Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 133

“Why Young-gi?”

“Y-you need to come quickly, sir.”

Without a word, Kang Jin-ho ran inside at Jang Jae-hwan’s words. Seeing Kang Jin-ho running, Jang Jae-hwan also started running without waiting.

Kang Jin-ho felt his heart drop.

Jang Jae-hwan’s pale face was telling the story.

‘No way.’

The worst possible scenarios kept flooding his mind.

It couldn’t be. It shouldn’t be.

The hallway, which usually felt short, seemed incredibly long. Seeing Jang Jae-hwan rush into the bathroom, Kang Jin-ho followed without hesitation.

“H-here!”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes flashed.

He saw Joo Young-gi slumped next to the toilet, having hung himself with his combat boot laces.

“You son of a bitch!”

A curse, one that Kang Jin-ho had never uttered before, escaped his lips.

“What are you doing, you idiot! Untie him!”

“Y-yes! Yes!”

Jang Jae-hwan, looking flustered and not knowing what to do, rushed towards Joo Young-gi. Kang Jin-ho also immediately rushed in and cut the boot laces that were strangling Joo Young-gi’s neck.

“You crazy bastard! If you saw someone like this, you should have saved him first! Why did you come get me?”

“S-sorry, sir.”

“Damn it.”

Kang Jin-ho put his hand to Joo Young-gi’s nose.

‘I can’t feel it.’

He couldn’t feel any breath.

Without delay, Kang Jin-ho grabbed Joo Young-gi’s legs and dragged him out of the toilet. Then, he climbed on top of him and began to compress Joo Young-gi’s chest.

“Mouth-to-mouth!”

“Yes?”

“Breathe for him! Mouth-to-mouth!”

“Yes, I understand!”

With two people, it was right to perform first aid as a team.

“Move!”

After confirming that Jang Jae-hwan had finished the mouth-to-mouth and moved his head, Kang Jin-ho began to compress Joo Young-gi’s chest.

‘Is this right?’

Even though Kang Jin-ho had received an award for being the best in emergency response, at this moment, he couldn’t quite remember the correct order.

He had seen people die more than once, so why did he feel like this? At this moment, the Demonic Heavenly Lord within him felt so distant. [Demonic Heavenly Lord is a reference to a powerful figure from a martial arts fantasy setting, indicating Kang Jin-ho’s past life or abilities.]

Here now was just the powerless human, Kang Jin-ho, unable to do anything in the face of an acquaintance’s death.

People rushed to the bathroom after hearing the commotion.

“Call an ambulance!”

Kang Jin-ho shouted, but no one understood what he was saying.

“Call an ambulance! Quickly, you bastards!”

Only when Kang Jin-ho shouted until the veins in his neck stood out did they realize the seriousness of the situation and rush to the administration office.

“Please!”

Cold sweat began to flow down Kang Jin-ho’s forehead. It was too late for just chest compressions to bring him back. Kang Jin-ho pressed on his chest while simultaneously drawing up his brain energy.

“Get your hands off!”

“Yes?”

“Get your hands off and step back!”

“Yes!”

As Jang Jae-hwan stepped back, Kang Jin-ho tried to regain his composure.

‘How much?’

He had learned through modern medicine that stimulating with brain energy could restore the heartbeat. But how much of a shock should he give?

If the brain energy was too strong, the heart would burn, and if it was too weak, it wouldn’t be effective.

‘What should I do?’

Unless he was a doctor, there was no way he would have learned this. What he had learned was from books, and…

…dramas!

Kang Jin-ho closed his eyes slightly. Among the dramas he had been forced to watch during his military service, there were definitely medical dramas.

‘It’s not done in one go. Start with a weak current and slowly increase it.’

He doubted whether this was really right. He didn’t know if what he had seen in dramas was actually applicable knowledge. But there was no other choice.

If he left him like this, Joo Young-gi would die anyway.

‘Weakly, slowly.’

He had to compress with both hands while carefully drawing in his true energy. Doing both at once was by no means easy, but he had to do it now.

Kang Jin-ho gently pressed on Joo Young-gi’s chest.

Crack!

In that instant, the brain energy that had extended from Kang Jin-ho’s body penetrated and struck Joo Young-gi’s heart.

Thump!

Joo Young-gi’s body bounced off the floor.

‘Was that too strong?’

But unfortunately, his breathing had not returned.

“Mouth-to-mouth!”

“Yes!”

Jang Jae-hwan, who had been waiting, rushed in and breathed into him.

“Step back!”

“Yes!”

After Jang Jae-hwan quickly stepped back, Kang Jin-ho compressed Joo Young-gi’s chest and then shot out brain energy.

Thump!

Joo Young-gi’s body bounced again, but still, his breathing did not return.

‘Damn it.’

He was getting more and more anxious.

When had Joo Young-gi been like this here?

Ten minutes? Twenty minutes?

How long had it been since his breathing stopped?

“Did you call an ambulance?”

“I just called! They said they’re coming right away!”

“What about the medic?”

“A-are you talking about me, sir?”

The medic approached Kang Jin-ho with a pale face.

Kang Jin-ho turned his head away, seeing his pale face. In the first place, it was an independent unit with less than 100 people. There was no way there would be a proper medical room, and there was no way there would be a medic with proper medical knowledge.

‘No way.’

But he couldn’t give up. He had to keep trying until he was completely exhausted.

“S-Sergeant Kang Jin-ho…”

“Don’t say anything.”

“…Yes.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t know what he was trying to say. Kang Jin-ho had similar thoughts. But that had to remain a thought.

“He’s still warm! He hasn’t cooled down yet!”

If his body temperature had cooled down, it would be one thing, but he could still feel warmth at his fingertips. It meant he couldn’t accept that he was dead.

“One more time! Mouth-to-mouth!”

“Yes!”

Jang Jae-hwan, not giving up like Kang Jin-ho, rushed in and breathed into him. Joo Young-gi’s chest swelled up and then went down.

“Step back.”

“Yes!”

After Jang Jae-hwan stepped back, Kang Jin-ho put force on Joo Young-gi’s chest.

‘It won’t work like this.’

It wouldn’t work like this. Kang Jin-ho gathered more brain energy.

‘All at once!’

Kang Jin-ho pressed down hard on Joo Young-gi’s chest and poured in his brain energy.

“Get up! You bastard!”

At that moment, Joo Young-gi’s body twitched, and he started gasping for breath.

“Ah!”

Kang Jin-ho, seeing the scene, slowly stepped back. He put his ear to his chest and could hear his heart beating. His breathing had also returned.

“Haa…”

Kang Jin-ho slumped down, relieved.

The worst situation was over. He didn’t know how long his brain had been deprived of oxygen, but if it wasn’t too long, there was a good chance he would survive. If he was lucky, he might not have any aftereffects.

But what if he did?

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

Now was not the time to think negatively. Now was the time to…

Kang Jin-ho’s head slowly turned. And in the crowd, he saw Kim Hak-cheol, who was staring down at Joo Young-gi with a pale face.

Sweat was beading on Kim Hak-cheol’s forehead. He also knew well what this incident meant.

‘Kim Hak-cheol.’

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes began to fill with rage.

But soon, Kang Jin-ho lowered his head.

‘I shouldn’t have let my guard down.’

What was he talking about, avoiding the worst? What!

Kang Jin-ho gritted his teeth.

If he knew he couldn’t empathize with others’ pain, he should have paid more attention. He knew that Joo Young-gi’s expression wasn’t good, but he was complacent, thinking there was still time.

Yesterday.

If he had acted yesterday.

Even if not, if he hadn’t taken his eyes off Joo Young-gi today, this wouldn’t have happened.

“Damn it.”

At that moment, a loud siren sounded from the entrance, and military doctors with stretchers rushed inside.

“Where is he?”

And almost simultaneously, the battery commander, who had received the call, rushed in, sweating profusely.

“W-what happened?”

Kang Jin-ho, seeing the scene, couldn’t help but chuckle.

It was a comedy.

This was like a well-written comedy.

The unit was completely turned upside down.

As soon as it was dawn, investigators from all the higher units flooded the base. The soldiers were confined to their living quarters, unable to even go to the bathroom.

“…What is going on?”

Sung Tae-ho had a blank look on his face.

He had woken up to find a perfectly fine guy hanging himself and being taken away, and the base was swarming with investigators. From his perspective, it was understandable that he was bewildered.

“My discharge is just around the corner, what is this, really.”

He kept talking about his discharge, but Sung Tae-ho’s face was also full of worry. No one could be calm when someone they had been living with in the same unit had tried to hang himself.

“Why did Sergeant Joo Young-gi do that?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Most of them had confused expressions, probably because they were in the 5th living quarters, which was the farthest from the 1st living quarters.

“Sergeant Kang Jin-ho, do you know anything?”

Kang Jin-ho didn’t answer and closed his eyes.

They were asking him as if Kang Jin-ho, who was their peer, would know something. That was the same as saying how little attention Kang Jin-ho had paid to Joo Young-gi.

“How is Young-gi?”

“They said he’s alive, but they don’t know how many aftereffects he’ll have.”

“Who said that?”

“The medic, sir.”

“What does that quack know about aftereffects!”

Sung Tae-ho was furious.

“They say that if the brain doesn’t get oxygen for more than 5 minutes, brain damage can occur, and we don’t know how long his breathing was stopped.”

“5 minutes, my ass.”

Sung Tae-ho looked at Kang Jin-ho with an anxious face.

“Jin-ho.”

“Sergeant Kang Jin-ho.”

“Young-gi was on duty before you.”

“Yes.”

“Then, you came back, and Jae-hwan found him. If you consider the time it took to return the weapons, it couldn’t have been long. Right?”

“That’s probably right.”

“Aish… Then he must have been found early. He’ll be okay.”

“He probably will be.”

Kang Jin-ho could only give a soulless answer.

In the rush, he couldn’t check how much damage his brain had taken. And it was questionable whether he could actually check that with his energy.

“But why the hell did he…” Sung Tae-ho trailed off, looking distressed.

Kang Jin-ho got up from his seat and put on his shoes.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to have a cigarette.”

“Hey, Sergeant Kang Jin-ho. The squad leader said no one is allowed to go out…”

“Enough! You idiot!”

Sung Tae-ho cut off the junior soldier.

“I’ll be back.”

“Okay, hurry back.”

Sung Tae-ho clicked his tongue as he watched Kang Jin-ho leave.

“Damn it. You idiot, read the room! His only peer tried to hang himself, and he was the one who found him. How could he be okay right now?”

“The squad leader said he won’t let anyone off easy if they leave their post, sir.”

“What’s he going to do?”

Sung Tae-ho clicked his tongue, looking at the door where Kang Jin-ho had left.

From the moment Kang Jin-ho was assigned to the unit until now, it was the first time he had seen him with such a hardened expression.

“…I hope nothing bad happens.”

A feeling of pity, whether it was for Kang Jin-ho or Joo Young-gi, kept leaking out.

“I really hope nothing bad happens.”

At the same time, an inexplicable anxiety kept washing over him. Ever since he saw Kang Jin-ho’s back.