Absolute Regression

The purple radiance signified the use of a forbidden demonic technique.

The Mind-Reading and Soul-Stealing Technique had been deployed to extract a truthful answer from the opponent.

This technique was forbidden to be used on disciples unless permitted by the Cult Leader because it could read the opponent’s mind and even elicit responses, making it prone to abuse in many ways.

Yet, the Soul Reaper Demon Supreme had violated this taboo easily and cast the Mind-Reading and Soul-Stealing Technique.

Even the highest-level soul practitioners could all wield the Mind-Reading and Soul-Stealing Technique, but the success rate varied according to their skill and internal energy. The higher the skill, the deeper the purple hue.

The dazzling purple hue indicated that the Soul Reaper Demon Supreme’s technique could extract even the most forgotten memories.

“Who are you?”

“I am Geom Mugeuk.”

“How do you know about me?”

The Mind-Reading and Soul-Stealing Technique, which infiltrated through the eyes, had no effect on me due to the Blood Eye Essence I had ingested.

Nevertheless, I answered as if I were under the spell of the technique. By observing what he asked, I too could learn something about him.

“Is the Cult Leader behind this incident?”

“No.”

A look of relief crossed the Soul Reaper Demon Supreme’s face. As expected, the one he feared most was my father. So foolish.

“Why have you come?”

“To kill you.”

“Did you tell anyone you were coming here?”

“I told no one.”

The Soul Reaper Demon Supreme withdrew the Mind-Reading and Soul-Stealing Technique. Since it wasn’t commanded by the Cult Leader, he likely judged there was no reason to deplete his internal energy any further. The consumption of internal energy and mental power for this technique was more severe than any other sorcery.

His question about whether I had informed anyone of my visit revealed his intent to kill me.

“Second Young Master, you will disappear from your world today.”

“I may disappear, but can you handle the aftermath of killing me?”

“Why would I handle it? The Blood Heaven Blade Demon will. It won’t be me who kills you. You will die at the hands of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon while trying to kill him.”

He meant to use the Mind-Reading and Soul-Stealing Technique on me to command me to kill the Blood Heaven Blade Demon. Believing I could not defeat the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, I would eventually be killed by him.

“That’s just like you.”

“What do you mean by that? Why do you keep talking as if you know me well? Investigated me? Thinking you can kill me is an absurd investigation.”

The moment the words ended, the world spun.

Dazzling and intense lights flew in, making it impossible to open my eyes. Soon, I found myself standing alone in a dark space. Someone whispered in my ear.

—Kill the Blood Heaven Blade Demon!

The command repeated continuously.

At first, it was the voice of the Soul Reaper Demon Supreme, then my father’s voice, then Lee Ahn’s, and Seo Daeryong’s. It repeated in every voice I knew. Even my own voice and that of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon echoed the command.

Even if I blocked my ears, the words penetrated my mind, hammering the command into my brain. My head ached as if it were about to explode.

Despite the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique being activated, this was the extent of the pain. A normal person would have already fallen under the Soul Reaper Demon Supreme’s spell.

“So noisy.”

I looked around.

In the pitch-black darkness, I saw a faint blue light in the distance. Instinctively, I knew that light was the way to break the spell. I walked towards it.

The closer I got, the larger the light became, growing large enough for a person to pass through.

Without hesitation, I walked into it.

The Soul Reaper Demon Supreme stood outside. He stared at me with a surprised expression.

“How did you open your eyes on your own?”

Walking through the light in the illusion equated to opening my eyes in reality.

“One cannot open their eyes before the Soul Reaping Spell ends.”

“I must have grown quite attached to the Blood Heaven Blade Demon. I didn’t want to kill him.”

Once again, the surroundings spun, and intense light flew in. I was back in the darkness.

“Again?”

—Kill the Blood Heaven Blade Demon!

This time, an even stronger Soul Reaping Spell, fueled by more internal energy, assaulted me. If the first spell hammered the command into my brain with a small hammer, now it was with a large hammer.

But the faint blue light still existed, and I managed to escape through it again. Even after breaking free, my head felt like it was splitting, showing just how powerful the Soul Reaper Demon Supreme’s spell was.

“Why on earth does the spell not work on you?”

I responded while massaging my tingling temples, “As I said, it’s due to the deep bond with the Elder Blade Demon.”

“Nonsense!”

“You’re uncharacteristically anxious.”

“Then I suppose I have to handle this personally.”

The next moment, the surroundings darkened.

Something stirred in the darkness.

The ground wriggled, and pitch-black shadows rose. Their eyes and mouths were grotesquely elongated, and limbs unnaturally long, making them truly horrifying to behold.

These hellish creatures rushed at me.

I slashed at them with the Black Demon Sword.

The bodies of the pitch-black monsters had bluish dots of light scattered across them. Some had them on their heads, others on their bellies, and still others on their arms. The Blood Eye Essence precisely showed the way to break this sorcery.

When I stabbed the light accurately, the creatures dissipated into a white halo and vanished. If I hadn’t struck their vital points exactly, these evil spirits would have kept attacking relentlessly. They were foes that couldn’t be defeated simply by superior martial arts skills.

After I slashed through all the monsters, the surrounding darkness brightened, revealing the Soul Reaper Demon Supreme standing with a grave expression.

Without a word, he cast the next spell.

When the darkness lifted again, I was startled.

I found myself standing on a large log in the middle of the sea.

It was real seawater. Surely, this was an illusion created to manipulate my mind, but it was real enough that falling into it meant certain death.

Then, from a distance, I heard the sound of waves.

Turning my head, I saw something rushing toward me from afar. To my astonishment, it was a massive tidal wave.

“Whoa.”

Swoooosh!

It was the fury of nature, something no human strength could withstand.

I now understood why orthodox martial artists found the Soul Reaper Demon Supreme so formidable. How could a mere human possibly overcome such a colossal illusion?

The approaching tidal wave was as tall as a cliff. It was so high that its top seemed to stretch into infinity.

But nowhere on the wave did I see the way to break the spell.

With nowhere to escape, I was swept away by the wave.

The immense force dragged me underwater, crushing me. Without the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique, I would have lost consciousness from the impact.

Against my will, I was tossed around underwater.

How much time passed?

“Puah!”

I broke the surface, gasping for breath.

Just as I felt a bit relieved, another wave started to rise in the distance. If this repeated endlessly, even the greatest master would eventually succumb to exhaustion and die. I had to find the way to break the spell and escape before that happened.

I scanned my surroundings and dove underwater, searching for the bluish light. But the ocean was pitch black.

I was swept away by the second wave as well. Minimizing the impact with the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique, I surfaced again. No matter how much I looked around, I was surrounded by the boundless sea.

Finding the way to break the spell in this vast ocean seemed nearly impossible.

Where on earth could it be? There were no seagulls, no rocky islands, nothing but the boundless sea and me.

‘There must be something to find.’

At that moment, a thought flashed through my mind. Come to think of it, there was something.

‘Could it be?’

I propelled myself out of the water. Leaping up, I searched for one thing. But I couldn’t find what I was looking for and was swept away by the third wave.

Before the fourth wave arrived, I leapt up again, diligently searching for that one thing.

And finally, I found what I was looking for.

‘Please! Let this be it!’

What I found was the log I had been standing on when I first arrived.

I turned the log over, and there it was, a bluish light shining from underneath.

The Blood Eye Essence always accurately and swiftly revealed the way to break the spell. This time, it was right under my nose. In this vast ocean, the very thing that had been keeping me afloat was the key to breaking the spell. It made sense.

Or perhaps the light had originally been on top, but as the log turned in the waves, the light ended up on the bottom.

Just before the fourth wave struck, I slashed the log with the Black Demon Sword.

At that moment!

The wave that had been rushing in vanished as if it had been a lie, and the sea disappeared along with it.

This must have been the Soul Reaper Demon Supreme’s ultimate move, but he didn’t show any signs of despair.

A new space unfolded immediately. The Soul Reaper Demon Supreme was continuously unleashing his deadliest secret arts.

Around me stood about thirty mirrors.

Each mirror reflected different stages of my life.

There were images of me as a child, as I am now, as a middle-aged man, and even as an old man. It was as if the mirrors were showing my entire life at intervals of three or four years.

I walked slowly, looking at myself in the mirrors. Most showed ages I had experienced before the regression, but at some point, they began to show ages I had never experienced. The final mirror showed me so old that it was hard to recognize myself.

I was on the verge of death.

I asked the reflection in the mirror.

“What are you regretting so much?”

The reflection, withered and alone in a large room, looked up at the ceiling with empty eyes. There was no one to accompany me in my death. It was a lonely and desolate end.

This is not my future. This is an illusion created by the Soul Reaper Demon Supreme. A hasty person might have shattered the mirrors. If they had, the situation would have worsened.

I reached out and gently touched the image of the old man in the mirror.

“Even after living with so much blood on your hands, did you hope for a happy death? That’s greedy, Mugeuk. If you kill Hwa Moogi and save those who need saving, even such a death is acceptable.”

I consoled myself. What will my actual death be like? Will I die alone and desolate like that? Or will I die smiling, comforting those left behind?

“It’s okay, go peacefully. I know you.”

Though I was touching the old me in the mirror, perhaps I was actually comforting my current self. Telling myself that it was okay, that I was doing well.

I turned back and stood in front of a mirror that showed my younger self. It was me a few years from now, with a bluish light swirling around the mirror.

“Well, shall we get out?”

Clang!

I swung the Black Demon Sword and shattered the mirror.

Through the broken mirror, I saw the shocked face of the Soul Reaper Demon Supreme.

“How did you know it was this mirror?”

Among dozens of mirrors, only one could lead out of that place.

“If you break the wrong one, the number of mirrors doubles. Break another wrong one, and it doubles again. You can never get out.”

“I got lucky.”

“Lucky? You think luck could break it?”

His expression was completely frozen. The surprise had turned to shock, and he had reached the one conclusion that had likely been haunting him throughout his failed attacks.

With a trembling voice, he asked,

“Have you truly mastered the Nine Calamities Demon Art?”

Before I could answer, he concluded it himself.

“That crazy Cult Leader! He already chose a successor without us knowing?”

He misunderstood, of course. There was only one reason his sorcery wouldn’t work.

The Soul Reaper Demon Supreme exploded in rage.

“Damn it! Using your own son as a blade to kill me? You filthy bastard! The Cult Leader never once revealed his true intentions. Always stabbing in the back.”

“Hold on! Let’s clarify one thing. Besides this, when has my father ever stabbed someone in the back?”

“What?”

“You said he always stabs in the back. Tell me about another time he did that.”

The Soul Reaper Demon Supreme remained silent.

“My father said that the orthodox martial artists feared you the most. It means he held you in high regard. Do you think he would betray someone he respected so much? I don’t think so.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Don’t speak recklessly out of anger. My father hesitated to kill you until the very end. Maybe I’ll lose points for this.”

“Then why are you doing this?”

“I thought about it carefully. Farming, doing business, attending academies, and martial arts schools—I was just living an ordinary life. But then, one day, I’m dragged away without knowing why and have my heart ripped out while still alive? Wouldn’t that be too unjust?”

“Life is inherently unfair. If you feel wronged, become a master.”

“Today, you can take all that injustice.”

Even though he misunderstood that I had mastered the Nine Calamities Demon Art, the Soul Reaper Demon Supreme didn’t lose his spirit.

“You said you investigated me? Yes, you did well. I am someone who has lived with a desire to live long. Do you think I couldn’t foresee a day like this? A day when the Cult Leader would betray and try to kill me?”

He still believed this situation was orchestrated by my father.

“Do you know why I delved into the Heart and Soul Reaping Technique? For a little bit of internal energy?”

“Wasn’t it?”

“Of course not.”

Dark, smoke-like energy began to rise around the Soul Reaper Demon Supreme.

“Did you say I became a monster? Have you ever truly seen a monster?”

He began to transform within the black energy. It was literally a transformation. His body grew larger, his skin turned black, and his eyes, split longways, emitted a stark white glow. His ears rose like those of a demon, and his large, red heart throbbed visibly in his chest.

Was this an illusion or reality?

The transformed Soul Reaper Demon Supreme exuded an aura completely different from before. It was cold and unyielding. I tensed up. This demonic technique was his ultimate move, meant to counter the Nine Calamities Demon Art. It meant it was that powerful.

“I will tear your precious Nine Calamities Demon Art to shreds!”

The demonic energy he emitted swept around us. It wasn’t just any demonic energy; it was Dark Demonic Energy.

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