The Regressed Sword Demon Changes the Future

"Well, now there's one move left."

"…"

Jang Yuhan bit his lip gently.

It was surprising enough that Jang Baekseo had lightly blocked the two forms of the Mysterious Heaven Sword Technique he had unfolded, but moreover, Jang Baekseo…

'He didn't move a single step…!'

It was literally true. He had broken the two forms Jang Yuhan had unfolded without moving a single step.

'But this won't be the same.'

Jang Yuhan took his stance again. Until now, he had unfolded the Mysterious Heaven Sword Technique, but this time it was different.

He put his entire weight into a forward leap and unleashed a desperate thrust with that momentum.

Pat!

The thrust that unfolded was not just a simple thrust with all his strength, but a thrust of a charge with his entire weight!

Even if the thrusting wooden sword was deflected as before, it would be impossible to avoid the subsequent body slam that would follow with inertia.

But.

Swoosh!

Jang Baekseo's wooden sword met Jang Yuhan's.

It was different from before, when he had broken the form in a single blow with a swift strike.

The form, no, the thrust with his entire weight, which was embarrassing to even call a form, was flowing along the path Jang Baekseo was gently swinging his sword.

"!?"

Kudangtang!

He had definitely launched a thrust with his entire weight in a straight line, but unbelievably, the result was that he didn't even graze his clothes and fell in a completely different direction, rolling on the floor.

Swoosh.

Jang Baekseo approached the head of Jang Yuhan, who was rolling on the floor in a daze.

And.

"Oh dear, I was going to give you a three-move handicap, but the duel ended in three moves?"

Saying so, Jang Baekseo quietly pushed the wooden sword to the end of Jang Yuhan's neck.

"Well, would you like to continue?"

"…I lost."

***

Thus, the unscheduled duel ended anticlimactically, but the result was by no means anticlimactic. The rumor spread quickly within the sect.

The half-wit senior brother Jang Baekseo had overwhelmingly defeated the greatest genius of the third generation, Jang Yuhan!

This rumor spread quickly not only among the third-generation disciples who had watched the duel directly, but also among the second-generation disciples who had watched this duel as instructors.

"Senior Brother Cheongo, have you heard the story?"

"What story?"

"You know, Senior Brother Cheongmu's disciple."

"Senior Brother Cheongmu's disciple… ah, you mean Jang Yuhan. Why, what did that bright kid do again?"

"No, no. Not Yuhan, but the senior brother of the third generation, you know?"

"Huh? The senior brother? You mean that kid Jang Baekseo?"

"Yes! He had a duel with Jang Yuhan this time!"

"Oh dear, he must have been embarrassed… Still, he's the senior brother of the third generation, so if he's embarrassed like that…"

"No! It's the opposite!"

"The opposite?"

"Yes! The senior brother Jang Baekseo is said to have overwhelmingly defeated Yuhan!!"

"What!? Is that really true!?"

…In this way, the story of Jang Baekseo, who had completely changed overnight, was spreading rapidly within Mysterious Profound Sect.

And as for what the protagonist of the important story, Jang Baekseo, was doing…

"Should I abandon the sect?"

He was seriously considering abandoning the sect.

"Ha, no matter how much memories are beautified… to think I was treated like this…"

Before his regression, Jang Baekseo, who had pledged himself to the Demonic Cult, had always missed his sect even after cutting ties with it.

The hometown where he was born and raised, and at the same time, the place where his family was!

That's why he always missed it, and even during the Martial Alliance's invasion of Sichuan, he was worried and rushed to his sect, only to meet his end.

But by some twist of fate, he had regressed to the past, only to find that his treatment was too much.

"No matter how insignificant I was at this time, I'm still the senior disciple of the third generation, but to be treated like this…"

He felt like a fool for staying up all night worrying about how to protect the sect and change the future, without even knowing he was being treated like this.

"Should I just fly to the Demonic Cult right now?"

In his life before regression, he had gone over to the Demonic Cult two years after the Righteous-Demonic War broke out.

After going through all sorts of hardships, he was eventually able to sit in the position of the Sword Demon, the respected master of one of the Twelve Demonic Palaces in the Demonic Cult.

But how could there have been no hardships in that process?

That was because he was originally a person from the Orthodox Faction who had come over to the Demonic Path to save his own life.

It was only natural that the people of the Demonic Cult had no reason to like him.

Thanks to that, he received a lot of discrimination and unfair treatment.

'Of course, after I became the Sword Demon, it all disappeared.'

Wouldn't it be much better to go over to the Demonic Cult early this time, so he wouldn't be cursed as a traitor like before his regression and would receive less discrimination?

As he was seriously considering it…

Knock, knock.

A visitor arrived.

"Who is it at this time of night…?"

In Mysterious Profound Sect, most of the third-generation disciples lived in a building called Gyohyeongak, sharing a room with one other person. But Jang Baekseo, due to his position as the senior brother, used a room by himself.

And since he was using a single room, the visitor at this time of night meant that the visitor had come solely to see Jang Baekseo.

"…Why is this kid here?"

Although he hadn't opened the door yet, Jang Baekseo had already identified the visitor with his senses, which were sharper than a blade. But he couldn't understand why this person had come to see him.

Click.

"What is it at this time of night?"

"Ah, I'm sorry to disturb you while you're resting, Senior Brother…"

The visitor was Jang Yuhan.

The arrogant pride he had shown in the morning was gone, and now a hint of anxiety was on Jang Yuhan's face as he visited the room.

"If you knew I was resting, you shouldn't have come."

Perhaps because he had been thinking of abandoning the sect just a moment ago, Jang Baekseo's words came out naturally harsh.

"S-sorry. But I have something I must tell you today…"

Seeing Jang Yuhan flinch anxiously, Jang Baekseo, whose heart felt even worse for some reason, let him into the room.

"So, what brings you here?"

Saying so, Jang Baekseo offered him tea.

Unlike the rooms of the other junior brothers, his room, as the senior brother's, had a simple kitchen, so he could boil and serve tea.

"I came to… apologize to you, Senior Brother."

"Apologize?"

It was an absurd thing to say.

What was he apologizing for?

For being arrogant and cheeky to his senior brother?

For criticizing him for lacking the qualities of a senior brother?

Or for treating him like a fool, saying that the role of an instructor would be too much for him?

Jang Baekseo thought he would at least listen to what he had come to apologize for.

"Alright, tell me what you came to apologize for."

Jang Baekseo thought Jang Yuhan had come to make excuses.

That was because the kid who had been called the greatest talent in the sect had been shamefully defeated by the senior brother who had completely changed overnight.

Not only would his pride be hurt, but his position so far would surely be shaken. Some might say that a twelve-year-old child couldn't possibly think like that, but that was a huge misconception. Children are more cunning and clever than one might think.

That's why Jang Yuhan had moved quickly. He was trying to minimize his losses by apologizing for his mistakes in advance and making excuses to leave a good impression and connection with the senior brother who would now be in the spotlight in the sect…

That's what he thought…

"Are you, are you crying?"

Jang Yuhan was crying.

Jang Yuhan, who had been wearing a cold expression all along, was crying, unable to hold back the big tears that were rolling down his face.

His expression was crumpled in sorrow, and he was covering his mouth with one arm to suppress his sobs.

"No, wh-why are you crying?"

Jang Beakseo was flustered. He had thought of just playing along with his excuses, but he had never imagined that he would suddenly burst into tears like this.

"S-sorry, ugh, I'm sorry, Senior Brother, sob!"

Even while sobbing so sorrowfully, Jang Yuhan continued to apologize to Jang Baekseo.

"I-I acted out of line, hic! S-Senior Brother, sob, you said you were uncomfortable teaching with the instructors during the morning training, ugh, so I was trying to help you even a little…"

Hearing that, a long-forgotten memory that had been quietly sleeping in a corner of his mind suddenly awoke.

Around this time before his regression, his worry was always one thing.

'I was burdened by teaching the third-generation disciples with the second-generation senior uncles…'

At that time, Jang Baekseo was completely different from now. That's why, even though he was the senior brother, he was burdened by teaching the junior brothers of the same third generation, and he was always anxious that he might hinder their growth by giving them wrong teachings.

Of course, he knew that what the second-generation senior uncles expected of him was not some great teaching.

But even so, a burden was a burden, and because of his position as the senior brother, there was no one he could properly confide in about this burden.

He didn't tell his master, Cheongmu, because he didn't want to disappoint him, and for the same reason, he couldn't tell the other junior brothers either.

With one exception…

'Jang Yuhan… he was the only junior brother I confided in about that burden.'

Yes, the only person he had talked to about that burden was Jang Yuhan.

Jang Yuhan seemed like a cold and rational child on the outside, but in the eyes of the pre-regression Jang Baekseo, he didn't seem that way at all.

He was a child with a warm heart who knew how to care for others.

It was just that his methods were…

'A bit… no, very clumsy and strange.'

If a junior brother hurt his arm during training.

'That's what happens when you swing your sword clumsily. Don't disturb the eyes of the other junior brothers with your ugly swordsmanship and just get treated at the infirmary.'

…is what he would say. For reference, he wasn't being sarcastic or treating him like a fool, but he was genuinely worried and said that.

Whether it was his natural disposition or he was unconsciously acting out the image that those around him wanted, it was by no means a malicious act.

Yes, even his actions this morning…

'…You seem quite tired, Senior Brother.'

'I believe that a senior brother who leads the other junior brothers should also have self-management as a necessary virtue.'

'…I sometimes think that the role of an instructor is a bit too much responsibility for you, Senior Brother.'

So all these words were said without any malice.

He was genuinely worried because he looked tired, and he said that self-management was a virtue of a senior brother because he seemed to be not taking care of his health properly, and he said that the responsibility was too much because he really seemed to be burdened by the role of an instructor.

'Ha… what a troublesome and cute kid.'

The only person to whom such a Jang Yuhan showed his true self was not his master, Cheongmu, nor the sect elders who cherished his talent, but his senior brother, Jang Baekseo.

For a moment, a hollow laugh escaped Jang Baekseo.

"Sob, Senior Brother?"

In Jang Yuhan's tear-filled eyes, the image of Jang Baekseo at the age of fourteen, his young boyhood, was reflected. But what was contained within was the Sword Demon Jang Baekseo, who had already lived for several more decades.

He had recalled many things to change the present and devised ways to do so.

But he had forgotten the most important thing.

What kind of person was he at this time, and what kind of relationships did he have with the people around him?

He had overlooked that.

'That's why this happened.'

Of course, Jang Yuhan's actions were, strictly speaking, wrong. It was an act that ignored the sect's hierarchy and damaged the dignity of the senior brother.

But.

'But the past me didn't care about such things.'

He was a person who cared more about the sincerity of the person who was looking out for him.

Jang Baekseo stroked the head of Jang Yuhan, who was looking up at him with tear-filled eyes.

"S-Senior Brother!?"

"…This senior brother has been so lacking until now that I've made things difficult for you."

"Th-that's not true, Senior Brother!"

"No, it's not. I know it better than anyone else."

Jang Baekseo raised his hand to stop Jang Yuhan, who was about to deny it again.

"But I won't be like that anymore."

There would be no more passive and weak senior brother like in the past. He would change. No, he had already changed.

There was a lot to do. He would prevent and change the future events, none of which were easy, but before that…

"From now on, I will be a reliable senior brother."

Becoming a senior brother that the junior brothers could trust. He decided to make that his first priority.

(End of Chapter)