“Master.”
At the Soul-Seizing Demon Venerable’s cry, Jin Hagun and the warriors of the Demon Extermination Squad knew.
The Pungcheon Cult Leader had arrived here. The man standing proudly at the prow of that enormous ship was the Pungcheon Cult Leader.
They also knew now that the honored person the Soul-Seizing Demon Venerable had said delayed her was the Pungcheon Cult Leader.
“Even the Pungcheon Cult Leader has come?”
At Jin Hagun’s startled question, the Soul-Seizing Demon Venerable replied.
“Captain Jin has no idea how much care the Young Cult Leader put into this.”
Jin Hagun thought of Geom Mugeuk. Whenever he thought of him, the first image that came to mind was always of him smiling. He seemed interested only in teasing him with silly jokes every time, yet he never missed a single thing. After all, he was the sort of person who could make that huge ship arrive at a moment of crisis like this.
He had no idea how much care the Young Cult Leader had put in for him?
“No, I think I do.”
He spoke as if guessing, but his words were filled with certainty.
Just then, the water-men who had their heads above the surface saw the ship and shrieked in strange excitement. To be precise, it was a scream raised at the sight of the Pungcheon Cult Leader standing at the prow.
Because Jin Hagun was close by, he could feel it. That excitement and rage had arisen from fear. Even the water-men created within the soul-seizing art had sensed the Pungcheon Cult Leader’s presence.
The Pungcheon Cult Leader slowly unfolded his crossed arms and extended a hand forward. Then something formed in his hand.
What slid out with a whoosh was a fishing rod tinged with red energy.
“Now then, shall I show my skills for the first time in a while?”
Swaaaaaaak.
A fishing line of red energy stretched far out.
The water-men in the path of the line were caught one after another and flew into the air. Their bodies rose like dolls, and just as red energy seemed to shimmer around them—
Pop! Porok! Pororok!
The water-men vanished in midair, turning into droplets with adorable little sounds.
Swaaaaaaak.
Once more, the red-tinged fishing line cut through the air.
This time, even more water-men flew up and burst into droplets.
The water-men caught by the Pungcheon Cult Leader’s fishing and made to disappear did not merge together again as they had before.
To those watching, it looked like a child’s game, but the water-men being subjected to it screamed and hid beneath the water.
“You rascals, where do you think you’re going!”
This time, the Pungcheon Cult Leader waved both hands. Then, instead of a fishing rod, a huge net appeared in his hands. A net brimming with red energy spread out toward the sea.
Chwararararara.
This time, a net full of water-men were caught and lifted into the air. It had dragged in and captured those trying to flee as though sucking them inside.
“What a full catch!”
Pop! Pop! Pooop! Pop-pop-pop!
Jin Hagun and the Demon Extermination Squad warriors truly had never imagined it. To think those terrifying water-men would disappear like this.
No, the droplets bursting into particles in every direction as they caught the light in midair were even beautiful.
And when all the water-men had vanished like that—
The Pungcheon Cult Leader looked down at Jin Hagun beneath the ship and asked cheerfully.
“How was it? Was I impressive?”
In truth, Jin Hagun did not know much about the Pungcheon Cult Leader. But through Geom Mugeuk, he had heard enough to know what sort of person he was, so he smiled and said,
“You were impressive.”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader crossed his arms again in a dashing pose like a ship’s captain.
The Soul-Seizing Demon Venerable was the first to launch herself upward as she said,
“Now then, everyone, come aboard.”
Beginning with the Soul-Seizing Demon Venerable, Jin Hagun and all the warriors of the Demon Extermination Squad flew up onto the ship. The ship was high, so the warriors with weaker lightness skills could not make it in a single leap and had to kick off the hull midway to rise again.
Jin Hagun flew up while bringing Gwak Ju, the hostage, with him. Gwak Ju was deeply moved that Jin Hagun had looked after him throughout this fearsome battle.
He had flown up with him, but the first person to set foot on the ship was Jin Hagun.
When they landed on the deck, Gwak Ju belatedly expressed his gratitude. During the battle earlier, there had never been a proper chance for him to give thanks. He felt he had to do it now, at least.
“Thank you, truly.”
At his thanks, Jin Hagun replied in a low voice.
“Give your thanks to your sister. She is the one who sent us here.”
Emotion passed over Gwak Ju’s face. Even without being told, he knew how hard his older sister must have struggled for his sake.
“Please, you must save me. I have to meet my sister.”
He knew that he had been kidnapped because of his sister, the iron workshop master artisan.
He did not resent his sister. On the contrary, he worried how distressed she must be, and how much she must have blamed herself because of it. That was why, when he met her, he would be sure to tell her. Before saying thank you for saving me, he would say this first.
I’m all right. Nothing happened to me.
Jin Hagun said to him,
“We will be sure to take you home.”
All the warriors of the Demon Extermination Squad landed around Jin Hagun.
Once all his subordinates had come aboard, Jin Hagun walked toward the Pungcheon Cult Leader.
“Cult Leader, thank you truly for saving us.”
Jin Hagun respectfully saluted with cupped fists, and behind him the warriors of the Demon Extermination Squad all bowed in unison. Gwak Ju and Grand Master Hwasong also lowered their heads.
They had truly met the Pungcheon Cult Leader at the threshold of hell.
“What is the Young Cult Leader doing, driving his friend into a corner and not even showing his nose?”
As expected, the moment they met, the Pungcheon Cult Leader began by badmouthing Geom Mugeuk.
“Well, he was always that selfish and coldhearted sort of person. He makes people suffer terribly and never once comes to check on them.”
“That friend must be in a difficult situation as well.”
When Jin Hagun took his friend’s side, the Pungcheon Cult Leader firmly shook his head.
“Impossible! Whoever is facing the Young Cult Leader is the one who must be in trouble.”
As he said that, the Pungcheon Cult Leader habitually looked behind him. Normally, whenever he badmouthed the Young Cult Leader, the man would appear from behind, but today he was not there. For the briefest moment, a trace of disappointment passed through the corners of his eyes.
Putting that disappointment behind him, the Pungcheon Cult Leader came to Jin Hagun’s side and asked casually,
“What did he take from you? A treasured sword, or some treasure? Come now, I’m like an older brother to you, so tell me everything at ease.”
Jin Hagun was flustered, having never expected him to ask such a thing in such an urgent situation. Cult Leader, do you not see the wave rushing in over there?
“No, nothing.”
“Yes, at first I was ashamed too, so I hid it. Later, you’ll end up sharing it all.”
Jin Hagun could tell that the Pungcheon Cult Leader was far more free-spirited than he had heard. Was it because he was this sort of person that he had become close to Geom Mugeuk? Or had he changed this way because he had become close to Geom Mugeuk?
After exchanging greetings with Jin Hagun like that, the Pungcheon Cult Leader’s gaze turned toward his disciple.
The Soul-Seizing Demon Venerable lowered her head as if ashamed.
“I am sorry. I should have ended it with my own hands.”
“No. You fought well enough.”
It seemed the Pungcheon Cult Leader had watched her entire battle.
He looked at the great wave approaching and extended a hand into the air.
Parat!
Blue energy rose in the air as though caught on his fingertips.
“The Blood Heaven Soul-Compelling Art spread over this place is too strong. Even I have never seen such a powerful soul-compelling art. It was probably prepared over a very long time.”
Jin Hagun nodded and said quietly,
“You have seen correctly. This conspiracy was prepared decades ago.”
The one whose heart ached most at those words was Grand Master Hwasong. He had spent all those long years with Jin Hyu as a colleague, as a friend. For that entire stretch of time, he had been deceived.
In the meantime, the wave had drawn close.
Jin Hyu, standing atop the wave, was staring at the Soul-Seizing Demon Venerable.
The wave approached more slowly than its original speed. Riding atop it, he must have been observing the newly arrived Pungcheon Cult Leader.
The oncoming wave stopped. It halted high in the air like a painting, and Jin Hyu raised the wave even higher to meet the Pungcheon Cult Leader’s gaze at eye level.
He recognized that his opponent was the Pungcheon Cult Leader.
“So the madwoman even called her master.”
The Soul-Seizing Demon Venerable felt sorry toward her master, as if she had caused him to be insulted along with her for no reason.
“I am sorry.”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader did not mind at all.
“The rougher an opponent’s mouth is, the better proof it is that you fought well.”
Comforting his disciple like that, he threw one sharp remark at Jin Hyu.
“Only I am allowed to insult my disciple. Do you understand, you cowardly old man!”
Jin Hyu’s aged eyes instantly grew fierce. He had already heard the word coward more than enough today, so the words that burst from him were not pleasant either.
“I have heard plenty of rumors about you. They say you abandoned the Pungcheon Cult and clung to the Demon Cult?”
Of course, the Pungcheon Cult Leader was not someone who lost verbal sparring anywhere.
“To be precise, I clung to the Young Cult Leader.”
For a moment, it seemed he had meekly admitted it.
“I mean the Young Cult Leader who is neatly plucking off your necks one by one. Come to think of it, it seems you clung to the wrong side, didn’t you?”
Rumble!
As if reflecting Jin Hyu’s mood, the surrounding waves rose higher and black storm clouds rolled in.
“Yes, I knew a day like this would come eventually.”
Killing intent flowed from Jin Hyu’s body. He revealed an even more powerful presence than when he had fought the Soul-Seizing Demon Venerable earlier. As if the strength he had hidden was not thirty percent but a full three-tenths, the aura he displayed was different.
The Pungcheon Cult Leader, who had been quietly staring at him, said something unexpected.
“When I was young, I once heard a rumor like this. They said someone with heavenly talent in soul-seizing arts had appeared in the Central Plains.”
The soul-seizing art Jin Hyu was displaying now had reached an extreme realm. More than other martial arts, soul-seizing arts depended on talent. Unless one was born with it innately, one could never reach such a level.
Even with the help of the Blood Heaven Soul-Compelling Art, it would never be easy to defeat his disciple, the Soul-Seizing Demon Venerable, with soul-seizing arts. He had to be the one who had once been called a genius.
“I heard that news of him vanished at some point. It seems that talent did not go into judgment.”
Jin Hyu snorted. He did not deny that the person was him.
The Pungcheon Cult Leader confirmed that his hunch had been right. The reason that person had stayed in his memory was because of his own personality. He himself had grown up hearing that he possessed heavenly talent, and when he heard there was someone like that in the Central Plains, he had felt envious and jealous. He remembered cursing him for quite some time.
“This field of playing with ghosts is truly narrow.”
The gazes of the two men tangled in midair over the surging sea.
Then Jin Hyu also asked the Pungcheon Cult Leader,
“Then why were you won over by the Young Cult Leader?”
That was what he was most curious about regarding the Pungcheon Cult Leader. To even step down from the position of cult leader and follow the Young Cult Leader? It was utterly incomprehensible.
“I wasn’t won over.”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader sighed and added,
“I was kidnapped. By the Young Cult Leader.”
Jin Hyu did not understand what he meant, but Jin Hagun, who was listening, smiled faintly.
He understood why he had described it as being kidnapped. It was the feeling of coming to his senses only to find Geom Mugeuk standing in front of him saying this:
You’ve been kidnapped by me.
Yes, he could sympathize fully.
Of course, Jin Hyu could not sympathize with those words or that feeling.
“To think you dared enter my world on your own feet. It seems you enjoy being kidnapped.”
Jin Hyu began drawing up his internal energy to the utmost limit. Blue energy burst from his body.
Saaaaaaaaaa.
The garments of those aboard the ship fluttered in the fierce wind. The wind began to blow stronger and stronger.
Soon, sea spray began to rise from the ocean, and whirlpools started to form.
Kwaaaaaaa!
There was not just one whirlpool. Whirlpools began appearing all around the ship they were on. One by one they increased, until there were more than a dozen. It was a terrifying sight just to behold.
Gradually, the whirlpools arising from within the water grew larger, and their speed became even faster.
It seemed he intended to smash the ship with the whirlpools, but that was not it.
Something rose from those whirlpools.
Puaang! Puaang! Puang!
What burst out from them were enormous tentacles. He had used tentacles that emerged from his back when fighting the Soul-Seizing Demon Venerable earlier as well, but this time they were tentacles shaped like the giant legs of an octopus beneath the sea.
Kwaaaaaaa!
Tentacles flew in from every direction toward the warriors. Jin Hagun and the Demon Extermination Squad drew their swords in unison and launched themselves forward.
Kwaang!
When a huge tentacle struck down on the ship, the vessel lurched.
The warriors of the Demon Extermination Squad scattered in all directions, sending out sword energy.
The flying sword energy wounded the tentacles.
Puaaaak!
Blue blood flowed down from the tentacles.
When that blood fell onto the deck—
Chiiiiik!
Blue smoke rose as it melted the deck.
“It’s poisonous smoke!”
The warriors covered their mouths and noses as they retreated.
Jin Hagun sent out a palm force to push the smoke away and shouted,
“Don’t cut them carelessly!”
Once they became tentacles that could not be cut carelessly, the situation for the warriors of the Demon-Extermination Unit grew even more difficult.
Cult Leader Pungcheon still stood at the bow with his arms folded.
One of the tentacles came flying toward Cult Leader Pungcheon.
The Soul-Seizing Demon Venerable, standing beside him, drew up what little inner power she had left and thrust out her hand toward the tentacle.
Fwooooosh!
The incoming tentacle went up in flames.
The tentacle howled and plunged into the water. After extinguishing the fire and rising again, it did not attack Cult Leader Pungcheon.
The deck was truly in chaos. One warrior, wrapped in a tentacle, was hurled into the air.
Jin Hagun launched himself forward and swung his sword.
Shiiiiing.
The tentacle, cut by his sword energy, released the warrior. Jin Hagun snatched him out of the spray of blood and saved him.
Watching the scene with calm eyes, Cult Leader Pungcheon asked the Soul-Seizing Demon Venerable,
“What should be done at a time like this?”
“We must find the way to break it.”
“Find it.”
The Soul-Seizing Demon Venerable first looked at Jin Hyu. He still stood on the waves with his eyes closed, controlling the tentacles. Around his body, three or four tentacles were guarding him.
If they killed him, this space would naturally disappear, but surely that was not the fundamental method of breaking it that her master was asking about.
“The way to break it is underwater.”
Since the tentacles had come out of the water, the method to counter them would also be down there.
Cult Leader Pungcheon quietly looked at her and said,
“Shall I go?”
“N-no. Your disciple will go.”
Without hesitation, the Soul-Seizing Demon Venerable leapt straight into the water.
Seeing that, Jin Hagun followed her in. He knew that the Soul-Seizing Demon Venerable’s inner power was nearly depleted.
“I will help.”
When Jin Hagun went in, several of the Demon-Extermination Unit warriors who saw him followed and jumped in as well.
“You’re all so young!”
Cult Leader Pungcheon’s gaze deepened as he looked at the water they had entered.
Then Jin Hyu opened the eyes he had kept closed.
When he looked at him, Cult Leader Pungcheon rubbed his belly and said,
“I’d lost quite a bit of weight lately. But after drinking with that disciple from beyond the borders, my drinking belly came right back.”
Talking about his belly in this situation? Jin Hyu’s expression seemed to say, Is this lunatic insane?
Of course, even in the midst of that, the eyes with which both men looked at each other were frighteningly cold. Eyes that would not permit even a single moment’s opening.
“You asked why I was recruited by the Young Cult Leader, didn’t you? I was no different from you. Whether others lived or died, all that mattered was satisfying my own desires. But that hateful Young Cult Leader, you see, put on an act of caring for others first. His pitch-black insides still haven’t been exposed, but someday they will be. Right?”
When Cult Leader Pungcheon laughed loudly, Jin Hyu spat out as if he found him pathetic.
“What bullshit.”
At that, Cult Leader Pungcheon’s gaze deepened.
“That’s right. That’s why. You were called a genius, and I grew up being called a genius too. But this is the result. What’s the use of being a genius in martial arts? When people with minds as narrow as soy sauce dishes gather together, all that comes of it is this kind of bullshit. That’s why. The reason I sided with the Young Cult Leader.”
Only then did Cult Leader Pungcheon answer the question he had first brought up.
“I wanted to try living a little differently.”
Absolute Regression, Chapter 662