The rumor that a disciple of the Blood Heaven Butcher had died by my hand spread rapidly throughout the school.

And with that impact, Ian’s worry also grew.

“It’s chaos. Everyone I meet is talking about you and Yang Po.”

She let out a sigh and added quietly,

“…And about me, too.”

Since the fight had started because of her, it was only natural that people would gossip.

“Isn’t it great to be famous? In the martial world, people do all sorts of insane things just to be known.”

“I don’t like it.”

“You’ll get even more famous soon. What then?”

Ian gave a soft sigh, but her expression wasn’t dark. Because at the center of this chaos was something positive—change.

“I’m worried about the Blood Heaven Butcher. He values honor. I hope he just lets it go.”

“Says who? Who told you the Blood Heaven Butcher values honor?”

“Huh? Isn’t that true?”

“If someone truly values honor, would they allow their disciples to behave like trash without consequence?”

“Maybe you don’t know him well enough?”

“That’s underestimating the Blood Heaven Butcher’s cunning.”

“You always speak like you know him so well.”

“It’s not just him. I know plenty about the other Demon Lords too. I am the Heavenly Demon’s son, after all. You think I wouldn’t have done my research?”

Ian looked at me with wide eyes, probably wondering when I had the chance to study all that without her noticing.

“Then why does the Blood Heaven Butcher let his disciples act like that?”

“Well…”

I knew the real reason, but it wasn’t something I could explain to Ian. So I gave her an answer she’d find more acceptable.

“Because it’s easier that way.”

“What?”

“It’s easier to deal with greedy, selfish disciples than upright ones. The Blood Heaven Butcher’s been making his disciples compete without ever choosing a successor. Why? Because that makes them easier to use as disposable tools. Just watch—Yang Po’s spot will be filled within days.”

“That’s terrifying, Demon Lord or not…”

“I think the disciples are scarier. They charge ahead despite knowing exactly what kind of man their master is.”

“I’m glad I serve you, Young Master.”

“Of course. I mean, come on—compare that to me. Ian, how about a drink tonight? It’s been a while.”

She looked at me in surprise.

“Why so shocked?”

“Because it’s not ‘been a while.’ It’s the first time.”

“The first time?”

“Yes.”

Wait, I’ve never had a drink with you? Then what powered you through all those years of throwing yourself in front of me?

“Let’s go. Tonight we drink ‘til we drop!”

We headed to Magachon, the Demon Clan Village.

Magachon had started as a small settlement for the families of the cult’s martial artists, but had now grown into a full-fledged city surrounding the sect’s headquarters.

I took her to the finest tavern in all of Magachon.

“It’s a historic night. We should drink somewhere worthy of it.”

“I’d be fine with some small, run-down place.”

She wasn’t fond of crowded places. Wherever she went, she drew stares. Of course she’d hate it.

So we took a private room in the back, away from the crowd.

“How much can you drink?”

“Not much.”

“Well, let’s find out tonight. Don’t worry—if you get drunk, I’ll carry you.”

“But… I’m heavy.”

“No problem. Look at these arms.”

“Only half the size of mine.”

“That’s just ‘cause I’m not flexing yet!”

Since it was our first time drinking together, I ordered the best food and wine they had.

“I’ve never had dishes like these before. This one too, and that one…”

“Try everything. If something’s good, we’ll get more.”

“My stomach’s going to be shocked.”

“You’re always busy guarding me, so you eat whatever’s convenient, right? From now on, take proper care of yourself.”

“Just look at me. I am what happens when you eat whatever’s convenient.”

She laughed, flexing her thick arm.

“The worse you eat, the more weight you gain. Pay attention to what you eat—how it’s prepared, what it’s made of. If you want to lose weight, you need to become a gourmet.”

“Oh! I didn’t know that! I’ll do that from now on.”

But I do know. No matter what she eats, even if she starves every day, she won’t lose that weight. Because that flesh wasn’t caused by food.

She knows that too. She’s just pretending I don’t. Even though she could make a bitter joke about the side effects, she never does. She’s been an adult since far too young.

“From now on, learn while eating good food with me.”

Ian stared at me and asked,

“Can you tell me your secret?”

“Secret? To cooking?”

“No. How a person can change like this.”

I looked at her and smiled faintly.

“Why? You want to change too?”

“It’s not that, I just…”

She emptied her glass. Who wouldn’t want to change? The younger version of herself still lives in her heart, and she probably sees that child whenever she’s hurting. And it makes it all harder to endure.

Once you return to your true self, you won’t need any ‘secret.’ The world will worship you again.

Ian politely accepted the drink I poured and asked,

“Young Master… do you plan to become the next cult leader?”

It was the first time she’d asked that—likely because she’d started to believe it was possible.

I lifted my cup and said softly,

“Flattery is the only path!”

She smiled and lightly clinked her glass against mine.

“Then melt the cult leader’s heart!”

We drank together.

Even though she claimed she couldn’t drink much, Ian held her liquor surprisingly well.

Of course, there was a price to pay: I had to carry her home once she passed out.

The entire way back, she shouted from my back:

“Don’t worry! I’ll protect you, Young Master! Just leave it to me!”

“I wasn’t worried before… but the more you say that, the more I’m starting to worry.”

“I said don’t worry! I’ll protect you!”

“Alright, alright. I won’t worry.”

“You should worry. You really should. But don’t worry! Because I’ll protect you!”

“Hahaha.”

At that moment, a window from the building flew open, and someone shouted.

“Which empty-headed bitch keeps yapping like that?”

I looked up at the man sticking his head out the window and said,

“Let it slide. For my sake.”

“And who the hell are you?”

“I’m the young lord of the Heavenly Demon Sect.”

He stared blankly for a second, then snapped into a bow like lightning.

“Oh! My apologies, young lord!”

The window slammed shut even faster than it had opened.

Ian was fast asleep on my back, breathing softly.

‘Sorry it took me this long to carry you.’

Once we returned to our quarters, I laid her gently on the bed and stepped outside.

I stretched my legs across the courtyard and looked up at the moon.

Thinking back, after the massacre of my sect, I wandered in hiding, drowning in defeat. The only thing keeping me alive was the need to pursue the Grand Regression Art. Without that, I’d have {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} collapsed under the weight of despair.

If I hadn’t met Seojin back then—if I hadn’t learned about the Grand Regression—then… maybe I would’ve ended my own life. Or maybe I would’ve gone to find Hwa Mugi, only to die pathetically at the hands of his followers before ever reaching him. Yes, that’s probably how it would’ve gone.

Just as I was drowning in these thoughts—

Something flashed beside me, reflecting the moonlight.

I slowly turned my head.

A massive blade hovered inches from my face.

Reflected in the oversized blade of the absurdly large saber was my own tense expression.

As the blade slowly tilted away, the man holding it finally revealed himself.

The rough, wiry hand gripping the saber was lined with deep, weathered grooves—the kind carved by decades of a brutal life. And beyond those creases, sharp eyes locked onto mine with a predator’s focus.

It was Blood Heaven Butcher.

I hadn’t expected him to show up so suddenly. I was honestly surprised.

The saber aimed at my neck was his infamous personal weapon—Heaven-Cleaving Blade. Listed among the Ten Great Weapons of the Martial World, it shattered most other weapons on contact. That’s why they called it the Weapon Breaker.

A wave of frigid demonic energy poured from the saber, curling through the air. My skin broke out in goosebumps as the icy pressure seized the night.

‘If that blade comes for my neck… can I dodge it?’

I couldn’t answer.

No matter how deep my martial insights had become in my past life, my current internal energy was still nowhere near enough.

Just as the tension peaked, the bone-chilling aura vanished in an instant.

Blood Heaven Butcher grinned and poked my side with the pommel of his saber.

“What’d you do that for?”

He meant: Why did you kill my disciple?

A moment ago, he’d been a killer ready to sever my head. Now he was grinning and jabbing at my side like a nosy old neighbor.

“Because he acted like an idiot,” I said flatly.

He stared at me. That gaze reminded me of my father’s—but it was different.

If Father’s gaze was unreadable like a frozen lake, this man’s was clear as fire.

Hostility.

I saw flames burning in his eyes.

“What kind of idiot picks a fight with the youngest son of the cult leader—a boy the leader treasures like his own eyes?”

Swish!

The saber resting on his knee sprang up, aimed once again at my throat.

“Should I cut off this head and stick it in the cult leader’s eye? See if it hurts?”

The killing intent flowing along the blade shimmered like a joke—but it wasn’t. His will was deadly serious.

“I doubt my father’s fierce, torn eyes would let my head fit in comfortably,” I said.

As I stepped back, the killing energy vanished from the blade, withdrawing like a tide into the hilt. Impressive. That scrawny body of his could handle such overwhelming power like it was nothing.

This time, Blood Heaven Butcher dragged his saber through the dirt in front of us, drawing a long line. At one end, he drew a short vertical slash, about a hand’s width from the edge.

“This section here—that’s you. And the rest? That’s me.”

The line was divided nine-to-one.

“What’s this supposed to be?” I asked.

“How much the cult leader cares,” he replied.

He was nine. I was one.

I drew a new mark with my finger, about a third of the way across.

“Come on. I’m still his son. I should be here, and you over there.”

Now it was seven-to-three in my favor.

He chuckled slyly.

“Well, we can test it. If I take your head to the cult leader, would he kill me—or spare me?”

“Don’t you think you’re underestimating the Heavenly Demon’s love for his son?”

“Then let’s test it.”

The saber crept toward me again.

I pressed my palm gently against the flat of the blade to stop it. It was cold. No matter how brightly he smiled, that chill—that was the real Blood Heaven Butcher. Forgetting that would get me killed.

“No need to test it. He has two sons. You only have one life.”

He grinned.

“This young lord isn’t as dumb as my disciple was.”

“If your disciple had taken after you, he might still be alive.”

He placed a hand on my shoulder and gave it a few taps.

“Young lord, this old man has lived his whole life with misfortune. So it’s best if we don’t meet often.”

With those words, he vanished. One leap from beside me, and he melted into the distant darkness.

Once he was gone, I immediately checked my side. The spot he’d jabbed with his saber’s pommel was already swelling with a nasty bruise. It might’ve looked like a playful poke, but it hit like a damn hammer. Same for those final shoulder taps.

“Damn it. That bastard.”

I hadn’t let my guard down for a second the entire time. No matter how many times I regressed, random factors were always dangerous.

The fact that he repeated his little joke—twice—about taking my head to my father meant the idea had seriously crossed his mind.

He might seem impulsive, but he isn’t. He calculates everything. Even his wild behavior is a calculation. That’s what makes him so dangerous.

I knew plenty about him. But knowing doesn’t mean control. Information is just that—information. The moment a variable shifts the board, all your advantages vanish.

‘Still… why did he come to me?’

Was it a warning for killing his disciple?

No. As I told Ian, he’s not someone who cares about reputation.

He came to see me. What I showed on the duel platform must’ve left an impression. And the fact that I made a hunting trip my wish must’ve struck him as unusual. Add in the fact that I killed his disciple—it gave him a reason to test me.

He came to see if I was sweet or shit. To find out if I was worthy of becoming the heir.

‘So… what flavor was I?’

To him, I was spicy. He only took a lick, but it burned. A good burn, though.

‘Could my first true rival be Blood Heaven Butcher?’

Maybe.

Especially since the day I regressed just happened to be the day I dueled his disciple.

‘Maybe your massive saber just caught Heaven’s attention a little too well.’