Absolute Regression

From episode 88, when the umbilical cord was cut.

Geommuyang, who had washed off the blood, was standing in front of Donggyeong and helping Sibi put on new clothes.

He wore a thin robe over his bare body that protected him from sword attacks. On top of that, I layered a slightly thicker robe. He showed his obsession with death, at least to Mabul.

Mabul was sitting on a chair and watching.

There was a possibility that he would complain about bringing in the Yunnan twins, but Geommuyang didn’t say anything. Mabul could tell he was angry.

“Gongja Lee…”

Originally, I was going to start the story by saying, ‘You’ve changed so much.’ But I changed my words when I thought it was too obvious.

“…What kind of person are you?”

In longing, Geommuyang answered.

“I thought I knew my younger brother well, but now I see I don’t really know. I wasn’t this kind of kid to begin with…”

“You need to forget about the past!”

Suddenly, Mabul raised his voice, and Sibi, who was touching her collar, scratched Geummuyang’s neck with her fingernails.

“oh! “I’m sorry, please save me.”

The husband and wife knelt down on the spot and asked for forgiveness. The atmosphere cooled down in an instant.

“Why would I kill you for something like this?”

Geommuyang spoke softly, but Mabul coldly intervened.

“But you can’t kill him, right? You saved the life of a woman who damaged the body of the person who would become the Heavenly Demon? “How funny would other people look at you if they heard about it?”

Shibi pleaded earnestly.

“please! “Please save me!”

Geommuyang helped her up.

“Everyone makes mistakes. “Stop going out.”

“Thank you, Confucius. thank you.”

Shibi left the room.

“You should not be seen as easily forgiving the mistakes of your subordinates. “You should at least punish me.”

Then Geommuyang suddenly asked.

“Did you ask what kind of person your brother is?”

“Yes, I did.”

“If something like this happens, this is the child who will buy food for the surprised child. “He was a warm-hearted child from a young age.”

“But you shouldn’t let down your guard.”

“I’m not saying this to encourage you to let down your guard. “Didn’t you see the Mugeuk people earlier?”

The longing gaze that had been looking towards Mabul turned towards Geommuyang himself.

“Honestly, I was a little jealous.”

Mabul sometimes thought that this Geommuyang was unpredictable.

Even though you handle things clearly and calmly, there are times when you suddenly reveal your true feelings like this.

While I was thinking about how to react, Geommuyang walked over and sat down in front of Mabul. He poured the cooled tea into a teacup and drank it.

“What are you so worried about, Mazon?”

“Igongja’s skills are great, but more than anything, Hyeolcheondoma is a cunning old man. The fact that he chose a bachelor of science and engineering clearly means that there was a good reason. “Maybe it’s because he bought Sibi a meal, or there’s something else we don’t know about.”

Then Geommuyang said something unexpected.

“I think the answer is my father.”

Mabul was surprised at those words.

“What do you mean?”

“My father pushed Mugeuk while I was away. He lowered the dark magic sword and placed him in the position of the Nether Pillar. I’m trying to test how I can deal with Mugeuk, who has gained strength. “I think this is the final test to become a successor.”

For a moment, I thought that might be the case, but Mabul then shook his head.

“That won’t be it. In the process of Lee Gong-ja jumping up, the soul mazon died. “The cause of death is said to have been poisoned by coins, but there are many things that are unclear.”

At first, I believed the Pungcheon cult leader’s words that it was not the work of a sword dance, but I no longer believed it.

“It could have been Lee Gong-gong’s doing. Still, do you think it is a test from the religious leader? “The sect leader cherished Seophon as the main force of the school.”

“I guess my father didn’t expect it to go that far either. “Mugeuk has capabilities that exceed his father’s expectations.”

“Then did Li Gongzi really kill the Nie Soul Mazon?”

Then Geommuyang asked a question instead of an answer.

“Can the Mazon kill the Subsoul Mazon?”

“Of course I can… kill!”

A moment’s hesitation tells you what kind of skill the Soul Mazon has. Mabul was also an opponent that he had no confidence in as much as Subsoul Mazon.

“you’re right. He could have killed Mabul. “It probably wasn’t easy.”

After saving Mabul’s face, Geommuyang continued what he had originally wanted to say.

“Neither I nor Mugeuk can kill the Subsoul Mazon with our current martial arts skills. “But it might be possible with the help of just one person.”

“Who is that?”

Geommuyang did not answer, as if asking him to think about it himself. Mabul, who thought for a moment who it was, shouted in shock.

“no way? Are you the leader of the Pungcheon Church?”

“you’re right. “With his help, I could have killed the Soul Mazon.”

Mabul thought it might be possible, but he had one question.

“What is Pungcheon religious leader for?”

“It’s for advancing to midfield. In the end, didn’t you take on the disciple of the Subsoul Mazon as your own?”

“ah!”

Mabul has never had this kind of suspicion before. Was the Pungcheon religious leader behind it in the first place?

“So you shamelessly came to investigate the body? “This is what you’re saying.”

It was Mabul, whose relationship with the Pungcheon religious leader had recently worsened. Suspicion and anger interfered with objective judgment.

“The leader of Pungcheon knew that the Mazons would call him. “It was also the only way for him to confidently enter our school.”

This was the final doubt that held Mabul back.

“However, the Pungcheon leader does not have the guts to do that. If it were discovered that he had killed the Suphonmazon, the entire Pungcheon Church would be destroyed. “That can’t be possible.”

“There’s something my father always told me since I was young. “Don’t just assume you know someone.”

Mabul was confused. The Pungcheon religious leader he knew was not a great person to commit such a big thing. But what Geommuyang said was exactly right. Another reason was added to that.

“Isn’t this something you can tell just by looking at the Pungcheon Cult’s soldiers going to Mugeuk? As you said, would that meticulous Blood Heavenly Demon just hold your hand? “I would have caught it because I had this background.”

What if this is true?

“shit! “You went to my feet and attracted a evil beast!”

“Don’t blame yourself. Rather, I will take advantage of this situation and take control of the Mazons.”

“What if the situation is not favorable?”

Geommuyang casually mentioned what Mabul couldn’t bring himself to say.

“Are you going to kill Mugeuk? No, I won’t kill you. “How will my father view my older brother killing my younger brother?”

Mabul felt it. The reason he doesn’t kill Geommugeuk is not because he is his younger brother, but because his father is watching.

“Then what do you plan to do?”

“I will attract all those who are attached to Mugeuk to my side. Mugeuk is so proud that if his people turn away from him, he will leave the school. Did you see it earlier? People who leave the place without seeing Mugeuk’s dance. Those people will really make Mugeuk leave. “Let’s see if we can still laugh and joke.”

“If you leave Gongja Lee alive, you will be punished later.”

“Even if you leave like that, if a crisis occurs at our school, if you come to save us, you won’t come to kill us. “That’s his biggest weakness.”

Geommuyang got up again and walked in front of the mirror. He spoke calmly while staring at himself in the mirror.

“Taesa of Cheonmajeon is the most powerful position in this martial arts forest. This is not a place for a soft guy like Mugeuk to sit. “You can’t even sit down.”

* * *

When I arrived at Cheonmajeon the next morning, I met my brother at the entrance.

“It’s been a long time since we entered the Cheonmajeon side by side like this.”

“I see.”

We walked together.

“Are you nervous?”

“not really.”

But my brother was nervous.

He was unusually stiff in front of his father. From a young age, my older brother wanted to impress his father.

When I was young, my older brother heard my father call him ‘our eldest son’ just once, and he bragged about it for years, not just days.

If I am currently obsessed with Hwamugi, my older brother must be obsessed with my father.

My brother and I entered Cheonmajeon.

My father and General Commander Sima Ming were there together. We walked the bloody path side by side. Demonic statues erected everywhere were watching us with cold, strange eyes for my brother’s return.

“Father, have you been well?”

My older brother bowed deeply to my father.

“Welcome back.”

I looked at my father’s expression. The face towards my brother was filled with joy. On the other hand, my brother was nervous. I could feel him trembling.

“I guess you’re happy that your eldest son is back.”

My father didn’t respond to anything I said. My father when we walked through Magachon together felt different from my father now.

I understand my father has become more blunt.

At this time, before returning home, my father was already thinking of his older brother as his successor. This return shook my father’s heart, but the person who entered his heart first was my older brother.

If I don’t understand my father’s feelings toward my older brother, I will never win this fight. And we must not forget. That my ultimate enemy is neither my father nor my brother.

“What happened to what happened?”

My older brother confidently answered my father’s question.

“We have all overcome the final hurdle.”

At those words, my father’s expression brightened. My brother didn’t go to the outskirts to do chores.

The Nine Walls of Magical Tools.

The Magogu Wall was the school’s secret training center hidden in the outskirts.

My father opened the place to my older brother. Just like Socheon-dong, the Magic Wall could only be entered with the permission of the Heavenly Demon.

It was really not easy to overcome the magic tool wall. It was a gateway one level higher than Socheon-dong, which I passed through earlier. However, I was able to give up halfway through the magic tool wall and get out. It could be seen as a safer but more difficult gateway.

Sima Ming was also very happy.

“I would like to reduce it, Grand Duke. Passing through the magic wall. “It seems like you really can’t fool blood.”

My older brother is also the one who inherited my father’s blood. His martial arts talent was second to none.

I asked, pretending not to know.

“Where did you pass through?”

Then Sima Ming smiled and said.

“The Grand Duke passed through the magic wall.”

I hugged Warak.

“Amazing bro!”

My father and Sima Ming were startled by my actions. Rather, my older brother, who was the person involved, accepted my congratulations obediently because he had experienced my change.

“thanks.”

“Then you must have achieved great success in the Bicheon Sword Technique?”

If it were just the two of us, I wouldn’t have answered, but since my father was there, my brother answered honestly. Of course, he didn’t do it to me, he did it to my father.

“In the process of passing through my father’s magic tool wall, I also achieved great success in the Bicheon Sword Technique.”

“Congratulations.”

“It’s all thanks to my father’s teachings. “Thank you, father.”

My father’s eyes turned to my brother and me.

What is your father thinking right now?

“I will reduce the number, Grand Duke.”

“Thank you, soldier.”

“Congratulations, brother.”

“thanks.”

“In this friendly atmosphere, I have something to say to your father.”

My eyes turned to my father.

“For us, the cutting of the umbilical cord was the signal that the battle for succession had begun. It was that kind of life, and I will continue to live that kind of life. So that’s it. Dad, this time I’m going to have a friendly competition with my brother. “What do you think?”

Instead of answering me, my brother spoke to my father.

“Father, I didn’t know that Mugeuk had grown so much while I was away. “He really showed his maturity.”

My father just looked down at us in silence. What are you thinking? Even at this moment, are you keeping score on who will be a suitable successor?

My father didn’t say anything about what I said. Friendly competition? If you were with me, you might have said that it was just a cheap sentiment worth dying for.

However, the reason I insisted on saying it was because I also told my father. He said he would try to carry his brother.

“You guys go back and get some rest.”

My brother and I said hello to our father and left Cheonmajeon on foot along the path of blood.

I asked at the entrance.

“Brother, why do you want to become the Heavenly Demon?”

Then my brother blurted out.

“Because if I don’t become the Heavenly Demon, I die.”

I thought my brother would have given a different answer, but it was a very surprising answer.

“Are you going to die if you lose the succession battle?”

“Everyone is dead so far.”

“Can’t we just not kill him? “The Geommuyang Geomdugeuk brothers demonstrate a brotherly love that will forever be remembered in the history of the Demonic Church.”

“Do you think the other brothers didn’t feel the same way? In the end… all humans betray.”

“Why don’t we do it?”

Geommuyang chuckled at my words and took the first step.

I shouted to my brother who was walking far away.

“I was serious. Let’s compete in good faith.”

My brother stopped walking, turned to me and said.

“Then you should have first asked whether I had any good intentions in my heart. Are you there?”

“I have.”

“Then I’ll have a head start in this fight.”

I finally smiled as I watched my brother walking again.

Well, how could this be easy? It’s so difficult to make someone who likes me become my person.

‘But we have to do it, brother. The name of the dagger that will stab us in the back is not brotherhood, but Hwamugi.’