Absolute Regression

Episode 5 Wild beasts do not hide their claws.

The hunting ground didn’t have to be far.

The mountain behind our school was famous for being rugged, and defensive positions and engine formations were set up here and there, so no one could enter in the first place. The only people in this deserted place were my father and I.

‘Oh, there must be three.’

My father’s bodyguard, Hwi, must be following me somewhere in hiding.

I called him Uncle Hwi. I saw it often when I was young, but as I got older, I had less opportunity to see it. Hwi is a reception guard that his father absolutely trusts. If I have Ian, my father has Hwi.

I raised my flag and looked around, but could not find any sign of Hwi. Indeed, he is a skilled person who has reached the highest level in the art of hiding. Of course, this kind of Hwido… was killed by Hwamugi that day.

The first words my father said to me that day were these.

“What is all that crazy burden?”

I was carrying a leather bag as big as my body.

“This is what you need for a few days.”

“few days? “I plan to come down after just one day.”

“You don’t know, right? “I’m sure you’ll enjoy hunting with me and want to do it for a few more days.”

My father blatantly showed his inner thoughts on his face, wondering if that was even possible.

“Your dream is too dreamy.”

Although I had been with my father for less than half an hour, I realized one thing I had not known. The point is that my memories of my father were quite distorted.

I remembered my father as someone who rarely spoke. But my father said more than I thought.

“It’s a lot bigger than I thought.”

It was an evaluation of his performance against Koo Pyeong-ho in the fight. It was a move without any skill, but it must have revealed the skills I had accumulated in my life before returning, so I did not try to fool my father.

“I was hiding my skills.”

“It seemed so.”

A joke added to pick up the mood.

“I am not a snarling cat, but a wild beast with hidden claws.”

My father stopped and looked back at me.

“You’re a wild beast, so why do you hide your claws?”

“Oh, I never thought about that perspective.”

“So you are a cat.”

My father, who was about to turn around, suddenly asked.

“What level has the Flying Heavenly Sword Technique reached?”

Bicheongeombeop is a martial art that is passed down to the Heavenly Demon’s blood relatives. Although it cannot be compared to the Nine Fire Demonic Arts, which are taught only to Heavenly Demons, it is an extremely advanced martial art that is evaluated to be on a similar level to the martial arts learned by the Demon Lords.

Of course, learning a high-level martial art does not necessarily mean you are stronger. Depending on who is using it, even a weak martial arts attack could kill someone with strong martial arts skills.

I decided that I couldn’t fool my father, so I answered honestly.

“It was a great success.”

That moment!

Peeing!

A ray of wind from the tips of my father’s fingers passed by my cheek. If I hadn’t instinctively turned my face to avoid it, I would have had a hole in my cheek.

My father asked with a surprised face.

“What a success!”

I asked as if I was shouting while touching my cheeks, which were hot from the force of the wind.

“oh my god! You didn’t even believe me, but you threw up an earth-shattering storm. “What if I couldn’t avoid it?”

“You pay the price for lying. “If you achieve great success, you will be able to avoid it.”

“Scars do not suit this handsome face that resembles my father!”

After snorting once, my father walked away.

‘It was worth being scared of me at the time.’

What father in the world would throw a scolding punch at his child without hesitation? Even on your face! I wouldn’t have died, but it was an attack that would have seriously injured me if I hadn’t avoided it.

My father, who was walking ahead, said without turning around.

“At your age, Daesung… is amazing.”

In my last life, I achieved great success only after I was well into my thirties, so it is natural for my father to be surprised. In any case, my father was sincere when it came to martial arts, so that compliment was high praise.

“thank you.”

Afterwards, we rode the mountain without talking for a while.

If there was no conversation like this in one room, it would be suffocating. But the act of climbing a mountain was different. I felt like I was having an unspoken conversation just by walking quietly.

I was the one who broke the silence for a long time.

“Who did you learn about hunting from?”

After a moment, my father spoke.

“I learned it from my older brother.”

“Did I have an uncle too?”

“dead. “He died by my hands when he was about the same age as you.”

There was silence for a moment. Instead of polite words of comfort, I spoke my honest thoughts.

“Well done.”

My father stopped and looked back at me with harsh eyes.

“If it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t have been born.”

My father stared at me coldly for a moment and then took another step.

What father doesn’t have the scars left behind by the bone-to-bone conflict? I’ve seen it a lot in my past life. The stronger a person appears on the outside, the deeper the wounds in his heart.

That’s why I spit it out like I was squeezing out pus.

There is a lesson I learned from my past life.

Bury the body, but don’t bury the wounds in the heart.

That’s probably why I heard these words from my father.

“At the time, I… couldn’t find a way.”

I knew what it meant. He couldn’t find a way to win the battle for succession without killing his brother.

My answer was resolute.

“Don’t expect anything from me either.”

My father glanced back at me. His eyes were colder than before, but I said what I wanted to say.

“I can’t do what my father couldn’t do. And you should give me a brother who is worth thinking about and say those things. You know, right? “How mean and cruel my brother is.”

“You often curse behind my back.”

“Even if I get criticized, it’s okay.”

Actually, this is not enough. When I think about what my older brother did to become his successor in the future.

“I’m having a hard time in the outskirts, but you’re swearing in a comfortable place.”

“If you become a Grand Duke of the Heavenly Demon Church, you will not suffer even if you are locked in the last room of the underground prison rather than the outskirts.”

My older brother was currently working under my father’s orders. At that time, my older brother had not yet revealed his true colors and he had outstanding abilities, so my father trusted him more than me. Not only that, but many demons in school tried to keep in line with their older brother.

“My brother will never give up his position as successor. “It is foolish and conceited to want to save your brother and become his successor.”

The expression on my father’s face as he looked at me contained the emotion, ‘Were you this kind of child?’ My eyes responded resolutely. ‘yes!’

My father took a step again.

I was not married in my last life. So, I don’t know exactly what feelings the existence of a child brings to a man.

So I’m curious.

What kind of person am I to my father?

How many mountains did you climb like that?

“Shh.”

I raised my head at my father’s signal. My father was pointing his finger straight ahead.

“Do you see it?”

I opened my eyes wide, but I could only see the dense forest and nothing else.

“I can’t see it.”

“I see.”

“What is there?”

“Dinner.”

“Then you should catch it.”

When I took out the bow hanging in my leather bag, my father stopped my impatience.

“How can you catch something you can’t see? First, close your eyes and feel your surroundings.”

“yes.”

When experts understand their opponents, they use the waves of the surrounding air to understand them. This is what is commonly referred to as the other person’s prayer.

The only prayer I can feel around me is my father’s prayer. calm. So I’m scared. I know better than anyone how fierce this prayer becomes when it gets angry. In that peaceful sea, a typhoon that will turn the world upside down is sleeping.

“Now let out a ray of energy. “It’s just one ray.”

I did as my father told me and released a ray of energy.

“Slow down and don’t cut off your energy. “Think of your body as a skein of thread, and pull it out slowly, like pulling a thread.”

In my life before regression, I had never sent forward such a thin energy. There is a clear reason for releasing energy. To suppress the opponent’s momentum with my prayers. But now, he was unleashing his energy in a way I had never imagined.

“Slimmer. It must not be cut off!”

This was the first time I realized that the energy released from the body could travel this long.

“More more more.”

If I hadn’t had my father by my side encouraging me, I would never have been able to exude energy for this long.

And the next moment, my energy touched something.

“Did you reach it?”

My father realized as quickly as I did that my energy had touched something.

“yes. “I can feel it.”

“What do you think it is?”

“It looks like a tree.”

Surprisingly, I had a feeling for what it was. I don’t know how to explain this because it’s such a feeling. It was definitely a tree.

“Look around there. slowly.”

It seemed as if all the threads tied to the skein had come loose and would fall down at any moment. But I didn’t lose focus.

I extended my energy even longer and explored the surroundings. Then, I discovered a living energy under the tree.

“Are you a wild boar?”

When my father didn’t respond, I slowly opened my eyes. My father was looking at me with a surprised face.

“Or is it a bear? “It looked like a wild boar, with stiff fur and an elongated body.”

“It’s a wild boar.”

I looked at where my energy had reached. It was still invisible to the eye. They found a wild boar in the forest far away.

“It’s not easy to hit it in one go from this distance.”

My father found it hard to believe even after experiencing it himself.

When I thought about it, the technique from before was not just a catching technique needed for hunting. Awesome secret technique that can be applied martially.

“Originally, you were going to make fun of me by watching me fail.”

“Of course it should have failed.”

“I am your son.”

“I couldn’t get it right at first either.”

“Aren’t I the body of Heaven and Earth?”

When Cheonmujiche was mentioned, my father’s eyes changed slightly.

At that time, I had this kind of regret towards my father regarding the body of heavenly muji.

―Why did a person who pursues strength so much, even holding a martial arts competition to find a strong successor and looking for a talent who can destroy his children, neglecting me like that? Why don’t you push me?

I even thought that my father might be jealous of me. Yes, your I was that petty.

But now I know.

That things in the world don’t always go according to my wishes.

It is not that you should treat me special as I am a person of all abilities, but that you should make good use of your body of all things and become a special person yourself. Now I know that only when everyone’s expectations and aspirations are reflected in that specialness, the heavenly body becomes a blessing from heaven.

“What are you doing? Are you planning on skipping dinner?”

I fired my arrow vigorously at the place where I felt energy.

Peeing.

A bonfire was burning in the darkness, and on top of it, well-cut wild boar meat was cooking.

“When did you learn how to prepare animals?”

“I learned from books.”

“For something like that, you’re pretty familiar with it, right?”

Father, the wild boars I killed and ate must have been in the hundreds.

I quickly changed the topic.

“The thing you are laying down was prepared for flattery. “It was worth the struggle.”

My father was sitting on the tiger fur that I had brought in a leather bag.

My father’s lips curled up slightly at my condescension. It’s difficult to fit a sneer like that on a person’s face, but my father pulls off that difficult task well.

“The reason you wanted to hunt with me is because you want to look good on me and become my successor?”

“no. “I know very well that it won’t work for my father.”

“I’m glad you know.”

“Being selected as a successor can be accomplished without your father’s help.”

“You’re confident.”

“Of course, my greedy, cruel, and nasty brother will interfere with me.”

“You’re criticizing me from behind again.”

“I have to ask. “How often do you get the chance to openly criticize the judge who scores the score?”

Father, if you really wanted a peaceful brotherhood between families, you should have decided that from the beginning. Don’t think nonsense about who the successor will be. Even if it is decided that way, isn’t the succession dispute the cause of fighting, killing, and chaos?

“Why did you say you wanted to hunt with me?”

“There are two reasons. First, I want to learn something and become stronger. I think the first one was a success.”

“What if I become stronger?”

I quickly responded to my father’s provocative look, asking if he was going to take my place.

“The reason I want to become strong is not because I want to become the Heavenly Demon. My father is still correcting me, but I don’t want to waste my youth by riding Cheonma. “As long as I can become the successor and learn the martial arts of the Heavenly Demon, I will be satisfied.”

Considering my age, in my father’s eyes, my older brother and I still seem inadequate to become successors. In fact, my father chose my older brother as his successor about ten years from now.

Now, I can’t wait ten years. A small weight is not enough. It’s time to take out the awl from your pocket and stab it here and there.

So, you must learn the Nine Fire Demonic Arts as quickly as possible and achieve great success. No, you have to reach a higher level than that. Even my father, who achieved the Twelve Saints, was defeated by Firearms, so I must achieve the Twelve Saints.

“I imagine it sometimes. In my life, I come across a person I really want to kill, but I feel so bad when I can’t. “I don’t want to end up like that, so I want to become stronger.”

I couldn’t tell what my father was thinking because his expression didn’t change.

“The second reason is?”

“I wanted to spend time alone with my father. “It’s your first time, right?”

The mockery on my father’s lips deepened again.

“It’s just a cheap sentiment that’s worth dying for.”

“How could it be cheap to be with the best person in the world? If you sing, it will be the best song in the world, and if you drink it, it will be the best drink in the world. Even if you poop…”

“That’s it.”

“yes! “I will keep my mouth shut for one hour.”

My father and I made eye contact and I smiled happily. This may be the first time you smile in front of your father. My father coldly turned his head away.

‘When I thought of my father, there was nothing to remember. The memories of being scared aren’t memories, right? In this life, my memories won’t be so bleak. But don’t like it. It’s not for your father, it’s for me.’