Absolute Regression

Episode 184: What kind of person is Gwonma?

“You seem to be in a good mood.”

Mabul smiled and responded to Geommuyang’s words.

“I guess it’s because I brought good news.”

Mabul acted brighter and more lively than usual.

“I don’t think you need to worry about the horse. “We clearly stated that we support Confucius.”

Even though it was good news, Geommuyang’s expression did not brighten.

“Grand Duke, I will tell you something frankly. I know that the Archduke has been disappointed in me recently. There were things I tried to do well, but things didn’t go as planned. “I apologize to Confucius.”

Mabul apologized sincerely without any pretense. It was an extension of the emotions I felt while watching the sword dance performance I was practicing martial arts in earlier.

I thought that if I continued like this, I would not be able to win the sword dance. He decided that change was needed and that it had to start with him.

“no. “I am the one who should apologize.”

Mabul felt something from Geommuyang’s reaction. Geommuyang was embarrassed and doubting his own words.

Geommuyang is a person who tries to see the other side from the other side. A person who listens to what the other person says at least once. He is now doubting his sincerity.

If it were yesterday, Mabul would have been angry at this reaction. It must have reminded him of the rift between him and Geommuyang.

But it didn’t happen. Now I’m going to admit it. This is the essence of a person named Geommuyang. If you don’t like this, you have to leave.

Geommuyang spoke calmly, perhaps knowing how Mabul felt.

“When I returned to school, I think I was embarrassed because Mugeuk had grown so much more than I thought. The Mugeuk I knew was a young wolf, but when he came back, he had turned into a big tiger. Out of that nervousness, I committed rudeness to Mabul several times. sorry.”

Geommuyang lowered her head.

Mabul’s heart was relieved. This was enough.

He decided to feel that the gold between him and Geommuyang was not a risk of breaking and falling, but rather a sign for a better relationship in the future. Rather, it was a gold to look at and gain strength when you were sad and having a hard time.

“The Grand Duke is also a tiger. So don’t be afraid and roar to your heart’s content. “I will protect you.”

“Thank you.”

Mabul was gaining strength.

Yes, this is how it should be when we approach someone. Just as Geommugeuk talks to him without hesitation, he too must approach Geommuyang with great strides. That way, no matter how this incident ends, you won’t regret it.

Mabul’s eyes looked out the window.

“The moonlight is really nice today.”

But Geommuyang’s eyes were never able to enjoy that good moonlight.

‘It can’t go on like this.’

Mabulo, whose eyes became moist as he looked at the moonlight, thought that he could not win the sword dance.

‘If you truly care for me, you should not praise me as a tiger but bring a trap to catch the tiger over there.’

I can’t believe that they are taking such leisure in a situation where even if they use all kinds of tactics, they are not enough, and when they need to resort to any irrational moves or tricks.

It’s because they’re not as desperate as you. If you lose the succession battle, the only one who dies is you.

Because the two people’s hearts were different, today’s moonlight was also different. The soft, warm, yet cold and lonely moonlight was shining on the two people.

* * *

I was raising my fist alone in the moonlit gymnasium.

Through his training so far, he has perfectly mastered even the herbivorous skills taught by Jeok-kwon. Although they were difficult, it still felt easy to me, like the basics of martial arts. However, because the basics had to be strong, I invested all my time in honing my fighting skills from the moment I first trained.

At that time, Gwonma walked there.

As the shadow fell on his face with his back to the moon, Gwonma really looked like an evil spirit.

“Aren’t you scared of me?”

“How can you not be scared when you see that face?”

“It’s not that I’m not scary, it’s that they take me easy.”

“Do you like it when others see you as scary? “It’s probably something you’ve experienced your whole life.”

The horse walked slowly and came right in front of me.

He put his face in front of me. This was my first time seeing his face so close. It’s a face that really looks like the devil was born in this world.

“What does it look like up close?”

I felt this way for the first time while looking at Mazon’s face.

“You look tired.”

“!”

“What on earth makes the Mazon of the Heavenly Demon Church so tired? Are you Tekken? Or is it that cliff? Or is there something else?”

At that moment, Gwonma’s eyes trembled slightly. I’m sure I’ve never had anyone ask me this directly. Because my father, as well as my fellow Mazons, did not treat the Mazons carelessly.

“I guess I’ve tricked all the Mazons like this, but it won’t work on me.”

The comment that he looked tired must have touched his emotions.

“As I said, I don’t even want that in the first place. “I have something else to wish for.”

“Something?”

“Teach me martial arts. Learning martial arts is so much fun. “I’m so excited and excited that I can’t sleep.”

I meant what I said. Maybe it’s because I’ve been practicing swordsmanship my whole life. This may be because he mastered the Bicheon Sword Technique to the Twelve Stars. This may be because of the great success of Poongsinsabo. It was a martial law that came to me as if it were fate at exactly this time.

“Please teach me. “I want to fight you with the fighting skills you taught me!”

“!”

“I want to defeat Master Kwon with that martial arts technique.”

At that moment, energy waves poured out from the horse’s body. Gwonma’s prayer was like the wind. It was a prayer where I couldn’t open my eyes because of the strong wind and my mind went blank due to the fear of flying somewhere.

The Heavenly Demon’s self-defense skills were naturally displayed and the self-defense strength of the sword was raised to meet his prayers.

Then Gwonma’s prayer became even more powerful. A wind blew that felt like it would blow away not only my body but also my soul.

I injected internal force into my clenched fist and performed a herbivorous attack.

It was the herbivorous Il-kwon Dae-cheon (一拳戴天) that I learned from the training of Jeok-kwon.

Paang!

A cool breeze burst out from the air where my fist was stuck.

I said, staring into the horse’s eyes.

“Madam Kwon awakened something inside me.”

Even if you don’t say it, Gwonma will know what it is.

Gwonma stopped pressing me to pray and asked me.

“Why did you come here now?”

The seventh bond among the eight Majons. It was a question he might be curious about.

“Wasn’t I needed that much?”

“It’s the opposite.”

“The opposite?”

“I heard that Madam Kwon plays the role of two Majons. So I wanted to meet you when I was a little stronger.”

“Who said that I play the role of two people?”

“It’s my father.”

My father said that the number of mazons was four to three, but it was tight. It was confirmed through the horse riding that it was meant to be a winning horse.

There is definitely an influence that the father has on the Mazon. Kwon Ma also expressed somewhat complicated emotions when his father was mentioned.

“I can’t believe the cult leader said that. “Don’t go to extreme lengths to get me to your side.”

“Go check it out.”

Gwonma’s face became more scary. I can guarantee that if you go out to the midfield with that face, there will be a series of fun events with new incidents and accidents every day.

He asked, staring at me fearfully.

“Are you serious when you say that you could become my disciple?”

“I’m serious. This is your only chance to become the Heavenly Demon’s master. Don’t miss it.”

“What are you going to do if you try to manipulate a disciple who has become a Heavenly Demon?”

Finally, I also began to pray. It was the first prayer revealed to a knight.

An endless, clear sky.

Clear water reflecting the sky. When you dip your feet into shallow water, you realize that it is a deep sea with no visible bottom. He expressed his suffocating fear and spoke sternly.

“Is your Heavenly Demon just that kind of person?”

Gwonma looked at me with a surprised face.

We stared at each other in silence for a long time. It was the horse that broke the long silence.

“Hold out your hand. “Hold out your hand, baby.”

I put my hand forward.

“Make a fist.”

I slowly clenched my fist.

A look passed through the horse’s eyes as he examined my fist. Yes, it may not be a hand that is easy to see. Because this hand, which you call a baby’s hand, was the hand of all members of heaven, sent down from heaven.

To become a master, your entire body is important, but your hands are especially important. It is especially important in martial arts. This is because physical weaknesses cannot be hidden with weapons.

He held my hand with his big hand. Hands met and explored each other.

Eventually, the horse turned and walked away without saying anything about my hand.

“Starting tomorrow, come to black fist training.”

* * *

After leaving Donggwonmun, I went straight to Akingok.

It was to ask Geukak Soma about the magic trick. For some reason, it seemed like Extreme Soma knew Gwonma well.

Extreme Soma was sitting quietly in the all-white room as always.

These were his first words when he saw me.

“I want to fight Gongja Gwonma.”

I was surprised.

“Have you mastered the martial art of reading minds? Or have we become friends just by looking into each other’s eyes?”

“You’re wearing a mask today, right?”

“If you wear a mask, do you want to fight the demon?”

“Yes, then you want to fight the knight.”

I smiled and put the mask over my head.

“What if you came like this?”

“Then you probably came because you wanted to play with me.”

Since I wasn’t here to have fun, at least today, I put my mask back down.

“You can fool a ghost, but you can’t fool Soma.”

I nodded and honestly admitted it.

“Do you miss the blood?”

“It seems so. “I miss blood, so I think of Soma right away.”

“When I heard that Lee Gongja was learning martial arts from Gwon Ma, I thought he would come visit me at least once.”

Extreme Soma and Gwonma were completely different people. The feeling, the atmosphere, the personality, everything.

However, if you were to classify the mazons without giving any criteria, it seemed like extreme somas and powerful demons would be in the same place.

“Do you know why Gwon Ma supports the Archduke?”

“Is it because I came to visit you late?”

Extreme Soma shook his head.

“Because you support eldest son succession?”

“Probably not.”

“Then why do you support your brother?”

Then an unexpected answer came out.

“It’s probably because of the leader.”

“It’s because of your father?”

“Until the Duke of Li came to prominence recently, everyone expected the Grand Duke to be the successor. “The religious leader at the time probably had the same mindset.”

“Does that mean that Gwonma is following his father’s will?”

“you’re right. You probably think that the religious leader wants the Archduke as his successor. “They don’t realize that things have changed a lot these days.”

“Because I was only concentrating on teaching my subordinates.”

“you’re right. “If he finds out that the leader has Lee Gong-ja in mind, he will change his mind.”

Chwima said that his father would like Gwonma the most because he was purely crazy about martial arts. I thought that perhaps the person who liked my father the most was also Kwon-ma.

Extreme Soma gave one last piece of advice about fighting.

“Gwonma’s nickname is undefeated. He is a man who has never lost. “You will find out what kind of person Gwonma is when he is defeated.”

I nodded silently. Maybe I will be the one to give that first hand.

Extreme Soma read my enthusiasm.

“Gongja Lee, why do you want to become so strong?”

He knew exactly that the ultimate purpose of learning martial arts from a martial artist was not to obtain a demon, but because of the desire to become stronger.

“Are you by any chance dreaming of unifying the world?”

“no.”

I said firmly.

“Do you want to become the best person in the world?”

“Not even that.”

“Then why are you running so out of breath?”

“I have a feeling that a strong enemy will appear before me one day. It’s a powerful enemy that you can never defeat unless you work hard. “I guess I have that kind of anxiety.”

I revealed my honest insecurities to him. Strangely enough, it was comfortable for Extreme Soma to show these emotions.

Extreme Soma, who was quietly looking at me, suddenly released an earth wind.

JEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

There was always a long line left by Ji-pung on the white wall he was looking at. I was surprised. A line is drawn on a wall that appears to never be damaged.

“Sir, how far have we come?”

For the first time in a really long time, he drew a line and asked me. When I last drew it, I said I had reached the survival line.

I pulled out the black magic sword, passed the survival line I had drawn before, and drew a vertical line at the end of the line.

“I have come this far.”

Although I didn’t spend much time with him. Two life-threatening fights with each other’s backs led to the line being drawn here.

“Do you remember? I told you that when we first met. They say you can’t be friends with someone wearing a mask. Now the principles have changed. “I also wear a mask, so I will be friends with people who wear masks.”

Extreme Soma spoke to me with clear eyes.

“Gongja Lee said that. When we reach that line, we become friends and eat and drink together. We have fun together and we fight together. If you’re in danger, go to the rescue. Then, if someone dies first, they will sprinkle alcohol on the graveside.”

“you’re right.”

“If a strong enemy like the one I mentioned earlier appears and Gongja is put in danger…”

After a moment, Extreme Soma added.

“I will go rescue you.”

“!”

I could tell. The line of extreme evil soma is drawn in the same place as mine.

My father always says Don’t trust people. This kind of feeling is a cheap emotion worth dying for. It’s a naive feeling. Even so, I really like this moment.

“I’m waiting for you to save me.”

Extreme Soma’s eyes shined brightly. No more words were needed.

As I was about to turn around and come out, I asked Extreme Soma worriedly.

“Is that wall okay? “It’s a wall for training, right?”

It was said that you can gain more strength by practicing while looking at a white wall. However, worried about what to do with the damage, Extreme Soma looked at the white wall on the other side and said.

“I didn’t like the color of that wall. Let’s look at this wall starting today.”