The seat Geom Mugeuk chose was in the center of the inn.
As they sat down together, Myeongsin inwardly thought that Geom Mugeuk trusted him.
‘He’s let his guard down.’
Normally, in a suspicious situation, one would instinctively sit with one’s back to the wall.
But Geom Mugeuk had sat in a place wide open on all sides.
Myeongsin looked around the inside of the inn, glancing at several corner seats.
‘In the end, it was a good choice.’
Because they had prepared various devices in the walls, anticipating that he would sit with his back to one.
But by sitting in the middle, Geom Mugeuk had rendered several of those devices useless.
‘It must be a coincidence, right?’
Surely he had not known there were such things in the walls and chosen this seat because of it.
Geom Mugeuk looked at the proprietor and said loudly,
“Bring us the best liquor you have and the dish you make best.”
“Please wait just a moment!”
The proprietor went into the kitchen with excited steps.
“The atmosphere here is truly pleasant.”
At Geom Mugeuk’s words, Myeongsin nodded. The feeling that he had not wanted to bring the young cult leader here still lingered in him.
He even wished Geom Mugeuk would spring to his feet right now and leave this place. If only he would say something had suddenly happened in the Demonic Cult and depart. Then Myeongsin could carry out his mission, and Geom Mugeuk would live.
But that did not happen.
“Are you still not over it?”
“Never again try to sow such absurd discord.”
Though even if he wanted to in the future, he would not be able to.
Geom Mugeuk made it clear to the very end that he was telling the truth.
“What I said is true. It was written in our cult’s report.”
With a stiff face, Myeongsin looked out of the inn.
Did Myeongbu really exterminate my family?
If that is true, shouldn’t I be digging deeper and asking about this instead of turning my head toward the window?
If that is true, shouldn’t I make sure this young cult leader does not die here? Shouldn’t I instead help him fight and avenge my family?
But as he had always done until now, Myeongsin was looking away again. He was making an effort not to believe it, reminding himself of the possibility that this might be some wicked scheme of the Demonic Cult.
‘Am I perhaps afraid of him?’
His gaze turned toward the proprietor in the kitchen—the Assassin King.
Was he afraid of death? Or was he afraid that his relationship with him would be shattered?
Just then, as though he had peered into his heart, Geom Mugeuk abruptly asked,
“Are you afraid of change?”
“……”
“I understand you. It truly isn’t easy to break free from something that has taken hold of you once.”
Myeongsin still gave no answer.
Perhaps those words from Geom Mugeuk were the correct answer.
Just as he had never asked the Assassin King why he had saved him, had he not lived merely hoping that this life would flow on as it was, without becoming tangled in anything complicated?
At that moment, the proprietor bringing the liquor met Myeongsin’s eyes.
“It has been a while since you last came. How long has it been?”
“About three or four months, I think.”
The Assassin King’s kindly smile felt unfamiliar. He had completely become the proprietor of this tavern.
Myeongsin had experienced the Assassin King’s killings many times until now. And this was the first time he had seen him so immersed in a role.
‘Today, the young cult leader will surely die.’
And that was not all. Everywhere Myeongsin’s gaze fell, there were hidden traps of death, as well as elite assassins waiting outside.
“Now, please have some liquor first. The food will be out shortly.”
Geom Mugeuk offered liquor to the Assassin King.
“Before you go, accept a cup from me.”
“Gladly.”
The Assassin King accepted the drink.
“How long have you been in business?”
“For a long time.”
“I knew it! The moment I first saw you, I had that feeling!”
Listening to their conversation, Myeongsin was tense. He could not know when the Assassin King would launch a surprise attack. The Assassin King’s ambushes always exceeded his expectations.
Now? The moment he sets that cup down? Or the moment he sets the cup down and pours liquor for Geom Mugeuk?
He knew how fast the Assassin King’s move was. And on top of that, Myeongsin himself was here. The moment the ambush began, he too would help him and deliver a strike.
Would that young cult leader truly be able to withstand a joint attack by Myeongbu’s number one and number two assassins?
Not even knowing how perilous the situation he was in right now, that young cult leader was engaging in a carefree conversation.
“Since you’ve been in business for a long time, you must have experienced all sorts of things.”
“I suppose so.”
Right now, Geom Mugeuk was full of openings.
But the Assassin King was not attacking him. He was not someone who would miss an opportunity like this.
Was it to enjoy this moment? Or to savor an even more dramatic instant? No, the Assassin King had no such emotions. That was why he was the greatest assassin.
‘But why?’
Then Geom Mugeuk said something out of the blue to the Assassin King.
“Since you’re an experienced proprietor, please hear out a concern of mine.”
At Geom Mugeuk’s words, Myeongsin grew slightly tense.
‘A concern? What on earth is he trying to say?’
Those words went beyond the unexpected and struck Myeongsin like a shock.
“Someone belatedly discovered who his enemy was. But it turned out to be someone he had maintained a close relationship with for a long time. What should he do in such a case?”
Myeongsin had never imagined he would say such a thing to a tavern proprietor.
‘Could it be? Has he noticed the proprietor’s true identity?’
No. If he had noticed, shouldn’t he avoid saying such things instead? It was truly beyond common sense, so Myeongsin was confused.
The Assassin King said to Geom Mugeuk,
“What kind of relationship it is would be important.”
“One side is using the other, and the other side misunderstands him as the savior of his life.”
At that, the Assassin King immediately frowned.
“His enemy, and he even used him? What a truly vicious man. If it were me, I would definitely take revenge. If my own strength were insufficient, I would hire an assassin to take revenge.”
Myeongsin thought both Geom Mugeuk, who had asked this question, and the Assassin King, who had so casually mentioned assassins in his answer, were remarkable.
And he was surprised by how natural the Assassin King’s answer was.
If there was something weighing on his conscience, could he answer so boldly that he would take revenge? The claim that his family had been exterminated by Myeongbu’s hands was surely the young cult leader’s attempt to sow discord.
But what if the young cult leader’s words were true? Could it be that the Assassin King had even forgotten the fact that he was using me?
Of course, it had simply been an answer faithful to the question, but Myeongsin’s heart was now so complicated that if one spot were prodded, ten parts of his body would writhe.
He still did not know which side was the truth.
“Now then, please enjoy.”
When the Assassin King returned to the kitchen, Myeongsin looked at Geom Mugeuk and said,
“Why did you tell that story to him?”
“Wouldn’t a third party judge it objectively if asked?”
“Your words themselves are already not objective, are they?”
Geom Mugeuk looked at Myeongsin.
“I understand. You have only known me for a few days, but the years you spent with him must number in the decades.”
Geom Mugeuk drank the liquor. Watching him, Myeongsin grew tense.
Is there poison in that liquor?
Without the slightest suspicion, Geom Mugeuk emptied his cup.
“But a few days can sometimes overcome decades. Because this side is truth, and that side is falsehood. Even if falsehood is piled up for a hundred years, it cannot compare to a single night of truth.”
There was at least one thing he had to acknowledge.
“You really are tenacious.”
“I admit it. Perhaps it is because I am such a tenacious person that I was able to accomplish the things recorded in your report.”
Myeongsin’s eyes trembled. Because all the while he watched Geom Mugeuk speak of these things, his instincts had continued to cry out. That man is telling the truth. You have trusted this instinct all your life as an assassin, so why will you not trust it at this moment?
“And as I said earlier, this is also a way of protecting myself. Even if you never end up believing me, I will console myself that I tried this hard. I am a tenacious person, and at the same time, I am this selfish.”
Meanwhile, the Assassin King finished preparing the side dish and brought it over.
Geom Mugeuk picked up his chopsticks and tasted the food.
“It’s delicious! As expected, my eye was not wrong!”
“I’m glad it suits your taste.”
“Now, now, accept another cup.”
Seeing Geom Mugeuk growing increasingly open toward the proprietor, Myeongsin’s heart grew urgent.
He had to make a decision quickly.
Would he believe the young cult leader? Or not?
And so, would he help the young cult leader? Or not?
The life, death, and fate of both the young cult leader and himself depended on this decision.
If he believed the young cult leader?
He might very well die. There was no way the Assassin King would let him live.
But perhaps he could save that young cult leader.
And if luck was even better, perhaps he could succeed in taking revenge and live as a rather decent assassin who accepted one-coin commissions.
At that moment, the Assassin King’s voice transmission reached Myeongsin.
—There is someone protecting him.
It was the moment the reason why the Assassin King had not ambushed the young cult leader, who was full of openings, was revealed.
—His concealment technique is no ordinary thing.
It was skill that even Myeongsin, the second-in-command of Myeongbu, had failed to notice.
—We must deal with him first.
And at that moment, Hwi’s voice transmission also reached Geom Mugeuk.
—He has noticed my presence.
He had realized that the other party had perceived his existence.
From the beginning, Geom Mugeuk had known that the proprietor of this place was the Assassin King. The only person who would be waiting for him at a place Myeongsin led him to was him.
Geom Mugeuk took something out from his robe and placed it before Myeongsin.
It was the single coin he had presented earlier.
Myeongsin saw that coin, and so did the Assassin King.
Myeongsin felt that the moment had come for him to face the problem before him. Whether it was truth or falsehood. More important than the result was the version of himself that asked it.
After gazing quietly down at the coin, Myeongsin finally opened his mouth.
“Proprietor, there is something I would like to ask as well.”
Though the Assassin King was perfectly playing the role of a tavern proprietor, he was inwardly surprised by this unplanned action from Myeongsin.
“This lowly man is quite popular today. Please ask.”
“Proprietor, do you have a friend?”
It was an abrupt question, but the Assassin King was not surprised at all.
“I am too busy making a living to have time to make friends, but even so, I do have one.”
“What kind of friend is he?”
“He is weak-hearted and easily swayed, so others deceive him easily. But he is still a good friend.”
He was probably misunderstanding. That Myeongsin had said something unnecessary to the young cult leader of the Demonic Cult. Or that he had been bewitched by him.
But Myeongsin had something more important to do than clear up that misunderstanding.
“Proprietor, have you ever deceived that friend?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Didn’t you just say it? That he is weak-hearted and easily swayed. Then wouldn’t you also have had opportunities to deceive him, even if unintentionally?”
“Well.”
The moment the Assassin King briefly fell into thought.
Myeongsin sent a voice transmission to the Assassin King.
—Was it Myeongbu that exterminated my family?
He knew it was not the right moment to ask this question, but once this moment passed, the question would become meaningless.
—A demon has taken hold of your heart.
At the Assassin King’s answer, Myeongsin asked again.
—I asked you. Was it Myeongbu that exterminated my family?
Having watched him for so long, Myeongsin seemed to know a great deal about him indeed. The answer he had expected, and feared, came.
—Yes. Myeongbu handled it.
Myeongsin was surprised at himself for not being shocked by this terrifying truth.
—As you know, that was work. If it had not been us, someone else would have taken the job. And do not forget. I was the one who spared you.
Strangely enough, what angered him at this moment was not the deed Myeongbu had committed. It was the way he admitted the fact so frankly and confidently.
Was this something that could simply be passed over like this? Just how lightly had he regarded him?
But soon, Myeongsin understood the Assassin King. Because he had always been this kind of person. Because he was a person with nothing at all inside.
“Why did you spare me?”
He asked not through voice transmission, but aloud.
It was the moment Myeongsin clearly revealed his choice.
The Assassin King gave no answer.
Then Geom Mugeuk answered in his stead.
“Do not attach meaning to that. Because even that man does not know.”
The gazes of both the Assassin King and Myeongsin turned toward Geom Mugeuk.
“It must have been the fickle heart of a little child who went out on an assassination with his father. Sometimes killing insects, sometimes sparing them and taking them away in a jar. Even if there was meaning to it, what great meaning could there have been?”
Geom Mugeuk’s gaze turned toward the Assassin King.
“You don’t know either, do you? You don’t even remember, do you?”
The very instant that question ended!
Shwaaaak!
A wind-splitting sound tore at the ears.
Kaaang!
A sharp metallic ring burst out.
A steel needle that had been deflected before Geom Mugeuk’s eyes flew up into the air before falling to the floor.
A single sword blocking Geom Mugeuk’s face was trembling faintly.
The person who had blocked the Assassin King’s lightning-like surprise attack was Hwi, who had appeared after releasing his concealment.
The Assassin King and Hwi looked at each other. Because the Assassin King had already perceived the concealed presence, he was not surprised at all. His expression even suggested that perhaps this attack had been meant to draw him out.
An assassin and a guard.
The meeting of the person best at killing in the martial world and the person best at protecting in the martial world.
Even among such antithetical meetings, these were two people who existed at opposite extremes.
“The Demonic Cult Leader’s guard.”
The Assassin King immediately recognized Hwi’s identity. There would be only one guard with such skill.
“You are quite famous among assassins.”
A strange emotion flickered through the Assassin King’s eyes.
Even though the other party had recognized him, Hwi merely stared at him in silence.
Speaking in Hwi’s place, Geom Mugeuk said to the Assassin King,
“Do you still think you can kill me?”
Even though his first surprise attack had failed, even though Myeongsin had learned the truth, and even though the chief guard of the Heavenly Demon stood before his eyes, the Assassin King was not flustered in the slightest.
The Assassin King’s two eyes became transparent. His killing intent was different from that of ordinary assassins. Born without any emotions from the start, his killing intent was as pure as snow and as clear as ice.
Just from this aura alone, one could feel it.
No one would be able to easily stop the death this man delivered. This would truly not be an easy fight.
As taut tension flowed through the air, Myeongsin picked up the single coin lying on the table and repeated exactly what the Assassin King had said earlier.
“If it were me, I would definitely take revenge. If my own strength were insufficient, I would hire an assassin to take revenge.”
Still, the Assassin King only stared at him with transparent eyes.
Myeongsin slowly clenched the coin in his palm. It was the moment he faced the life he had only ever avoided.
“You said this one-coin commission was to protect you? No. From now on, this commission is for me. With this one coin, you have entrusted a commission to me.”
Absolute Regression, Chapter 488