Absolute Regression
Chapter 43: My Sword is Faster Than the Eye
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TL: FoodieMonster007
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon startled at her arrival. No one had told the Blood Heaven Blade Demon that the Sword Supreme would come today.
"Welcome, Senior. Please, sit here."
The Flower Sword Supreme also seemed unaware the Blood Heaven Blade Demon would be here. She stood stiffly, looking as if she might leave at any moment, so I spoke calmly.
"Today is Elder Blade Demon's birthday. I was taught you should congratulate someone on their birthday, no matter how much you dislike them."
The Flower Sword Supreme couldn't turn back after I said that, so she sat down.
The moment she sat, the atmosphere turned chilly.
"Why did you ask me to come?"
She had apparently interpreted my suggestion for a drink at the Alluring Inn as an invitation for just the two of us.
"Today is a happy occasion, so I called you to celebrate together."
"Next time, call me when you're alone."
Just as she started to rise, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon spat a single remark.
"What in the world are you so dissatisfied about?"
A complaint the Blood Heaven Blade Demon had long suppressed finally erupted.
The Flower Sword Supreme flared up and snapped at him.
"What did you say? What am I dissatisfied about? Are you really asking because you don't know?"
Her emotional sword was drawn far faster than her physical one.
"Yes, I'm asking because I don't know. What in the world are you so angry about?"
"You! It's you!"
"Me? What did I do wrong! That time…"
"Shut up! I said, shut up!"
She grew tense, afraid their past would be revealed. Her anger and tension were palpable.
"You're a selfish idiot."
"What did you say?"
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon shot up from his seat.
"Are you going to swing that brutish dao of yours? Go on, try it. Babble whatever you want like a drunk again!"
The Heaven Destroying Dao in the Blade Demon's hand trembled.
I did not stop them.
I know they won't fight anyway.
An ironclad rule stated that Demon Supremes never fought each other. They might argue, gossip, and have all sorts of internal strife, but they would never engage in a life-or-death duel.
This was a survival principle they had long upheld and the most important reason the Eight Demon Supremes still existed.
"It'll be a while before it becomes a Purple Orb, so please calm down for a moment."
At my words, the Flower Sword Supreme raised her voice sharply.
"Second Young Lord! What the hell are you doing! How little must you think of me to pull a stunt like this?"
Her composure, always maintained with courtesy, finally crumbled.
"Please calm down."
"I can't calm down."
"Let me tell you why I invited the Sword Supreme. Honestly, I need you, Sword Supreme Senior. That's why I hoped you two would reconcile here today. Though I don't know what happened to make you hate each other so much."
The Flower Sword Supreme sighed deeply and tried to regain her usual composure.
"If we could reconcile over a drink, why would we have been on bad terms all this time?"
"You meet again and again until it's resolved. You curse, you pull each other's hair. You keep meeting and fighting until it's resolved."
"Second Young Lord, you're too greedy. I told you clearly on the first day. I can't work together with the Blade Demon."
"Then, Senior, are you confident you can make me the successor all by yourself?"
"I am confident."
"I can't believe you. If the reason you two are on bad terms was public, I would have known, but no one in our Cult knows. It's probably for an extremely personal reason. How can I bet my life on a Senior who can't cast aside personal feelings for a great cause?"
The Flower Sword Supreme's expression twisted. She glared fiercely at me and the Blade Demon, then spun around and left without another word.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon drained his cup and rose from his seat.
"Thanks for the congratulations. You damn bastard!"
"……"
After breaking the table again, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon also stormed out.
I placed money for the table on an adjacent one and smiled at Jo Cheonbae, who stood before the kitchen.
"We'll have to fix that habit of his of breaking things, won't we?"
Jo Cheonbae laughed awkwardly and joked.
"These days, I feel like I'd make more money if I became a carpenter."
I laughed as well and left the inn.
I expected it would turn out like this if those two met.
I have to keep drawing them out. I must make them drag out their buried emotions, clash, curse, and fight. In doing so, I have to make them realize the old resentment eating away at them was nothing special.
I think it's possible. After all, the two of them have lived for a much longer time.
Their reconciliation needed time, but the Flower Sword Supreme would not wait even a single day.
That night, I woke from my sleep.
The Heavenly Demon Defense Art woke me. Sensing a presence outside, I got out of bed, strapped on the Black Demon Sword, and went out.
The person who had woken me stood in the middle of the courtyard.
It was the Flower Sword Supreme.
"As expected. Your skills are no ordinary."
She seemed surprised that I had woken up, even though she had revealed no particular presence.
"I'm a light sleeper."
"Second Young Lord."
"Yes, Senior."
She spoke with her back turned to me.
"Because of you, Second Young Lord, ripples are forming on a calm lake."
Is she referring to our Cult as the lake? Or her own heart?
"I'm still young, so I yearn for a stormy sea more than a calm lake."
"You told me this before, didn't you? That you despise people who try to win the hearts of their subordinates for free with things like dreams and ideals."
"……"
"There's someone I despise, too."
"What kind of person?"
"Someone whose words are slick but whose skills don't back them up."
"Am I that kind of person?"
"Shall we find out whether you are or not?"
With her back still turned, the Flower Sword Supreme slowly drew her sword in a perfect motion. Even though she faced away, I could sense no openings.
Still, I spoke coldly to the Flower Sword Supreme.
"There's another kind of person I dislike."
"Who?" she asked without turning.
"Someone who is strong but lacks consideration. I despise people who use their power to crush others and steer relationships to their advantage. I hate to see them hurt others with their poor imagination."
Demonic qi exploded from the Sword Supreme's body.
"Shut up! I praised you a little, and now your arrogance has gone too far."
She turned to face me. A powerful demonic qi, like a blast of frost, poured from her eyes.
"If I win, what will you do?"
Looking at her, who had come to me as soon as conflict arose, I realized the only way to make her my person was to overwhelm her with skill.
This was a situation where one display of skill was more effective than a hundred political maneuvers. My relationship with the Blade Demon was a problem for later.
For a moment, the Sword Supreme looked at me in disbelief.
"Did you just say 'if you win'?"
"……"
"If you defeat me, Second Young Lord, I'll do whatever you want. If you tell me to die, I'll die."
She bet her own life. It was the confidence of someone who would never lose.
"Very well."
"And if you lose, Second Young Lord, what will you do?"
"I, too, will do as you wish, Senior."
"What I want is simple. Cut the Blade Demon out of your life, Second Young Lord."
Her confidence was natural. She prided herself on being the strongest in martial arts after my father.
"Aren't you curious about what I want?"
"Not at all. It's a story I'll never have to hear."
I slowly drew the Black Demon Sword.
"Then I suppose you'll find out what I want today."
With our swords drawn, we stared at each other in silence.
I know very well how fast a Demon Supreme-level master is. You can't block an attack after seeing it. If your trained instincts fail to function, you die.
It's the same reason lesser martial artists can't block my attacks and die. My sword is invisible to them.
WHOOSH.
A sudden gust of wind stirred the Sword Supreme's hair.
She slightly twisted the tip of her lowered sword. That simple motion changed her aura.
This kind of tension… it has been a while.
"Second Young Lord, although I won't kill you, you should be careful. You could suffer internal injuries."
If this were a life-or-death battle, I would have struck the moment she uttered the words 'be careful'. Such words stem from an arrogance that underestimates the opponent, creating the perfect opportunity.
Of course, since this was not a life-or-death battle, we had the leisure to converse.
"Yes, I'll be careful. However, my sword is the Black Demon Sword, so your sword might be damaged, Senior."
She ignored my concern and went one step further.
"I will grant you three moves, Second Young Lord."
In the past, Seniors granted juniors three moves. That was an old custom. Nowadays, you could not find a Senior who would grant such a concession. In that respect, the Sword Supreme was a person of romance.
"I'll gratefully accept your concession. Well then, this junior will begin."
I was not arrogant, but I did hide one of my skills.
I intend to face her without using the Four Strides of the Wind God. One must always keep a hidden ace. The Flower Sword Supreme will do the same.
My strategy was simple.
Finish it within the three conceded techniques.
I skipped any exploratory exchange and immediately unleashed the Soaring Sky Sword Art, which I had mastered completely.
The First Technique, the Equal Sky Strike, unfolded.
SHIIIIIIK!
A single streak of sword light seemed to slice toward her horizontally.
CLAAAAANG!
Our swords clashed before her chest. I felt her surprise through the blade. The inner arts in my attack must have been greater than she anticipated. The sense of crisis one feels when meeting a true rival was likely making the hair on her body stand on end.
The second attack followed in quick succession.
The Second Technique, the Erratic Sky Strike, scattered a brilliant sword light. The sword transformed twelve times before her eyes. The Sword Supreme retreated, deflecting each attack one by one.
However, on the ninth transformation, she broke her promise.
SHWIIK!
"……"
Her sword flew toward my chest. I twisted my body and struck the attack away with the Black Demon Sword.
The Flower Sword Supreme had broken her promise to concede three moves and had attacked. She couldn't help it. She could not block the continuous transformations of the Erratic Sky Strike with defense alone and ultimately substituted defense with an attack.
"Damn."
Just as the flustered woman was about to make an excuse, I was already launching my third attack. This was my chance. Her mind was shaken, and she was even trying to speak.
The Third Technique, the Dark Sky Strike, flew forth.
SHWAAAAAAK!
"……"
The sound of swords clashing was heard simultaneously with a single shout, words that should never have come from the Sword Supreme's mouth.
"Not the face!"
And then, silence.
My sword stopped right before the Flower Sword Supreme's face. In truth, my sword had stopped before her shout. My sword was faster than her eyes.
Her One Flower Sword, however, had left her hand and was suspended in mid-air.
Our gazes followed the One Flower Sword together as it fell in a parabola. Perhaps the Flower Sword Supreme wished it would never hit the ground.
THUD!
The One Flower Sword stuck into the ground. The trembling sword, with its pure white hilt, looked like a waving white flag.
The Flower Sword Supreme stared blankly at the sight, then slowly turned her gaze to me. Her eyes filled with utter disbelief.
I sincerely hope that her first words would be a string of curses. That a single stone would fall from the dam of aloofness she has built so solidly. That I could glimpse her wounds through that hole…
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