Absolute Regression

The Lord of Hell opened the Kill List.

Then, he took out a small vial filled with blood, dipped his brush into it, and wrote my name next to Evil Smiling Demon’s name.

The previously half-crazed eyes of the Lord of Hell changed. It seemed like he had returned to normal, or perhaps he had descended into complete madness.

“Since our names are written together, we’ll die together as well.”

Soma laughed at my words.

At our calmness, the eldest of the Three Blood-Red Armies, who had been examining the Enchantress of Extreme Bliss’s corpse, suddenly shouted angrily.

“You bastards! Stop laughing!”

He stood up and glared at me coldly.

“Yohee has never failed a soul-reaping technique, not even once. So how did this happen?”

“Stop spouting nonsense!”

He was truly furious. And I could feel it. His anger was deeply personal. It seemed that the second and third of the Three Blood-Red Armies were right to call the Enchantress of Extreme Bliss their sister-in-law.

The eldest then turned to Soma and spoke.

“You knew, didn’t you? That this young master wouldn’t be defeated.”

Of course, he believed in me.

The Evil Smiling Demon looked at me. Our gazes intertwined in the air as we exchanged messages.

—Now, confess with your own mouth. Say you killed the Soul Reaper Demon Supreme. 1

—I’ve never done such a thing.

—Someday, you’ll admit it.

The eyes of Soma behind the mask were smiling. The sight of us calmly smiling at each other enraged the eldest of the Three Blood-Red Armies.

“Fine, laugh all you want. Laugh as you descend into hell.”

I spoke to the eldest of the Three Blood-Red Armies.

“Did he tell you that he was setting you up? That Soma-nim and I killed the Sword Emperor Baek Mang-gi?”

“What?”

Not only the eldest but also the other villains present were shocked. They knew there was no guarantee they could kill Sword Emperor Baek Mang-gi even if they attacked together. Moreover, now that the Enchantress of Extreme Bliss was dead.

“He didn’t believe you could kill us. He only used you to injure us or deplete our internal energy.”

The remaining villains looked at each other. This time, I didn’t give them a chance to strategize through voice transmission.

I spoke to the Blood Wolf Blade.

“Blood Wolf Blade, I ask for a duel to the death.”

I returned the exact words he had once said to Soma.

“You said you’ve spent your life searching for the strong, right? Well, here stands the person you’ve been looking for.”

I spoke to the Evil Smiling Demon as I drew the Black Demon Sword.

“Anyone who interferes with this duel, please kill them.”

Originally, this fight should have been conceded to Soma. However, this was a situation where no variables could be allowed. We had to deal with them with as few injuries as possible and leave this place. The real enemy was waiting for us outside.

The Evil Smiling Demon also understood my intentions, so he readily conceded the fight to me.

“I will.”

Even though there were four left besides the Blood Wolf Blade, Soma responded confidently.

The most bewildered person in this situation was the Blood Wolf Blade. After witnessing how I absorbed the Enchantress of Extreme Bliss’s internal energy, he was undoubtedly feeling fearful. The momentum was in my favor, and I pressed him further.

“If you were truly searching for someone strong, could you have survived until now? If that was truly your intention, why didn’t you seek out the leader of the Martial Alliance? Why didn’t you come looking for my father?” 2

“……”

“You don’t want to fight me, do you? But you’ve spent your entire life forcing people who didn’t want to fight into battles. Now, see how it feels.”

As soon as I finished speaking, I charged toward the Blood Wolf Blade.

The Blood Wolf Blade drew his saber.

Although the momentum was against him at the start of the fight, the Blood Wolf Blade was no fraud. His saber technique was fast, precise, and powerful.

His saber came at me with such force it seemed it would shatter my sword.

When our blades clashed, there was no sound of metal ringing, but rather the explosive sound of thunder. With both of us infusing our weapons with internal energy, it was a battle of pure strength. His saber carried the weight of the shame I had inflicted by striking a nerve.

He struck, struck, and struck again.

He drove at me like a madman. If it had been any other martial artist, their sword or wrist would have broken by now.

But I blocked, blocked, and blocked again.

Through the clashing of our blades, I could see his expression changing with every moment. The confidence he had when he launched his initial attack gradually shifted to anxiety. His wrist must have started to ache by now.

The tide of the battle was beginning to turn.

Now, it was my turn to strike. The Black Demon Sword began to strike down on his saber. It wasn’t a flashy exchange of techniques, but a raw contest of internal energy that he had intended.

I swung my sword so swiftly that he couldn’t evade or counter with another technique.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

As the heavy sounds of impact continued, a dreadful scream was mixed within them.

“Aaaargh!”

His wrist, overwhelmed by my internal energy, had snapped.

But my sword didn’t stop.

In the next strike, his saber, unable to withstand the force, broke. In the following strike, his body was slashed vertically, a long, deep cut.

“Isn’t this the life you wanted? To fight stronger opponents and die in battle.”

Yet, I saw it. In his final moments, the resentment and regret reflected in his eyes. Yes, it’s easy to say, but truly living that kind of life is no simple feat.

The Blood Wolf Blade collapsed forward, blood spraying in a straight line from the crown of his head down to his navel. He spent his life forcing others into fights, and in the end, died in the same way he had lived.

The Lord of Hell and the Three Blood-Red Armies silently watched this scene. It was partly because of the Evil Smiling Demon, but also because they couldn’t find an opportunity to intervene in this brutal contest of strength.

They probably didn’t expect the Blood Wolf Blade to lose to me, and so fast too. After all, overpowering fights with brute force was the Blood Wolf Blade’s specialty.

I turned to the Lord of Hell once more.

“Did you write it down? The Blood Wolf Blade’s name too?”

Despite the Blood Wolf Blade dying right before his eyes, he showed no fear.

“There wasn’t enough space after I wrote down your name.”

As he stepped forward to face me, the eldest of the Three Blood-Red Armies stopped him.

“Madman. Your opponent is over there.”

The eldest of the Three Blood-Red Armies was determined to kill me and avenge the Enchantress of Extreme Bliss.

I lowered my blood-drenched sword and walked toward them. Naturally, Soma took on the Lord of Hell.

“Did you write your own name down in advance?” the Evil Smiling Demon asked mockingly

The Lord of Hell shouted in a resounding voice.

“I am the messenger sent by the King of Hell. The King of Hell is looking for you!”

Boom! Crash!

The Lord of Hell’s palm strike collided with the Evil Smiling Demon’s Frantic Demonic Palm.

The resulting shockwave sent fierce winds toward us, signaling the beginning of my fight with the Three Blood-Red Armies.

All three of them charged at me simultaneously.

The eldest aimed his sword at my face, the second at my chest, and the third at my legs.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

I deflected their incoming blades almost simultaneously. I was fast. No, I had to be fast. Their attacks were so swift that if I wasn’t, at least one of them would have landed a strike.

The direction of their thrusts kept changing. This time, the eldest aimed for my chest, the second for my abdomen, and the third for my face. Then, it changed again.

It seemed like their attack order had been set through countless drills and experiences. This coordinated assault was a perfect combination, meticulously crafted with a deep understanding of the opponent’s psychology. Truly, if it hadn’t been me, I would have been stabbed several times by their relentless attacks.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

I kept getting pushed back, parrying their attacks.

Then, I found an opening and launched a counterattack.

When the Black Demon Sword thrust toward the eldest, the second defended with him, while the third attempted to stab me.

These three fought as if, despite having three bodies, they shared a single mind. It was like battling a monster with three heads and six arms. They were far more challenging than the Blood Wolf Blade I had faced earlier. I was certain now—of the four villains that came today, these three were the most difficult to deal with. 3

Four swords intertwined, clashing above and below. It was a battle where no mistakes were allowed.

I had no intention of dragging out this fight. That’s when I recalled a method I had never used until now.

Just as they pressed their attack on me.

Whoosh.

The second, startled, frantically looked around. Suddenly, the eldest and the third had disappeared, and it was just the two of us standing in the middle of a field.

I had used the Temporal and Spatial Transference Technique to transport only the second to a new space.

To the remaining eldest and third, it would have seemed as if we had simply vanished in an instant.

The second shouted at me.

“Is this an illusion? How cowardly!”

“Well, by your standards, a one-on-one fight must be cowardly, right?” 4

I charged at him. If they couldn’t kill me together, there was no way he could handle me alone.

Meanwhile, the eldest and third were outside, anxiously looking around.

If only the second had disappeared, it might have made sense, but now even he had vanished.

At that moment, the second’s corpse appeared as if dropped from the sky. The third was caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the second’s body.

Swish! Thud!

The Black Demon Sword pierced the third’s heart through the second’s armpit. For someone of their skill, it was a death that came too easily, but I was the one who had seamlessly applied the Temporal and Spatial Transference Technique in battle.

Without even a chance to scream, the third also fell.

I expected the eldest to lose his mind and charge at me like a madman.

But instead, he chose to flee. He tried to escape by breaking through the inn’s wall, but in a flash, I blocked his path using the Divine Lightning Step.

Startled, he turned and ran the other way, throwing the corpse of the Enchantress of Extreme Bliss at me. To think he had been trying to kill me to avenge her just a few seconds ago. 5

“Even if you’re in a rush, this is just too much, don’t you think?”

“Shut up, you bastard!”

Realizing that the battle was already lost, he resorted to a desperate frenzy to survive. He screamed and swung his sword like a madman. But his frantic struggle was futile.

Not even five moves had passed before…

Thud!

The Black Demon Sword pierced his heart, and in an even swifter motion, I severed his wrist.

Thump.

The severed hand dropped to the ground, still clutching a pouch. It was a poison pouch he had intended to throw at me. As he was being stabbed, he had planned to poison me, aiming for a mutual death.

I had always known these men were vicious. But I couldn’t help but think that their end had come far too late. After a lifetime of committing all sorts of evil deeds, it was only now, in their twilight years, that they were meeting their demise. If I hadn’t regressed, they wouldn’t have even died here.

Isn’t this too unfair? No wonder people lament that even the heavens are indifferent. 6

By the time my fight was over, Soma had also finished his battle.

The Lord of Hell was already dead, his forehead pierced by the Blood Disaster Finger, his face buried in his own Kill List. Blood from his wound soaked the pages.

“He spent his life pretending to be the King of Hell’s messenger, but if the King of Hell saw him, he’d probably say, ‘Who are you? When did I ever send you?’”

The Evil Smiling Demon laughed and asked me, “Are you unharmed?”

“I’m fine. How about you, Soma-nim?”

“I’m fine as well.”

Even though it seemed like we had won easily, these were opponents where it wouldn’t have been surprising if one of us had died.

But we handled it well, and once again, we survived another dangerous ordeal. Somehow, unintentionally, I keep crossing life-and-death situations with him.

“You’ve gotten stronger since the last time I saw you. Just how strong are you planning to get?”

“I intend to go all the way.”

“At this rate, once you master the Nine Calamities Demon Art, there won’t be anyone left who can stand against you.”

I sincerely hoped that would be the case. I truly wished that no one would be able to stand against me. 7

Before leaving, I placed some money on the counter at the inn’s entrance. It was enough to repair the damaged inn and replace the broken furniture. It was for the innkeeper, who had likely fled by now. After all, today’s events were probably forced upon him.

“It seems this appearance no longer looks strange to you.”

“As you know, the Demonic Path I pursue doesn’t involve smashing tables.”

“Do you think we can become good people?”

“I don’t wish for us to become good people.”

“Then what?”

“At the very least, we should protect what must be protected. Only after becoming human first can there be the Demonic Path, the Righteous Path, and even the Unorthodox Path. That’s all I wish for.” 8

Soma silently gazed at me for a moment. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking as he looked at me, but one thing was certain—he was gradually getting used to the kind of person I was.

“Let’s go.”

“Sure.”

We walked out of the inn together.

Outside, the street was completely empty—no passersby at all.

A man wearing a white mask stood in front of us.

Though he was merely standing there, his presence was overwhelming. It was a presence no less than that of the Sword Emperor, Baek Mang-gi.

I could tell that this man was the one who had been pretending to be the Evil Smiling Demon and was also the mastermind behind this trap.

“Have you forgotten your manners now that you’ve been associating with the demonic?”

Soma looked at him with a complicated expression for a moment before speaking in a calm tone.

“Greetings, Elder Brother.” 9

This was someone I knew as well. He was Yang Cheogi, the senior brother of the Evil Smiling Demon. Before my regression, when I had established a relationship with the Evil Smiling Demon, he had mentioned this elder to me.

Yang Cheogi gave an order to Soma.

“Remove your mask.”

1 : Can’t say he’s not dedicated ^^

2 : You coward~~

3 : Zorro, is that you ?

4 : Heh, true, a pot calling the kettle back ^^

5 : Whoa, cold. Then again, it IS a good strategy to flee and obtain revenge later, just not effective against monsters like Mugeuk. Still, love dies so fast…

6 : Old man Heavens is overworked, gotta take a bit of his burden to clean up this world.

7 : It sure would make his life easier XDXDXD

8 : Necessary Evil, Laws, and…. Neutrality ? Unorthodox are really hard to put in a case compared to the other two.

9 : AHAH !!! I knew it would be a martial brother !!!

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!