Absolute Regression

Song Sa-hyuk was passed out, completely insensible. He had drunk so much that he didn’t even realize I had arrived.

“Great Drunken Demon, Great Drunken Demon!”

No matter how many times I called him, and kicked him, he didn’t wake up. At times like this, he was nothing more than a drunkard.

I picked up the Great Drunken Demon and threw him into the lake.

Splash!

…….

Even after a long while, he didn’t come out of the water.

…………..

“Ah fuck, I really can’t take this, I can’t live like this!”

The Great Drunken Demon was sinking to the bottom of the lake like a corpse. I pulled him back up to the surface.

“Get a grip!”

Finally, the Great Drunken Demon opened his eyes and recognized me.

“Young Master?”

I climbed back onto the boat first. Song Sa-hyuk remained floating on the water, staring up at the sky.

“Aren’t you coming up?”

“I’ll stay here.”

“Are you a rebellious youth? This is unbearable. It’s only because you have a good-looking face that I tolerate you.”

“Stop looking at my handsome face and just give me some liquor.”

“Now you’re going to show me the trick of drinking while lying in the water? Which martial art technique is this from the Great Drunken Demon?”

When I didn’t give him any liquor, he reached out his hand. The liquor from the small boat flew into his hand with Void Telekinesis. He drank while lying down.

“The rumors are true, aren’t they?”

The Great Drunken Demon didn’t respond.

“What exactly happened?”

As if he didn’t want to answer, Song Sa-hyuk swam away from the boat while still lying down.

I rowed to follow him.

“You said you were going to reconcile, but you ended up dueling? Are you picking a fight with me? Come out, let’s settle this.”

“It’s not because of me. It’s because of that old man. He threw away the liquor I gave him as a gift. And he did it right in the front yard.”

The Great Drunken Demon, sensitive to the smell, had noticed the discarded liquor. Things had gone wrong from the start.

“And do you know what that old man said to me?”

Song Sa-hyuk sat up. He placed the empty bottle beneath him and sat on it. Neither the bottle nor the Great Drunken Demon sank.

“He said, ‘Is it good to escape reality by being drunk? You’re the most pathetic among the Demon Supremes.’ So I replied, ‘Isn’t there a senior who escapes reality without even being drunk? Who’s more pathetic?’”

“Both of you are like children. How very mature.”

“He started it!”

“So what?”

“I was going to let it go. But then he made a direct comparison.”

“He compared you with the Evil Smiling Demon.”

The Great Drunken Demon nodded, imitating the voice of the Gu Cheonpa

“You’re worse than the Masked One. The Masked One only hides his face, not his heart.”

His mimicry was so spot-on that if I closed my eyes, it would really sound like old man Blade was speaking right in front of me.

“Who’s he comparing me to? That too, with that Soma! I almost blew my top.”

“And then?”

“What do you mean ‘and then’? I fired back in anger. I told him that at least I was better than a timid person who suffers for a lifetime over a single woman.” 1

I shook my head, indicating my exasperation.

“You didn’t just touch his reverse scale; you ripped it off entirely.”

“Is he a dragon with reverse scales, and I’m just a fish with scales? He provoked me first!”

Splash, the Great Drunken Demon went back underwater. He stayed down for a while, reaching the bottom before coming back up.

With only his head above water, I asked him, “Just go and apologize. Hold your tongue if he curses at you. If you apologize, he won’t challenge you to a fight.”

“No. He should be the one to apologize.” 2

“Then you’ll have to fight.”

“I don’t want that either!”

“Then what do you propose?”

“I don’t know.”

The Great Drunken Demon swam away again. I didn’t chase him and rowed in the opposite direction. Then he swam back towards me.

“The reason I don’t want to fight that old man is because of you.”

“Because of me?”

Then, unexpectedly, he said, “If I fight him, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon you care so much about will die.”

I rowed faster, leaving him behind with a serious expression.

“I don’t believe the words of a drunk.”

From behind, I heard Song Sa-hyuk’s voice. “He’ll die, I’m telling you!”

“Alright, sober up and wait here. I’ll go see the Blade Demon. If you’re still drunk when I return, you’ll be the one to die!”

Leaving the Great Drunken Forest, I headed straight for Gu Cheonpa.

He was training as usual. Though his techniques were more intense and violent than usual. Judging by the atmosphere, it felt like the night before a decisive battle.

“Why are you training so hard just to catch one drunkard?”

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon sheathed his saber and sat on a rock in the yard. He was drenched in sweat.

“What happens if the unwritten rule of not fighting among the Demon Supremes is broken?” 3

“Nothing happens.”

“Are there no sanctions?”

“None.”

“Then why does the unwritten rule remain unbroken?”

“Because everyone knows that one of them will surely die. The chances of dying in the fight are high, and even if one doesn’t die at the hands of the other, the loser’s life as a Demon Supreme is over. Who would follow a leader who lost to another Demon Supreme?”

“Knowing that, are you still planning to duel?”

“Why? Are you worried I’ll lose my position as a Demon Supreme?”

“You’ve lived as a Demon Supreme your whole life; it wouldn’t be easy to live as an ordinary demonic cultivator.”

Then Gu Cheonpa said something unexpected.

“Do you think I’m foolish enough to risk my position because of that sly guy?”

“Then why do you want to fight?”

“For your sake.”

Both of them were saying they were doing it for me. One said he wouldn’t fight for my sake, and the other said he would fight for my sake.

“He’s being kind to me all of a sudden, obviously because of you. You must have told him to reconcile, right? So, I deliberately provoked him.”

“The Great Drunken Demon mentioned Senior So Yeonrang.”

“So what? Everyone thinks the Sword Supreme is my great weakness, but that’s not true. At my age, I can even use my weaknesses.” 4

“So you challenged him intentionally, not out of anger.”

“Yes. I thought you could use this duel. With such a problem arising, you would naturally get involved. Wouldn’t it be easier for you to use him this way?”

“You thought that far ahead?”

“Did I misjudge?”

“No, you did well.”

“This time, I’ll follow your lead. If you say fight, I’ll fight. If you say don’t fight, I won’t. This is not my fight, but yours.”

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon had seen through the essence of the matter. I was the one who had tried to reconcile them, and now I was the one trying to mediate. From the beginning, he understood that this problem was between me and the Great Drunken Demon. He probably even anticipated that I would come to him.

“Don’t expect me to reconcile with him. But I understand that you need him. If it were anyone else, I’d dissuade you, but I believe you can even handle that sly guy. I’m trusting you, not that suspicious Great Drunken Demon. So use this opportunity to get him under control.”

Suddenly, I realized that I shouldn’t lose any fight in the future. How could I lose when I have someone like him by my side?

So many things I wanted to say came to mind, but I swallowed them all.

“Thank you very much.”

I bowed respectfully and turned to leave. As I was leaving, Gu Cheonpa spoke softly from behind.

“I should repay the cost of the medicinal tonic you gave me.”

It’s not just a tonic; you’re giving me an elixir.

* * *

“You must not have wanted to die.”

By the time I arrived, the Great Drunken Demon had sobered up, changed into fresh clothes, and was waiting at the Tower of Drunken Dreams.

“What did that old man say? Though you’d probably take his side.”

“It doesn’t matter what the Blood Heaven Blade Demon said.”

“What? Why? Did he badmouth me again? He did, didn’t he?”

“This is a matter between you and me. This situation arose because I asked you to reconcile with the Blade Demon.”

“I tried my best.”

“Through this incident, I’ve come to understand that reconciliation between the two of you is impossible. Ultimately, this is an issue between you and me. We need to resolve it ourselves.”

“How do you propose we resolve it?”

I placed the bottle of liquor I had brought in front of us.

Song Sa-hyuk looked surprised and asked, “By drinking?”

“Let’s drink until we drop. What snacks do we have?”

The Great Drunken Demon, who had been staring at me in a daze, burst out laughing. It was the most hearty laugh I had ever heard from him.

“Good, that’s the spirit. This is why I like you, Young Master!”

The Great Drunken Demon called out to Lyu Bin.

“Bring the liquor. Bring all the best liquor I’ve saved!”

We started drinking together.

It reminded me of the first unrestricted fight I had with my father.

This drinking session was no different. Until now, I had been careful not to make any mistakes while drinking. But today, I just drank. Again and again and again. I reverted to the days when I drowned in liquor as a wanderer.

“You drink well. How did you hold back all this time?”

“There can’t be two Great Drunken Demons in our sect, can there?”

Song Sa-hyuk laughed heartily at my words. When I decided to drink in earnest, he was overjoyed.

Drinking in this pavilion had a different charm than on the boat.

The Great Drunken Demon talked about everything, from stories of his youthful escapades with women to gossip about other Demon Supremes.

I, too, opened up about my childhood, the times my brother bullied me, and stories about my father.

As we drank more, we grew increasingly intoxicated.

Although I drank boldly, my tolerance couldn’t match the Great Drunken Demon’s. He drank twice as much as I did, and twice faster too.

“Ah, now I understand why you jump into the lake.”

I jumped into the lake too. After swimming a lap and getting out, I felt somewhat revived.

“That lake is my snack.”

“I’ll drink slowly from now on.”

“Stop drinking. You’ve had enough already.”

“Do you know what the best thing about you is? You never force anyone to drink.”

“If that’s the coolest thing about me, what will we do?”

“What do you mean ‘if’? It’s incredibly cool. Especially coming from you, that’s what makes it truly awesome. Ah, I’m getting drunk.”

I sprawled out on the ground.

Despite my rudeness, the Great Drunken Demon didn’t scold me. He kept drinking, and I lay there listening to his stories. Some might find it unbearable, given how much he bragged about himself. But I didn’t find his boasting annoying; honestly, it was entertaining.

As we continued drinking, I proposed to him.

“How about an arm wrestling match?”

“Arm wrestling? Using internal energy?”

“Of course not. A man-to-man contest, what do you say?”

“Sounds good. But let’s make it interesting—let’s place a bet. The winner gets a wish granted.”

“A wish over just an arm wrestle?”

“This is a true contest. Imagine our Cult Leader, the leader of the Martial Alliance, and the leader of the Unorthodox Alliance, all coming together for a showdown. An arm wrestling match to decide the fate of the martial world! Martial artists would love something like that.” 5

“Alright. But take a dip in the water first, so you won’t use the excuse that you lost because you were drunk later.”

“It’s fine. I can handle someone like you!”

We cleared the table and got ready for the match. How could he expect to beat the strength of my youth? As I began to overpower him, I felt him subtly using his internal energy.

“I knew it! You sly drunkard!”

I started using my internal energy too.

The Great Drunken Demon then fully engaged his internal energy. Was all the liquor he drank turning into internal energy? His power was unexpectedly strong. His claim that he could kill the Blood Heaven Blade Demon didn’t seem like mere boasting.

But he couldn’t beat my internal strength. Today, I was hiding neither my drinking capacity nor my internal energy.

Bang!

The table broke as the match ended. 6

“Retribution on the cowardly drunkard! I won!”

I jumped up from my seat and bounced around like a child.

“This doesn’t count. You applied force first at the start! I drank more than you! Let me dip into the water and let’s have an official match!”

There was no way his excuse of using internal energy first would hold.

Ignoring his words, I leaned against the railing. The sunset, which had just begun, was painting the world entirely red. As I gazed at the scene, I shared my inner thoughts with the Great Drunken Demon. I spoke to the red-tinted lake because I couldn’t say these words directly to him.

“Everyone says you’re sly and suspicious, but I’m enjoying drinking with you.”

“!”

“You know those kinds of people, right? The ones everyone else finds unremarkable, but you find them good. That’s what you are to me. I liked your bragging, your bluster, and even the occasional empty look in your eyes. That’s why I was anxious. What was your real intention in approaching me? Honestly, I didn’t care if it was a selfish intent. Who doesn’t have secrets or selfish plans? It was all fine. But I hoped for just one thing: Please let it be something I can understand. Please let it not be something that prevents us from being drinking buddies.”

Song Sa-hyuk’s eyes wavered, sensing that I was speaking from my heart.

“Our Young Master has a serious drinking habit. When he’s drunk, he speaks his mind.”

I finally looked at him directly and said, “Brother.”

The Great Drunken Demon’s eyes widened in surprise. He was genuinely taken aback.

“From today, let’s call each other brothers. That’s my wish.”

“Why, when you’ve won?”

“Because it’s something I wanted too.”

There’s a certain shock and passion that come from unexpected emotion. It was all reflected in the Great Drunken Demon’s expression.

“You… really are a madman.” 7

“I hear that from everyone, including you, now. Since I hear it from all the Demon Supremes, I must be one.”

“That subtle madness is scarier.”

The Great Drunken Demon adjusted his posture, grabbed a cup, and poured me a drink.

“Little brother, take this drink.”

“Yes, brother.”

I drank the liquor he offered. Then I poured him a drink, and he drank it.

“Don’t be too moved. While it’s true that I’m drawn to you, I also need to become the successor. So, it’s only half genuine. The other half is filled with liquor. Now, I’ll take my leave.”

As I was about to stand up, feeling awkward, Song Sa-hyuk suddenly spoke.

“It’s because of me.”

I was caught off guard by his words.

“The rift between the Blood Heaven Blade Demon and the Sword Supreme is because of me.”

As I looked at him in shock, he confessed something even more surprising.

“I sowed discord between them.” 8

1 : OUCH. At this point, I’m surprised he didn’t attack you on the spot.

2 : I can totally see his pouting face.

3 : MC speaking

4 : Impressive !!! Good job, it still must have been hard with your temperament.

5 : It would be super cool indeed, and it would reduce unnecessary deaths… But they would be too stubborn to obey the results.

6 : F for the poor table. Then again, he was drunk, it was an unfortunate accident.

7 : The legendary catchphrase…

8 : DUN DUN DUN *dramatic reveal*

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