping Sibi put on new clothes.

He wore a thin robe that protected his bare body from swords. He then wore a slightly thicker robe over it. He showed his obsession with death at least to Mabul.

Mabul was sitting on a chair and watching the scene.

It would be understandable for him to be upset about the Yunnan Twins being dragged in, but Geommuyang didn’t say anything. Mabul could tell that he was angry.

“The person with engineering skills… … .”

Originally, I was going to start the story by saying, ‘So much has changed,’ but I changed my words because I thought it was too obvious.

“… …What kind of person are you?”

In the distance, the black sheep answered.

“I thought I knew my little brother well, but I guess I don’t know him well after seeing him earlier. He wasn’t like this originally… … .”

“You must forget the old thoughts!”

Suddenly, Ma-bul raised his voice, and the servant who had been touching his collar scratched Geommu-yang’s neck with his fingernails.

“Oops! I’m sorry, please save me.”

Sibi knelt down on the spot and begged for forgiveness. The atmosphere cooled down in an instant.

“Why should I kill you for something like this?”

Geommuyang spoke softly, but Mabul cut in coldly.

“But you can’t not kill him, right? You left alive the man who injured the body of the one who was to become the Heavenly Horse? How ridiculous would it be for others to hear that?”

Sibi pleaded earnestly.

“Please! Save me!”

The black sheep lifted her up.

“Everyone makes mistakes. Just get out.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank you very much.”

Sibi left the room.

“You should not show that you easily forgive the mistakes of your subordinates. You should at least punish them.”

Then, Geommuyang suddenly asked.

“Did you ask what kind of person your younger brother is?”

“Yes, I did.”

“If something like this happened, he would buy food for the surprised Sibi. He was a warm-hearted child since he was little.”

“But that doesn’t mean we can let our guard down.”

“I’m not telling you to let your guard down. Didn’t you see the people at Moogeuk earlier?”

The gaze that had been longing for Ma-bul turned to Geommu-yang himself.

“To be honest, I was a little jealous.”

Mabul sometimes thought that this black magician was unmanageable.

Even when you’re handling things clearly and calmly, there are times when you suddenly reveal your true feelings like this.

While I was pondering how to react, Geommuyang walked over and sat down in front of Mabul. He poured cold tea into a teacup and drank it.

“What are you so worried about, Amazon?”

“Lee Gongja’s skills are skills, but more than anything, Hyeoncheon Doma is a cunning old man. The fact that he chose Lee Gongja means that there must be a reason for it. It could be because he bought food for Sibi, or there could be something else that we don’t know about.”

Then, Geommuyang said something unexpected.

“I think the answer is my father.”

Mabul was surprised by those words.

“What do you mean?”

“My father pushed Mugeuk while I was away. He gave me the Black Magic Sword and made me sit on the throne of the Hwangcheon Pavilion. He is testing me to see how I can deal with Mugeuk who has gained power. I think of this as the final test to become the successor.”

For a moment, I thought that might be the case, but soon Mabul shook his head.

“That can’t be right. The demon lord died while the dwarf was jumping up. They say the cause of death was a demon possessed by a person, but there are many things that are questionable.”

At first, I believed the leader of the Pungcheon cult when he said that it was not the work of the Geommu cult, but now I don’t believe it.

“It could be the work of a scholar. But do you think it is a test for the cult leader? The cult leader treasured Seop-hon as the main force of the cult.”

“Even Father wouldn’t have expected that. Mugeuk has abilities that go beyond what Father could have expected.”

“Then did Lee Gongja really kill the Demon Lord?”

Then, instead of answering, Geommuyang asked a question.

“Can the Amazon Lord kill the Sub-Hon Amazon Lord?”

“Of course I can… … kill!”

A moment of hesitation tells us what kind of skill the Sub-Hon-Ma-Jon has. Even Ma-Bul was not confident in his opponent as much as the Sub-Hon-Ma-Jon.

“That’s right. Mabul could have killed him. But it wouldn’t have been easy.”

After saving Ma-Bul’s face, Geommu-Yang continued what he had originally wanted to say.

“Neither I nor Moogeuk can kill the Demon Lord Seophon with our current martial arts skills. However, it might be possible if we get help from one person.”

“Who is that?”

Geommuyang did not answer, as if telling him to think about it himself. Mabul, who was trying to think of who it could be for a moment, flinched and shouted.

“Really? Are you the leader of the Pungcheon cult?”

“That’s right. With his help, I could have killed the Demon Lord.”

Mabul thought that might be the case, but he still had one question.

“What is the reason for the leader of the Pungcheon Church?”

“It was for the purpose of advancing into the Central Plains. In the end, didn’t you take the disciple of the Sub-Hon-Ma-Jon as your own disciple?”

“ah!”

Mabul had never suspected anything like this before. Was the leader of the Fengchun sect behind it from the beginning?

“And then you shamelessly came to investigate the body? That’s what you’re saying.”

Mabul had recently become estranged from the leader of the Pungcheon sect. Suspicion and anger were hindering his objective judgment.

“The leader of the Fengchun sect knew that the demons would call for him. It was also the only way for him to enter the sect with confidence.”

This was the final doubt that held Mabul back.

“However, the leader of the Fengchun sect doesn’t have the guts to do that. If it gets out that he killed the Demon Lord, the entire Fengchun sect will be destroyed. That can’t happen.”

“There’s something my father always told me when I was little. Don’t assume you know someone so easily.”

Mabul was confused. The leader of the Fengchun sect he knew was not a great person who would do such a big thing. However, Geommuyang’s words were exactly right. There was another reason added to that.

“Can’t you tell just by looking at the fact that the military of the Pungcheon Sect leader went to Mugeuk? As you said, would the meticulous Blood Heavenly Demon have just joined hands? He must have held on to them because of this background.”

What if this is true?

“Damn it! You dragged that vicious beast in with your own feet!”

“Don’t blame yourself. Rather, I will use this situation to my advantage and take control of the demons.”

“What if things don’t work out?”

Geommuyang casually mentioned the words that Mabul could not bring himself to say.

“Are you going to kill Moo-geuk? No, I won’t. How would a father see a brother killing his younger brother?”

Mabul felt that the reason he didn’t kill Geommugeuk was not because he was his younger brother, but because his father was watching over him.

“Then what do you plan to do?”

“I will bring all those who are attached to Mugeuk to my side. Mugeuk has strong pride, so if one of his people turns away from him, he will leave the church on his own. Did you see that before? Those who left the place without seeing Mugeuk’s secret dance. Those are the people who will really make Mugeuk leave. Let’s see if he can still laugh and joke around.”

“It would be a disaster if we let the scholar live.”

“Even if he leaves like that, if there is a crisis at our school, he will come to save us, not to kill us. That is his greatest weakness.”

Geommuyang got up again and walked towards the mirror. Staring at himself in the mirror, he spoke calmly.

“The position of the Grand Master of the Heavenly Demon Temple is the most solid position in this martial arts world. It is not a position for someone as flabby as Moo-geuk to sit in. He shouldn’t even sit there.”

* * *

When I arrived at Cheonmajeon the next morning, I met my brother at the entrance.

“It’s been a long time since we entered Cheonmajeon side by side like this.”

“That’s right.”

We walked together.

“Are you nervous?”

“not really.”

But my brother was nervous.

He was unusually stiff in front of his father. Ever since he was little, he wanted to look good in front of his father.

When he was little, he heard his father call him “our eldest son” just once, and he bragged about it for years, not just days.

If I am currently obsessed with firearms, my brother would be obsessed with my father.

My brother and I entered Cheonma Hall.

My father and General Sima Ming were there with me. We walked side by side on the bloody road. The evil spirit statues erected everywhere were watching my brother’s return and our position with cold and strange eyes.

“Father, how have you been?”

My brother bowed deeply to my father.

“Welcome back safely.”

I looked at my father’s expression. He was happy to see my brother. On the other hand, my brother was nervous. I could feel his trembling.

“I guess you’re happy that your eldest son is back.”

My father didn’t respond to my words. When we walked together through Magachon, my father felt different from me now.

I understand my father who has become a bit more blunt.

Before his return, his father had already been thinking of his older brother as his successor. This time, his return shook his father’s heart, but the person who had entered his heart first was his older brother.

If I don’t understand my father’s heart toward my brother, I will never win this fight. And I must not forget. My ultimate enemy is neither my father nor my brother.

“What happened when you left?”

The older brother answered his father’s question confidently.

“We have passed all the way to the final checkpoint.”

At those words, my father’s expression brightened. My brother had not been sent to the frontier to do odd jobs.

The nine walls of the magic path.

The Magic Wall was the secret training ground of the main school hidden in the outskirts.

His father opened the place to his brother. Just like Socheon-dong, the Magic Wall could only be entered with the permission of Cheonma.

It was really not easy to get over the Magic Tool Wall. It was a level higher than the Socheon-dong I had passed before. However, I was able to give up and get out of the Magic Tool Wall in the middle. It was a safe but more difficult gate.

Sima Ming was also very pleased.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. To pass through the magic tool wall. It seems blood is thicker than water.”

My brother also inherited my father’s blood. His martial arts talent was second to none.

I asked, pretending not to know.

“Where did you pass through?”

Then Sima Ming smiled and said:

“His Majesty has passed through the magic tool wall.”

I hugged Warak hyung tightly.

“Awesome, bro!”

My father and Sima Ming were shocked by my actions. On the contrary, my older brother, who was the person involved, accepted my congratulations readily because he had experienced my change.

“thanks.”

“Then you must have achieved great success in the Bicheon Sword Technique?”

If it were just the two of us, he wouldn’t have answered, but since his father was there, he answered honestly. Of course, he didn’t answer to me, but to his father.

“Father, in the process of passing through the magic tool wall, I also achieved great success in the Bicheon Sword Technique.”

“Congratulations.”

“It’s all thanks to your teachings. Thank you, Father.”

My father’s gaze turned to my brother and me.

I wonder what my father is thinking right now.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Congratulations, bro.”

“thanks.”

“In this friendly atmosphere, I have something to say to you, father.”

My gaze turned to my father.

“For us, the cutting of the umbilical cord was the signal that the fight for succession had begun. That was the life we had, and that is the life we will continue to live. So, father, this time I will try to have a friendly competition with my brother. What do you think, brother?”

Instead of answering me, my brother spoke to my father.

“Father, I didn’t know that Mugeuk had grown this much while I was away. He really has matured.”

My father just looked down at us without saying a word. What was he thinking? Was he even at this moment grading who would be the right successor?

My father never said anything about what I said. Friendly competition? If it were just the two of us, he might have said it was a cheap sentiment that would be perfect for death.

But the reason I said that anyway is because I told my father that I would try to carry my brother.

“Go back and rest.”

My brother and I greeted our father and left Cheonmajeon on the bloody path.

I asked at the entrance.

“Why do you want to be a celestial horse, hyung?”

Then my brother suddenly said.

“If I don’t become a Heavenly Horse, I will die.”

I thought my brother would give a different answer, but his answer was quite unexpected.

“If I lose the fight for succession, will I die?”

“They’re all dead so far.”

“Can’t we not kill each other? Brothers Geommuyang and Geommugeuk, displaying a brotherhood that will be remembered in the history of the Demonic Cult.”

“Wouldn’t the other brothers have felt the same way? After all… … all humans betray.”

“Why don’t we just not do it?”

After chuckling at my words, Geommuyang took the first step.

I shouted at my brother who was walking over there.

“I was being serious. I was just trying to have a friendly competition.”

My brother stopped walking, turned to me and said.

“Then you should have asked me first if I had any good intentions in my heart. Do you?”

“I have it.”

“Then I’ll start this fight with an advantage.”

As I watched my brother’s back as he started walking again, I finally smiled.

Yes, how could this be easy? It is so difficult to make someone who is kind to me my own person.

‘But brother, we have to do it. The name of the knife that will stab us in the back is not brotherhood, but firearms.’