The next morning, someone I never expected came to my quarters.
It was Jang Ho.
"Young Cult Lord."
"What brings you here at this early hour?"
"I heard you had returned, so I came to pay my respects. Did you have a good trip?"
"I was battered raw by sandstorms the whole way."
"I've never been beyond the frontier, so I'd like to go someday."
"When sand crunches in your rice, that's when you'll think, 'Ah, now I know why our Young Cult Lord complained so much about being battered.'"
Jang Ho laughed. He rarely smiled in front of his subordinates, so this wonderful smile was always mine alone.
"Oh, and please take this."
Jang Ho held out what he had brought. When I unwrapped the paper, a painting emerged.
It was the back view of a man with a sword at his waist, standing on a cliff. The moment I saw the painting, I knew who it was. It was me.
"Who is this terrifyingly handsome man?"
"It is you, Young Cult Lord. My skill is still lacking, but I wanted my first painting to be of you. I dared not paint your noble countenance, so I painted your back."
When he had said he wanted to paint after retirement, I had bought him the tools artists used. I hadn't known his first work would be of me.
"I had no idea you were this skilled."
It wasn't something I said just to be nice. It was truly a magnificent painting, as if done by a master artist.
"This is the first time I've received a painting as a gift."
"It's my first time as well. Giving a painting as a gift."
"I should go brag to Father. I'll tell him, 'Though the Demon Lord receives his salary from Father, he gave a painting gift to me.'"
Though he knew it was a joke, Jang Ho panicked, as if merely imagining it made him break into a sweat.
"Please, anything but that."
His flustered look was amusing, so the teasing continued.
"How much could I get if I took this to the Central Plains to sell? A painting drawn by the Demon Lord of the Heavenly Demon Cult—wouldn't it be priceless? You wouldn't buy it? Really? You're saying you'd buy it for just that much?"
With a troubled expression, Jang Ho waved his hands, pleading for me to stop.
"Thank you. I shall treasure it for life."
"When my skills improve later, I'll paint you an even better one."
"Then paint my front view. It'd be a waste not to capture this handsome face, don't you think?"
I didn't miss Jang Ho's slight flinch.
"What? Don't tell me you don't think I'm handsome?"
Now Jang Ho's counterattack began.
"It is a face favored by the youth of today."
"But not a handsome face?"
He didn't answer, but his expression was one of agreement.
"Then who is handsome in your eyes? Pick from those we know."
Was it the Poison King? No, the Poison King looked younger than me, so probably not. The Asura of Extreme Evil was handsome, but he wouldn't have seen beneath the mask. Ah, then it must be the Drunken Demon—just as I thought, an unexpected name came out.
"Isn't Lord Fist Demon handsome?"
"What? Are you crazy?"
The words slipped out automatically.
"He's manly and cool. Isn't he handsome?"
"You really think that?"
"Yes."
Knowing he was sincere, I shook my head and sighed deeply.
"I'm truly disappointed in your taste. Please, before you leave, tell me it was a joke!"
Jang Ho smiled as if he had expected this reaction. But he never relented.
"Then I shall see you again."
Jang Ho bowed politely and left my quarters.
After he left, my guards, including Jeogyeon, came to admire the painting.
"It's splendid, the painting."
"Isn't it? To think such talent was going to waste. You all should take up hobbies too. For your lives, a single brushstroke may be better than a hundred strikes of the blade."
Knowing that these words of mine were now sincere, the guards answered with booming voices.
"Understood, Young Cult Lord!"
I spoke as I left my quarters.
"I'll ask you about it later. So think hard. Ah, and hang the painting somewhere visible in the room. I'm going to the Valley of Evil. You don't have to follow."
* * *
When I entered the Valley of Evil, it was different from usual.
The place had a festive atmosphere.
Every building was decorated splendidly, and the masks of the Faceless Guests were all painted in gaudy, colorful hues. Bonfires were lit here and there, roasting meat, and wine was being carried about in jars. They were not the frightening masks of usual times. Today, everyone was in high spirits.
I asked a Faceless Guest who recognized me and greeted me.
"What is the occasion?"
"Today is the birthday of Lord Asura."
"The Asura of Extreme Evil's birthday?"
"Yes, my lord."
"Do not spread word that I came and went."
For now, I turned around and left the Valley of Evil.
I hadn't known it was the Asura of Extreme Evil's birthday. Not knowing is one thing, but now that I knew, I couldn't go empty-handed.
What should I give as a gift?
Last time, for the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's birthday, I gave the finest blood poison wine. But the relationship then and now was different; at the time, that alone had been a great gift.
After pondering briefly, I went straight to the Heavenly Demon Hall.
"I came again because I wanted to see Father."
Father looked at me with suspicious eyes. Coming again today after paying respects yesterday was somehow suspicious.
"Would you like to play a game of Baduk?"
"I'm busy."
"Then would you care to spar?"
"What is your business?"
I spoke carefully to Father.
"Please let me take just one more treasure from the Heavenly Demon Treasury."
Father didn't even ask what it was for.
"Impossible!"
Yes, he had specially opened it to commemorate me becoming the Young Cult Lord. It was only natural he wouldn't give it just because I came asking so suddenly.
"What must I do for you to give it to me?"
"What can you do?"
"I can massage your shoulders. I'll massage them for life."
"I absolutely despise others touching my body."
"Am I a stranger?"
Of course, it was a futile attempt nonetheless.
"I'll come to play Baduk every day."
"Playing with a novice gives bad habits."
"I'll train in martial arts diligently every day."
"Do as you please."
"Do you not have a hidden daughter? I'm talking about a daughter you secretly hid away, concealing her identity to keep her from danger. She's grown up somewhere under an ordinary status. However, that daughter is now in danger. 'My son, go save her in secret. You are the only one I can trust. In exchange, I shall give you one treasure.'"
The corners of Father's lips curled upward, brimming with scorn.
"If you were worried about danger, shouldn't you keep her at the main cult?"
"Well, perhaps the elder brother, blinded by ambition, was a concern, so you hid her."
"Looking at your current state, I worry more about you."
"What can I possibly give to one who has everything in the world? Just give it to me!"
At the shameless demand, Father rose from his chair. It seemed like he was about to ask if I needed a beating to come to my senses.
"Let's walk."
I walked with Father through the inner garden. All the demonic practitioners passing by respectfully bowed their heads.
To my surprise, the walk led to the Heavenly Demon Treasury.
"Choose one and come out."
That he gave it so readily made me rather uneasy.
"Why are you giving it so easily?"
"So that futile desire does not accumulate."
"What do you mean?"
"'When I become the Heavenly Demon, I'll use it to my heart's content.' Such desire."
I understood Father's heart.
"You thought that far ahead?"
"Because it is that important. Both you, and the Heavenly Demon Treasury."
At the words "you too," my heart welled up.
What was more surprising was that Father already knew.
"Is the Asura of Extreme Evil that dear to you?"
"You knew."
He had known that today was the Asura's birthday and had guessed that my visit was to get a gift for him.
He could have asked what was so good about that person.
"Take it and go out."
Shortly after, I came out with a treasure.
"Futile desire has not accumulated. Instead, respect and affection for Father have filled me..."
Without listening to the rest, Father strode away.
I stood for a moment, watching Father's back. Normally, Father's back seemed large, dependable, lonely, and desolate—all sorts of emotions—but today, I felt his deep affection for me.
When I first regressed, there had certainly been a part of me that was confident because I had lived longer than Father. 'I lived longer than Father!' I had harbored such thoughts.
And now I feel it.
Separate from having lived longer, and separate from what kind of life I had lived, there exists a different kind of strength in being a father.
I want to become a father like my father.
Though to others I spout all manner of words—flattery, banter, and jokes—I want to be the kind of father who shows it silently through action only to his son. Though I had never desired children in my life, at this moment, I feel greed.
Father stopped ahead and looked back at me. At his gaze asking if I wasn't coming, I strode toward him.
"I'll visit you every day, massage your shoulders, play Baduk, and give you plenty of pocket money. And... let's go together! I wondered who the Asuras took after, leaving like that. Father!"
* * *
When I arrived at the Asura of Extreme Evil's quarters, he was sitting alone in a snow-white room. Even though it was his birthday, he was like that.
"Lord Asura!"
"Young Cult Lord!"
The two eyes within the eye holes of the Asura of Extreme Evil, who had turned toward me, were smiling widely. Was it empathy through gaze alone? Just looking at those eyes of the Asura made me emotional.
"I saw you standing on the stone platform yesterday."
"I wanted to greet you from afar, thinking you must be tired from the long journey. How did it go?"
"I handled it well and returned. With the Wind Heaven Cult Leader and the Demon Buddha there, nothing could go wrong even if they tried."
Perhaps the Asura of Extreme Evil regretted not being able to fight alongside me.
"Oh, happy birthday!"
"Thank you."
"If I had arrived two days later, I would have missed it."
"It's not such a big deal."
"It's an important day. The day you were born."
Then the Asura said something unexpected.
"Actually, I dislike celebrating my birthday."
"But outside, it's a festival?"
The Asura walked to the window and looked outside. I stood beside him. The area around the Asura's quarters was decorated even more splendidly. Faceless Guests had gathered in front, making a commotion as if it were their own birthday.
"We didn't used to, but I told them to enjoy themselves to their hearts' content today under the pretext of my birthday. I also told them to share the gifts that arrived from outside."
The Asura of Extreme Evil was showing a changed side from before as well.
I took out what I had brought from my bosom and said.
"But this gift cannot be shared."
The Asura recognized the gift I handed him at a glance.
"This is!"
His two eyes trembled.
"It was gathering dust in the warehouse, so I brought it thinking you might need it."
What I had taken from the Heavenly Demon Treasury was an armguard worn on the wrist. Its value was apparent at a glance; on one side was embroidered the image of a black dragon roaring, and on the other, a tiger soaring into the air.
The Black Dragon Soaring Tiger Armguard.
Known to be invulnerable not only to blades and swords but also to sword qi, this item was counted among the finest wrist guards. Especially for one like the Asura of Extreme Evil, who did not use swords or blades, it was a treasure absolutely necessary for defense in urgent situations.
For a moment, the Asura's gaze as he looked down at it deepened.
"No one in the world would call the Heavenly Demon Treasury a warehouse."
The Asura looked at me.
"Do you know how precious this is?"
"I know that something so precious is gathering dust in the treasury."
The Asura stared at me and spoke.
"Didn't you say relationships last longer when they're light as a feather? Didn't you say you didn't want to build an impregnable fortress with me? Didn't you say you wanted our relationship to be as light as a feather, comfortable until death? If you do this, what will you do for my next birthday? And what must I do for you in return?"
I looked at the Asura of Extreme Evil in silence for a moment.
"Can you not think of it this way? In my previous life, that Young Cult Lord committed a sin against me, and in this life, he is trying to repay it."
"But you already repaid it when you saved my life."
"Then perhaps I committed two sins."
"Young Cult Lord!"
"Lord Asura!"
If I were to fall into danger, he would be the first to run to me anyway. Someone who would gladly throw away his life.
Therefore, there was no need to worry that this gift would burden him. Whether given or not, he would act the same.
"Please accept it, Lord Asura."
Our gazes intertwined in the air. In the end, he could not refuse my earnest wish.
"Very well."
“Ah, what a relief. If you had refused to the end, my father would have teased me about this for the rest of my life.”
Geugak Soma rolled up his sleeves and put the Black Dragon Flying Tiger Gauntlets on both hands. They suited Geugak Soma, with his white mask, far too well.
“This is the most precious birthday gift I have ever received.”
“If anyone happens to break the record, please be sure to tell me. I can’t stand coming in second, you see.”
His eyes, deep within the mask, conveyed his gratitude.
“What will you do if the other Demon Venerables find out?”
“They’ll look forward to what I’ll give them on their own birthdays.”
“And if you can’t give them anything?”
“They’ll think I must like Soma-nim the best.”
Geugak Soma laughed out loud.
It was Soma’s pleasant laughter, heard for the first time in a long while.
* * *
After leaving the Valley of Villains, I went straight to Maga Village.
I meant to go to Pungryu Tavern, both to see Jo Chunbae and to have a meal.
Maga Village, which I had returned to after so long, was no different from when I had left.
The bustling marketplace was crowded with people coming and going.
Peddlers calling for customers, an old man pulling a cart and shouting for people to move aside, women browsing goods, men grabbing each other by the collars, lovers walking hand in hand with smiles on their faces, children running about, and even housewives shouting at them not to run.
After returning from a life-or-death battle, this scene certainly looked different.
Only by realizing that the everyday life that seemed so natural might not be natural at all could one find happiness within it.
When I arrived at Pungryu Tavern, I was so surprised that I stood there blankly for a moment.
The doors of Pungryu Tavern were closed. It was the first time. The first time this place had ever closed its doors. Was he ill? Or had something happened?
Just then, someone came up and spoke.
“Young Cult Leader, I sell fruit down there.”
He was someone I had often seen while coming and going through Maga Village. He was also close to Jo Chunbae.
“The owner of Pungryu Tavern left with his wife a few days ago, saying something had happened at his in-laws’ home.”
I knew that Jo Chunbae and his wife shared a particularly deep bond.
“Do you happen to know what happened?”
“I didn’t hear the details, but from what I caught, it seemed someone in her family had gotten entangled with a martial artist.”
At the words entangled with a martial artist, my heart sank coldly. Most of the time, such things did not end well. On top of that, the fact that he had closed the tavern and left in such haste meant the situation was that urgent.
Of all times, it had happened while I was away from the cult. Ian had also gone far away, so Seo Daeryong and Jang Ho probably had not been holding their tavern gatherings lately either.
“Do you know where his in-laws live?”
After hearing the location of his in-laws’ home, I immediately launched myself forward.
With Swift Steps, I left Maga Village in an instant. The best outcome would be for me to arrive first, and the next best would be to arrive before it was too late.
I hoped it was nothing serious, but if he had been caught up in something dangerous, what I had to trust in was the tavern owner’s experience. After all, he had gone through all manner of things while running a tavern here.
“Tavern owner, just hold on until I get there!”
Swift Steps, pushed to the extreme, began to surpass its limits once again.
Absolute Regression, Chapter 335