At Father’s words that I was dependable, I briefly imagined myself standing on a battlefield.
The countless fights before my regression, and the fights after I returned as well. Even if I added them all together, they were only fights, not war.
Once war began, battles that turned an individual life into hell would break out every day all across the Central Plains.
The cause, once as red and vivid as blood, would gradually fade, and people would die without even knowing why they had to fight.
What was more terrible was that it did not end easily. It could last months, years, even decades. War was easy to start, but hard to end.
What was gained through so many sacrifices—was it truly peace? Or was it greater conflict, wounds, and a thirst for revenge?
What if I faithfully served as the vanguard of that war?
Jin Hagun, the leader of the Demon-Slaying Unit, would die by my sword.
I could see Jin Haryeong wailing before his corpse. She would spit curses full of hatred at me and launch herself forward, thrusting her sword to kill me. In the end, she too would die by my hand.
Bisain would be no different. What could I say as I looked down at him while he died? Where would I throw away all the words I had once spoken to him?
This was the war for the unification of murim—a thing that made my chest feel tight just by imagining it. From this imagination alone, I could tell how I would have to live for the next five years.
‘Father, the war will not happen. And that is why I am so curious about what your new dream will be.’
I almost responded so honestly, but instead I acted as I usually would.
I put on an exaggeratedly pained expression and whined.
“This is too much! You conspired with the Demon Venerables to tie me down from the very beginning, didn’t you? Elder Doma laid the groundwork, Master and Demon Buddha gently wiggled the bait, and today Father yanked the hook all at once. Right? This was an operation planned by Tongcheon Pavilion, wasn’t it?”
At my joke, Father looked toward the entrance of the Heavenly Demon Hall.
“Ask the strategist himself.”
Just then, Chief Strategist Sama Myeong was entering the Heavenly Demon Hall.
The fact that he had appeared here told me one thing. There had been another reason Father had gathered all the Demon Venerables today.
Of course. Father was not the sort of person to summon every Demon Venerable simply because he wanted to see them.
After paying his respects to Father, Sama Myeong greeted the Demon Venerables courteously, and the Demon Venerables also cupped their fists in return. Finally, Sama Myeong greeted me.
“Young Cult Leader, I am relieved you returned safely from the North Sea.”
“My greetings are late. I was rather busy after falling into the trap our strategist prepared.”
Though my words came out of nowhere, Sama Myeong smiled instead. He had guessed what I meant.
“The name of the trap I fell into is the Unification of Murim. Without even realizing I had fallen into it, I declared with my own mouth that I would become the vanguard.”
Since he knew well that I had been meeting the Demon Venerables one by one, he immediately understood what kind of promise this was.
Sama Myeong pinpointed the core of this promise.
“Of course, you must have set a time limit on becoming the vanguard. How long did you set?”
“I set it at five years.”
“Could the name of this trap perhaps be Five Years? From where I stand, it seems the Cult Leader has fallen into it.”
He had seen through the fact that I had bought five years of time. Just as Father had accepted the promise while knowing, Sama Myeong had already guessed my intention.
Indeed, the moment his words ended, I saw a faint smile appear at the corners of Father’s mouth. He was pleased that Sama Myeong was reading the situation accurately.
Sama Myeong had also realized that there was a clever move hidden in the five-year period.
“If it had been seven or ten years, I believe it would have been a trap he would not have fallen for. Five years is an exquisitely chosen length of time—one impossible not to fall for.”
The Demon Venerables must have understood what Sama Myeong meant as well.
Immediately, Chwima’s sound transmission flew to me.
—So this was all your plan. Not knowing that, I was worried you had made an unreasonable promise.
—It is an unreasonable promise. I’ll have to work myself to the bone for the next five years. You have to help too, hyung.
—Please don’t drag me into matters involving the Cult Leader!
In the meantime, Sama Myeong revealed to everyone the reason he had appeared here today.
“The reason I wished to meet the Demon Venerables today was to report in person on what Tongcheon Pavilion has investigated. After learning of the existence of the forces behind the scenes, our pavilion independently began tracking them. What we focused on was their source of funding. To mobilize experts and an organization of this level would require an enormous amount of money. Through discreet investigation, we found a clue that may allow us to trace those behind the scenes.”
He had come here to convey this and request the Demon Venerables’ help.
“Considering the strength they have shown thus far, I believe the Demon Venerables will need to step forward and deal with them personally.”
Sama Myeong must already have decided in his mind whom to entrust this matter to.
Before he could designate a Demon Venerable and make the request, I stepped forward first.
“Before that, may I say something?”
“Please do.”
Sama Myeong waited for my answer, but the person I wished to speak to was Father.
“Father, I have a request to make.”
“What is it?”
“Let you and I resolve this matter.”
Because they had never imagined I would say such a thing, not only Father but Sama Myeong and the Demon Venerables were all surprised. Their expressions seemed to say they had heard wrong. No, Sama Myeong looked as though he hoped he had heard wrong.
“Let us go out together. Father and I. Just the two of us.”
I had spoken several times about going to the Central Plains with Father, but we had never once put it into action. Now that an opportunity had come, I intended to spend time with him.
“Five years will pass in no time, won’t it?”
Those were the words Father had said to me earlier. Given the nature of this promise, in which I had to change Father’s mind, fairness required that I be given an opportunity as well.
The Demon Venerables watched with curious expressions, wondering what answer Father would give.
“Let’s go together, take care of it quickly, and come back.”
Before Father could make a decision, Sama Myeong stepped in.
“That cannot be allowed.”
Since he was not the sort to cut into my conversation with Father in this way, especially not like this, I could tell there was firm resolve in his refusal.
“Do you understand what you have just asked, Young Cult Leader?”
His tone was gentle, but his eyes were extremely serious.
“I do.”
Sama Myeong shook his head.
“No. It seems you do not. If you did, you could not have made such a request.”
“Why can it not be allowed?”
Amid the taut tension, I could feel everyone growing nervous. The contest between Father and me had now turned into a contest between Sama Myeong and me. The curtain had not yet fallen on today’s stage.
“By the cult’s rules, the Cult Leader and the Young Cult Leader do not move together except under special circumstances. You are even supposed to eat separately.”
It was to prepare against ambush or poisoning. If the two of us were together and died, there would be no Cult Leader.
“Surely you are not stopping this because you are worried Father may be in danger? Your concern is misplaced. You should not worry about Father, but about murim.”
At that, Sama Myeong answered as if he had been waiting.
“Correct. That is precisely the reason. If the Cult Leader moves, murim itself becomes endangered.”
That was what Sama Myeong was worried about.
“When the Cult Leader moves, murim becomes tense and rigid. The sense of crisis rises to the extreme, and a small matter may spread into a great one.”
I persuaded Sama Myeong in a pleasant tone.
“We can go secretly. We can say Father has entered seclusion for a while.”
“If it is discovered, murim will be even more shocked.”
The Heavenly Demon’s journey through the martial world was a weighty act that carried such immense responsibility.
Sama Myeong added a frightening statement.
“If matters go awry, the moment when the Young Cult Leader must stand at the vanguard may come not five years from now, but five days from now.”
I understood very well what Sama Myeong was worried about, but still.
“That does not mean Father must remain in the Heavenly Demon Hall for the rest of his life.”
At those words, even Sama Myeong could offer no rebuttal. Of everyone in our cult, he was likely the one who best understood Father’s suffocation.
My gaze turned to Father.
“Father, I respect the dream you have. But that dream is one directed toward the world, so I believe you must step out into the world to dream it.”
Father looked at me in silence.
I spoke with my eyes.
Father, it is time for you to go out with me now.
Father would know what feelings made me do this.
Because this was a matter between Father and me, the Demon Venerables did not step in. They simply watched us, each with their own gaze.
Sama Myeong let out a light sigh and said,
“I misunderstood the name of the trap. It was not Five Years, but Leaving the Cult.”
It was a joke that the one who had fallen into the trap was himself.
At last, Father spoke.
“We will deliberate on this matter and discuss it again later. Then today’s meeting ends here.”
Father had surely already made his decision. But he did not say it here, likely for the sake of preserving the dignity of the side that would not be chosen.
Thus, the Demon Venerables and I offered our respectful farewells and left the Heavenly Demon Hall.
At the entrance, Blood Heaven Blade Demon said to me,
“You truly never tire, do you?”
He meant that after making a five-year promise with Father, I was now creating another matter by raising the issue of leaving the cult with the Heavenly Demon.
“Five years will pass in no time, won’t it? I have to move diligently while I have the chance.”
At that, Chwima said what he had been holding back.
“No matter how I think about it, I don’t believe you can change the Cult Leader’s mind in just five years.”
It seemed Demon Buddha was of the same opinion on that point.
“Did I not say that this place today was a stage created by the Cult Leader?”
Light began to shine from his body again.
I looked at Fist Demon. He said nothing, but his eyes seemed to say this:
Did you not say the Cult Leader was at war with his son?
He would likely think that war had truly begun today.
Behind Fist Demon’s massive frame, I saw the Poison King. If all the Demon Venerables here went to war, he would be the one to protect the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. The one Father disliked, yet trusted most.
He was also the Demon Venerable who had grasped my intentions first. When I had whined that I had been had, he was the one who had sent a sound transmission saying that the one who had been had was Father.
“This time, make sure you dig it up. Don’t use the Cult Leader as an excuse.”
He was already certain that I would be able to go out with Father.
Standing beside him, the Soul-Subduing Demon Venerable respectfully bowed his head to me. It was an expression of apology for changing his mind and choosing Father. I answered with a smile. You are Father’s Demon Venerable, and also mine.
Ilhwa Sword Venerable gave me a word of encouragement.
“I believe that if it is you, Young Cult Leader, you will find a way.”
Apart from his support for Father, I could feel that those words too were sincere.
The Extreme Evil Small Demon was silently looking up at the sky. What dream was he dreaming right now?
I let out a sigh and lamented.
“I spoke a lot today and made some bold declarations, but it was truly difficult. As you know, who is my opponent? It is Father. I must change Father’s long-cherished wish. Would striking the Heavenly Demon Sword with an iron sword leave even a scratch? From now on, all of you must help me. Where are Father’s Demon Venerables and my Demon Venerables? You are our Demon Venerables. Now, in that spirit, since we have gathered after so long, why don’t we all share a drink togeth—huh? Where is everyone going? Elder! Master! Hyung!”
The Demon Venerables were already scattering in the eight directions where their residences lay.
“No, I said I’m exhausted! You should at least comfort me a little and help me devise a strategy. This is really too much!”
They all disappeared without even looking back.
Only, from far away, Blood Heaven Blade Demon sent me a sound transmission.
—There is someone else you should be drinking with right now, isn’t there?
* * *
“Young Cult Leader.”
Sama Myeong, who had been working in his office, wore an expression as if he had expected me to come.
“It is just about the time you would be hungry, isn’t it? As expected, you are working late.”
I had bought alcohol and dishes from the Pungryu Tavern and brought them in time for dinner. I had bought plenty, so he could share them with his subordinate strategists.
“I still have work left, so I will decline the alcohol. But I will enjoy the food with my subordinates.”
Seeing the pile of work, I was reminded of the work stacked up in Gowol’s room. Truly, the life of a strategist was a weary one.
“You must already know why I’ve come. What should I do?”
Sima Ming said nothing for a moment.
I understood him. No, I was grateful to him. Because he had been protecting Father like this.
“If you are truly worried, I will take the Demon Venerables with me.”
At that, Sima Ming asked with a peculiar smile.
“Which Demon Venerables?”
“First, they must not stand out, and Father must be comfortable with them.”
On the point that Father had to be comfortable, the Poison King and the Soul Seizer were the first to be eliminated.
I wanted to go with the Extreme Evil Young Demon, but his white mask was far too conspicuous. The same went for the Demon Buddha in that regard.
I had recently gone out of the cult and returned with the Drunken Demon. Even if that had not been the case, if I asked him to come along with Father, he would be the type to throw himself into the lake in front of the Drunken Dream Pavilion.
In truth, the person Father would be most comfortable with was the Fist Demon, but his build and appearance would draw attention wherever he went. Even if he hid his face, how could he hide those massive fists?
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon, too, would attract every eye around him simply by wearing that huge Heaven-Destroying Great Saber. Ilhwa Sword Venerable would be the most unobtrusive, but these days she was racing toward the pinnacle of swordsmanship, so she would not wish to leave the cult.
“……There is no one to go with us. Even though there are eight of them.”
As if he had a rough idea of what I had been thinking, Sima Ming looked at me and laughed.
“This is all because my father is so particular. You have truly gone through much hardship attending to him.”
“You need not exert yourself so much.”
Then an astonishing fact flowed from his lips.
“The Cult Leader has already made his decision. He will go out with the Young Cult Leader.”
“Did he tell you that, Strategist?”
“Not yet.”
The reason he was certain nonetheless must have been because he had been with Father for so long.
“You will likely receive word within a few days, so understand it as such and rest well in the meantime. You returned from the North Sea and had to meet the Demon Venerables, so you have not even had a chance to recover from your travels, have you?”
“Thank you, Strategist.”
Once Father moved, everything would be handled as confidential. Our departure, and our return as well.
“Are you pleased that you will be going out with the Cult Leader?”
“My heart is already pounding.”
“I could have opposed it to the very end, but do you know why I changed my mind?”
“Why?”
“I liked what you said. That you would show the Cult Leader a different scenery.”
How could he not feel sorry for Father, who lived trapped within the name of Heavenly Demon? That must have been why my words moved his heart.
“Go and enjoy that scenery with the Cult Leader. I will guard the house well.”
He showed no worry whatsoever about the force behind the enemy we had to face. Well, with Father going out in person, what enemy was there to worry about?
“Because you are here, Strategist, I was able to act like a thoughtless child and pester him. Thank you, truly.”
I turned to leave like that, then suddenly asked him.
“Then what about your scenery, Strategist?”
Though the question came out of nowhere, he immediately understood what I meant.
“I quite like the scenery I see from this desk. So you need not worry about me.”
I answered that devoted heart with a clear and deep gaze, then left his office.
Hoping that someday, when he wished to find a scenery of his own, it would not be too late.
Absolute Regression, Chapter 446