It was just another run-of-the-mill cycle for me.
Casual deaths, survivors living, ambiguous growth—though I did manage a minor achievement by subduing the Blood Demon with just two moves, without even using my internal energy.
My condition was decent enough, save for a near-total breakdown in human relationships. Except for Divine Monk Sheng, I had no one I could truly open up to. But so what?
It’s been over a thousand years already.
Truthfully, my estimate of ten-thousand cycles is rough at best. I don’t even know exactly how long I’ve been in this regression or how many iterations I’ve faced.
Anyway, back to the present.
“……”
“Yes, here we are again.”
“……”
“The clashing of cold steel accompanied by fierce thunder, and picturesque sparks flying between—”
“……”
“Of course, I don’t expect that from you. Scram. You’re still a million years too early for a bout with me.”
“…It makes no difference. If necessary, I will endure for a million years if it comes to it.”
“Bold aspirations, indeed. Let’s hope that spirit never wavers.”
Three days after severing the Blood Demon’s neck.
As usual, I stood before her once more, leading the dark elves down the Tian Mountains.
Behind me, I had somehow gathered allies from the Central Plains martial community.
They were my self-imposed restriction, a way to ensure I wouldn’t flee out of fear—an ultimate line in the sand, the “Back-Water Formation.”
I had no intention of letting them die. After all, when I inevitably lost, the Dark Demon Lord would rewind time before they could perish.
With that mindset, I faced the Demon Lord.
Something felt… off.
“Hmm.”
The atmosphere around me.
The flow of my internal energy coursing through my body.
Even the sharp, formidable aura emanating from my sword—it was all different, strange, and unlike the usual ‘growth’ I had experienced before.
As if I had crossed a peak into an entirely new horizon.
That’s how it felt.
“You’ve evidently surpassed the boundaries of martial arts already. This early?”
“…Enough with the preamble. Get on with it.”
“Hmph. What’s there to say between us anyway? This situation will repeat ten years later, after all.”
“……”
The world believes that I drove the Demon Lord away with a few words.
That’s a lie.
At least, from my perspective, it is. To the people watching, though, it seemed that way.
In the bleak desert, whipped by howling sandstorms, Central Plains forces and the Devil Sects were armed, facing each other.
Then there were the two of us, the Demon Lord and I, exchanging words within five steps of each other without the Central Plains army catching our conversation.
I gripped the Qing Guang Treasure Sword, its wick burning steady.
The translucent blade glimmered blue as it was drawn from its sheath.
The razor-sharp blade aimed at the Demon Lord’s crimson eyes.
And then…
An unprecedented monstrosity unleashed a swing just like thousands of cycles past.
It wasn’t anything extravagant; merely a simple, straight-cutting motion with the iron sword in his grasp.
A strike I had never been able to block before.
Looking back, the Demon Lord truly was a monster. Predictable in attack yet always impossible to block.
Had I been able to fully discern it with my eyes, I might have devised a countermeasure.
But even then, his bizarre sword technique defied such preparation.
However, this cycle seemed marked by an inexplicable anomaly.
Shuaaak!
The blade came towards me, vibrating faintly.
I stared it down.
Yes, I was intensely focusing on it.
The trajectory of the sword’s movement, the energy it carried, the force behind it—everything was crystal clear.
There was not a single iota of error in my perception.
“Emperor Sword Formation.”
It was undeniably a sign of anomalous change, but I didn’t care about anything now.
It was just the first step. Without further delay, I swung the Qing Guang Sword right before the Demon Lord’s attack could reach me.
Just as I had meticulously envisioned it countless times over thousands of years.
With full force, unleashing the utmost prowess I could muster.
I swung the sword.
Keeek.
What followed wasn’t the sound of my flesh and blood splitting like usual.
Kee-geeek.
Nor was it the sound of my Qing Guang Sword breaking in two.
Kee-gee-geeek!
“…!”
“…You there.”
Only the sound of blade meeting blade with equal force, the clash resounding between the Demon Lord and me.
The Demon Lord’s expression seemed slightly stiff as if he were slightly startled.
But I felt no shock. Emotions had dried up long ago.
I merely readied myself to swing the sword again after withdrawing it.
Although the Demon Lord’s next attack knocked the Qing Guang Sword out of my hands in a display of overwhelming force.
“Ahh…”
“You. Sword Sage.”
“Another failure?”
“Sword Sage, look at me.”
“What was I lacking? Did I let go of the strength in my hands at that moment? It felt like my center of gravity shifted slightly. What should I improve on next cycle?”
“Sword Sage. What have you been looking at?”
“Should I enhance my finger strength? My internal energy can’t be expanded further, but to lose my sword so pointlessly… Next cycle, I should rigorously train my fingers…”
“Sword Sage!”
At the sound of the Demon Lord’s voice, I was roused from my mechanical mutterings into thin air.
The Demon Lord’s red irises bore into me, a sharp gaze cutting into my spirit.
Having lost my sword, I remained still, contemplating when to rewind time.
The Demon Lord, observing my behavior intently, let out a dazed voice.
“You there…”
He seemed shocked.
“When did your mind deteriorate to this extent…?”
“Huh?”
“Even a slight touch would shatter you… Hmm. I understood that your mind breaks with each rewind, but I didn’t expect it to progress this far.”
The Demon Lord’s tone lacked brightness.
Surprisingly, he seemed regretful, melancholic, almost pitiful.
Not towards me necessarily.
“Damn, if I make you regress one more cycle, your mind might crumble into nothingness, like the sands of this desert.”
Oddly enough, the salvation of the world wasn’t due to martial prowess honed through my battles with the Demon Lord.
No, it was my mind—a useless, broken mechanism, reaching its final limit.
Only after it had outlived its purpose, becoming too burdensome to function, could the world embrace an imperfect salvation.
“Hmm… I never thought the day would come where I’d no longer see your former self… so sorrowful.”
“…”
“Still… if I wring a bit more out of you, we might experience one more cycle together.”
The Demon Lord scanned me with a predatory gaze, like a predator sizing up its prey.
And I prepared once more to rewind time.
Though hearing of the crumbling of my mind didn’t faze me. There was never really a choice for me in the matter anyway.
What halted me was the Demon Lord’s next, compassionate words.
“Ts… Time has gone by far too long. That your crude mind managed to block all my attacks speaks of a noble effort.”
“…”
“Too long this world has been paused because of one stubborn old man. Tsk. It seems the time has come to let go.”
A speck of compassion and a grain of self-loathing intertwined in his voice.
“You’ve worked hard. For all the efforts you’ve shown until now, I’ll let you live one more cycle properly. It’s pointless to kill you and go through another cycle anyway.”
It was a minuscule gesture of consideration, a disgraceful act of kindness.
“Your age, if I remember correctly, is thirty-two this year, isn’t it? You’ve about seventy years of life left, or none at all now that you’ve transcended such limits unless you destroy yourself. You’ll enjoy the eternal life I hold.”
To me, it was too precious a favor, akin to a handful of grace.
“All those precious people you’ve fought hard to protect… live well with them. I’m granting you the opportunity to indulge in the dreamt-of future.”
“…!”
“Apologies. Due to my lingering attachment and selfishness, you have truly suffered. Excuse me.”
Hollow words.
No sincerity imbued within, mere hollow words.
And yet, having endured thousands of cycles like a machine, even those hollow words felt profoundly gracious to me.
Who apologizes to a broken tool they’ve worn out and plan to discard?
Even if they were words devoid of genuine emotion, I still found solace in them.
“Truly… Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“Me… is this finally over?”
“Say it again. Though I would like to regress many more times, your life wouldn’t endure it… Though I wish to spend another cycle with you, your sacrifices until now would make me selfish if I did.”
“Ahh, ahhh…!”
I wanted to cry but couldn’t because my tears had dried up.
Instead, blood began to stream from my eyes—tears of gratitude.
Streams of emotional blood cascaded from my blue eyes.
“At l-last…”
“Isn’t it wonderful?”
“Haa, haa…”
Still, joy was joy.
The flood of resentment from years past was also entirely natural.
All that sorrow accumulated over the years turned towards the Demon Lord, his desires now subdued and resigned.
“…Why, why did you have to do it?”
“Hmm?”
“Why did you have to repeat life thousands of times just for such trivial natural death?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Because of your greed! How long has this world been paused?! A few times would have been enough but you’ve forced me to repeat this life thousands of times!”
As a commoner questioning one above, I asked, spitting blood.
And the answer I received was—
“Cease your grudges. I’m no different from you.”
“…”
Those words left me speechless.
“You regressed for your family and the world. I regressed for my lover. What separates us?”
“It’s preposterous…!”
“To me, my lover was the entirety of this universe, my love. That is why I could never accept his premature death. Just like you sacrificed for your family, I sacrificed for him.”
“Natural death versus artificial murder are incomparable!”
“Does death by the Book of Death make it just, but by me, unjust? What an absurd bias.”
“…!”
The Demon Lord sighed faintly.
A disheartening, nostalgic sound. Throughout all the exploitation for his own desires, he now drowned in nostalgia after all?
But, I couldn’t dare to hold it against the Demon Lord further.
“Enough. Go live the rest of your life. Discussing this with me when you could spend even one more hour with your loved ones is meaningless.”
“…Yes.”
Even as the decree of liberation from the cycle was announced, I couldn’t defy the Demon Lord’s “orders.”
An entrenched master-servant relationship developed over long periods ensured that each word from the Demon Lord carried an irrefutable mental command.
“Live well. Isn’t this the peace you toiled so hard for, through your efforts? The Central Plains will no longer be invaded, so live happily the life you’ve longed for. And live.”
“…I will.”
Oddly enough, even those words were binding on me like a mental command.
Life was hell, and death was rest. And yet, because of these words, I couldn’t die.
How could I take my own life after this life granted to me?
By the Demon Lord?
“Go now.”
“…Yes.”
I turned away. It was the first time I had ever done so after facing the Demon Lord.
At that moment, a caution, almost a warning from behind.
“By the way, don’t rewind time again. This is for your own good.”
“Reason?”
“I’m worried about you, and besides, the world has been on pause long enough due to me. I don’t want it paused again.”
It was a precaution based purely on feelings but—
“…Understood. I will leave now.”
“Yes, live well. I bless your future.”
“Yes.”
It still remained a massive bond on me.
This was the moment when what I called the “regression prohibition agreement” was forcibly established.
It was also the moment the story of the “Sword Sage driving off the Demon Lord with a few words” spread throughout the world.
“…”
Reflecting on old memories after such a long time, my mood feels low.
On such a wonderful day when, according to the Demon Lord, I should joyfully embrace life.
—Are the unpleasant memories finally done?
“Yes, it seems so.”
—You’ve done well, brat.
“Now?”
—Feeling nostalgic for you upon reviewing your past, your struggles seem admirable.
“Lord Jin, that’s embarrassing. Let’s get back to normal.”
—You insolent! I’m trying to compliment you!
Woo-young Jin exploded in anger, hurling insults at me.
The most peaceful anger I’ve ever encountered.
“…”
After so long indulging in past memories, I’m in a low mood now.
On such a fine day, I should embrace happiness as the Demon Lord said.
“Have you finished dwelling on those unpleasant memories?”
“Yes, it seems so.”
“Good job then.”
“Now?”
“Thinking about your past makes me feel proud of you.”
“Lord Jin, this is embarrassing. Let’s keep things normal.”
“You brat! How dare you reject my compliment!”
Jin Woo-yong unleashed an outburst of curses at me.
The most peaceful wrath I have ever encountered.
