Absolute Regression

Episode 62: Give me what I don’t want to give.

It was unexpected.

He didn’t know that Hyeolcheondoma would ask him if he was going to kill him too.

What should I say? After thinking about it for a while, my answer was this.

“My magic does not break the guest table, nor does it kill my friend.”

For a moment, Hyeolcheondoma could not say anything.

He looked at me with a complicated expression for a moment and then asked softly.

“Am I your friend?”

“yes.”

Even without needing to elaborate, he will know that this was not meant as a normal friend.

“What are you going to do then? I will also tell you comfortably. I will just tell you without paying attention or considering the elderly. I don’t like it for this or that reason. You are so outdated! I’m so sick of it. Where has all that charm gone? Find out! “We will put our heads together and find a way to please each other.”

“What if I can’t find a way? “What if I still don’t change?”

“If it doesn’t change even if you try, you can’t do it. I have to move on from past memories. But you don’t even try? Then we’ll have to fight. “No matter who did something wrong or what you’re dissatisfied with, wouldn’t it make you feel better if you beat each other up?”

Hyeolcheondoma stared at me for a moment and then laughed loudly.

“Ha ha ha ha ha.”

It was the most exhilarating laugh since I met him.

He laughed like that for a while, then suddenly stopped laughing and said to me.

“There is something I should change about what I said to you before.”

“What is it?”

“You said my life was full of bad luck… I don’t think that’s necessarily true.”

At this moment I heard clearly.

The sound of the door of his heart opening a little more.

I will continue to listen to this sound. Hearing the sound of this door opening frequently from many people is the moment I grow, and it will become a weapon as important to me as the Kuhwamagong. Hwamugi, what sound are you hearing right now?

* * *

Late at night, after Hyeolcheon Doma had left, there was an unexpected visitor.

Surprisingly, he was the leader of Pungcheon Church.

“What are you doing so late at night?”

“I came because I have something to tell you.”

“Please come in.”

“I have something to talk about, so come here.”

As the surroundings darkened and then brightened, we found ourselves in a different space. It was the same magic attack that the Soul Mazon had used many times. He also knew about this demonic skill of the blood religion.

The head of Pungcheon looked at me and asked meaningfully.

“How is it? Doesn’t this martial arts technique look familiar?”

The leader of the Pungcheon Church gave him a look telling him to be honest because he knew everything.

“This is my first martial arts experience.”

“I guess not? “Didn’t you see this space when you were fighting the Soul Mazon?”

“What do you mean?”

Then, the expression of the Pungcheon religious leader turned cold.

“You killed the Subsoul Mazon in this space.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I snapped, but he continued to make his confident argument.

“Because he died in the space where the magic of seduction was performed, it looked as if he had died from a poison spell. “You can’t fool my eyes.”

“Do you have any evidence?”

“There is no evidence. I can’t even guess how they did it. “But it’s clear that you killed him.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because you can’t read.”

I was secretly surprised. I never ignored the leader of the Pungcheon Sect, but I never thought he would believe that I killed the Soul Mazon for this reason. This belief comes from the confidence to trust your own intuition.

“You killed the Soul Mazon. “I could die too because I can’t read you.”

“I had no idea that someone wiser than anyone else would make such a misjudgment.”

He really understood me accurately.

“I’m not trying to provoke you, so relax. “Because I don’t want to die in a place like this like the Subsoul Mazon.”

Moreover, he did not overestimate his abilities.

“I’ll say it again, you misunderstand.”

He ignored me and continued talking.

“There must be one reason why Seophon’s hex didn’t work. “He must have learned the Nine Fire Demonic Art.”

“If you are so sure, why didn’t you tell the Magons? There would have been an uproar if my father had told me that he had taught me the Nine Fire Demonic Art without the Magons knowing. “I heard that you have a particularly close relationship with Mabul.”

“Where are your friends in Moorim? We meet because we need it at that time. “I guess the same goes for Mabul?”

“Then what do you need from me?”

“This is my favor. “I came here today to show you not to forget my kindness.”

The moment I heard this, I knew. That a problem has arisen between the Pungcheon cult leader and the Chilmazon. Or maybe they weren’t as close as I thought in the first place.

“Let’s get one thing straight. “So far, the religious leader has not been kind to me.”

“what?”

“It’s not that I won’t tell the Seven Mazon, it’s that I couldn’t tell him. Because there is no evidence. Are you going to go to the Seven Mazon and say this? I can’t read Yi Gongja, so the evil beast is Yi Gongja! “You can’t say that because of your pride.”

“At least I can tell you that it might be you.”

“Then it would be more advantageous for me. That guy’s skills are enough to kill a soul mazon? The sect leader may have already taught the Nine Fire Demonic Techniques? I can’t be sure because I don’t have any evidence, but I can’t treat it carelessly. It will help me control the situation in the future. Instead, you disturbed me.”

“What?”

The Pungcheon religious leader must have not expected this situation and was unable to refute anything.

“Do me a favor and I will gladly accept it. Instead, do yourself a real favor.”

Although he was put on the defensive for a moment, the leader of Pungcheon did not panic. He knew well the lesson of life that no decision should ever be made under unfavorable circumstances.

“Let me see you one more time before I leave.”

The moment he finished speaking, the surroundings changed and he left immediately.

Looking at the back, I smiled. Because this thought came to me first rather than the smell of a conspiracy from him.

‘Our religious leader is willing to come and show us this favor.’

* * *

In the large, ornately decorated room provided by the Heavenly Demon Church, there were only the Pungcheon religious leader, sacred objects, and the shackled man.

“What do you think?”

The shackled man who was sitting like a stone statue in front of the sound bell raised his head towards the Pungcheon religious leader. Words that other people could not even imagine came out of his mouth.

“You idiot, why are you asking me that?”

To swear at the leader of the Pungcheon cult like this was a crime worthy of being torn limb from limb.

However, the leader of Pungcheon smiled and stretched out a finger as if it was a common occurrence.

“You are the only one in the room, so who should I ask?”

“Ask the Shinigami standing behind you. “I wonder when you’ll give up.”

The leader of Pungcheon spread one more finger.

“When I asked, the Shinigami answered like this. “I will die after you die, and unfortunately, you will not see me die.”

“I hope you live a long time, little pig.”

At the man’s insult, the leader of Pungcheon smiled happily as he extended his third finger.

“There are two left!”

The number of swear words or informal language a man could use toward the leader of Pungcheon was limited to five times a day.

Of course, it is not because the Pungcheon religious leader has any taste that he is happy when he hears criticism. It wasn’t because the man wearing these shackles had a better sense of smell than anyone else.

The reason the Pungcheon cult leader spares the man despite his extreme rudeness is because he is smarter than anyone else. I didn’t know at first. I never thought this man would be this smart.

But I learned it after spending a long time in one room. A man’s true value is not his ability to smell, but his excellent judgment and intelligence.

From the day he found out that he was smarter than the soldiers of Pungcheongyo, the real soldier of Pungcheongyo became a shackled man.

I listened to advice while swearing. Most of his advice was accurate and paid dividends over time.

The Pungcheon religious leader did not try to make the man compliant by causing him pain. This is because the shackled man had no great regrets in life and knew that if pressure was applied to him, he would gladly choose death.

Although he was a man with no regrets in life, he did not commit suicide. One day, the leader of Pungcheon asked the reason, but he never said a word about it.

“Why do I feel so bad?”

“Would you like it to be like you?”

The man held the shackles in his hands and shook them as he watched the Pungcheon cult leader spread his fourth finger. A clanging sound echoed throughout the room.

When the leader of the Pungcheon Church flicked his finger once, the surroundings darkened and then became bright, changing the location. It was a green field.

There, the leader of Pungcheon freed the man from his shackles. The key to unlock the shackles was worn by the head of Pungcheon around his neck.

As the shackles were removed, the man’s expression also relaxed.

Once free, the man ran around frantically like a puppy on a snowy day, then looked at the sky and lay down.

The leader of Pungcheon came and looked down at him lying down.

“You big-headed cult leader, won’t you get out of the way? “It covers the sky!”

“It’s a fake sky.”

The leader of Pungcheon extended his fifth and final finger.

After all five opportunities were used up, the man’s tone changed to polite.

“Sir, I miss that fake so much. Please move out of the way.”

His attitude changed in an instant, as if he was acting.

The leader of Pungcheon stepped aside and asked.

“I followed your advice and showed favor to Prince Lee. “But he asked for a more specific favor.”

The man was looking up at the sky. His eyes, seen through his flowing hair, were clearer than ever.

“Will Lee Gongja really be the successor?”

“I heard that Gongja Lee killed the Suphonmazon?”

“Are you sure.”

“If such a person cannot be the successor, then who will? Now, a young man who is only about 20 years old cannot kill the Subsoul Mazon.”

“It’s a great skill, but…”

“Are you afraid? Are you afraid that Lee Gongja will kill the religious leader too?”

If someone else had said this, their head would have been blown off on the spot. However, the leader of the Pungcheon Church obediently nodded.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared. “Who can’t kill the guy who killed the Mazon?”

At some point, the leader of the Pungcheon Church had been having an open conversation with the shackled man.

“There is another reason to catch Lee Gongja.”

“Something?”

“Doesn’t the Heavenly Demon Cult leader know that it was Lee Gongja who killed the Subhonmazon?”

“Know?”

“Of course you know. Cheonma of his time was an extraordinary person. He is a person with big dreams. Why does such a person seem to be quiet until now?”

“Why is that?”

“Think! “Don’t just waste your time on rice!”

“Wasn’t that just a swear word?”

“It wasn’t. “He just had a loud voice.”

“Be careful.”

“Of course. “I was telling you to think about it.”

“I don’t like it. It’s up to you to think. “If I even thought about it, there’s no reason for you to be alive, right?”

The man looked at the leader of the Pungcheon Church and showed an expression of blatant annoyance. Still, the words spoken were polite.

“When an extraordinary person is silent, it means that they are preparing for something.”

“United Jungwon?”

“I don’t know that far. In any case, this incident must have been ordered by the Heavenly Demon or something he knew about but pretended not to notice. Among the Palm Majons, the Seophonmazon was the most picky person in the Murim League. Just like the people of Central Plains are afraid of their religious leader. Yet, he allowed his son to kill the Soul Mazon? This is because Cheonma decided to replace the Palmazons one by one. “Where do you think the Heavenly Demon will hit after replacing Palmazon with its own limbs?”

“We all?”

“The Heavenly Demon of our time will not leave us behind and go to war with the Murim Alliance. “They will either push us into the vanguard or eliminate us and start a war.”

“shit!”

“A wind of change is blowing in the Heavenly Demon Church. If you can’t feel the wind, you’ll fall. The soul mazon was confined to another world and died because it could not feel the wind. We must decide whether to hide behind the wall called Palmazon and avoid the wind, or hide behind the wall called Cheonma.”

“What are your thoughts?”

“Cheonma wins.”

“The reason is?”

“Geom Woo-jin, that great person would never have started a fight he had no chance of winning. So, definitely stick with the engineer. “First, win his favor by giving him a gift.”

The leader of the Pungcheon Church nodded.

“What should I give you?”

“Give me what I hate the most. That’s how we live. “Okay, no more advice!”

The man lying down shouted.

“Stop interfering and get back!”

Because this was the only place where the man felt free, he shouted while looking at the fake sky.

“AA AA AA!”

Unlike the man who was trying to relieve his frustration in this way, the leader of Pungcheon was lost in other thoughts with his back turned.

After a while, the Pungcheon religious leader decided what to give and spoke to the man.

“So far!”

The created space began to disappear.

The embarrassed man jumped up and shouted.

“It’s not possible! please! little bit more! “You damn bastard! No!”

Despite the heartbreaking cries that even broke the rules, the man’s freedom disappeared along with the green fields.