Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 151

It was definitely a smiling face.

But it was also a face that couldn’t help but feel strange.

The mouth was curled up, but the corners of the eyes didn’t lift at all.

An unnatural face, as if drawn with a brush,

made Kang Jin-ho feel uneasy.

But what stimulated Kang Jin-ho even more was what Nam Tae-sik had said.

‘Returnee?’

That was clearly a word that ‘they’ used to refer to themselves, and to Kang Jin-ho.

Those who had returned from the past.

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes narrowed.

“Who are you?”

“Hahaha.”

Nam Tae-sik laughed as if he was dumbfounded.

“Surely you’re not asking because you don’t know, are you?”

Kang Jin-ho didn’t answer. Confusion dominated his mind.

“Didn’t he tell you? We are everywhere. And there’s no way we wouldn’t be watching someone like you, is there?”

Kang Jin-ho stared at Nam Tae-sik silently.

Did I miss it? Me?

That couldn’t be. No matter how complicated his mind was at the time, there was no way Kang Jin-ho wouldn’t have recognized someone hiding their power right in front of him.

“That’s the reaction I expected.”

Nam Tae-sik opened his mouth as if mocking him.

“Don’t worry. Your eyes weren’t wrong. I’m an ordinary person. I’m just serving someone like you.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes cooled down.

What Nam Tae-sik just said had several meanings.

It meant that returnees had already deeply infiltrated this society, and that there were people among the ordinary who knew of their existence and had joined hands with them.

If so, it meant that their existence couldn’t simply be defined as a coalition of returnees.

“But don’t be too relieved either. There are others with different abilities than you. Some of them may look no different from ordinary people to you. That’s why I said, we are everywhere.”

Kang Jin-ho slowly opened his mouth.

“Did you approach me with a purpose from the beginning?”

“Yeah.”

Nam Tae-sik seemed to organize his thoughts for a moment before opening his mouth.

“Of course, it’s not that I didn’t have the will to resolve Joo Young-gi’s case justly. But seeing your reaction was a bigger intention, let’s say.”

“By your will?”

“Of course not. I’m just like a limb. The person who wanted to see your reaction is the one I serve. You’re quite a unique existence, after all.”

“Unique?”

Nam Tae-sik smiled.

“Anyone with power wants to use that power. That’s why there’s no end to power trips in this world. Those with power want to show off their power, and those with wealth want to show off their wealth to others.”

Nam Tae-sik began to ramble on about basic principles.

“What good is it to just accumulate wealth that you can’t show off to others? So everyone shows off what they have. For some, it’s money, for others, it’s violence. And for others, it’s power. But, you see, there’s something they don’t know. When humans reveal their power, they expose their true nature.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes grew colder.

“When someone called a saint uses their power, the devil hidden inside reveals itself. When someone who says they hate violence uses violence, they become more cruel than anyone else. That’s how humans reveal their true nature when they use their power. So we waited. To see if you were as destructive as reported, and if you would show that side again.”

Nam Tae-sik shrugged his shoulders.

“But strangely, even though you have both wealth and power, you rarely try to use them. It even made us doubt whether you were really a returnee.”

“So?”

Seeing Kang Jin-ho’s cold eyes, Nam Tae-sik reached out his hand.

“Ah, don’t misunderstand. We didn’t instigate those two pieces of trash. We don’t like things that affect the lives of ordinary people. In fact, aren’t there quite a few pieces of trash like that around when you live?”

It was a statement he wanted to deny.

But Kang Jin-ho also knew that it was true. Just by watching the news, there were countless villains in the world that one couldn’t even imagine.

“So we just watched a little. And the reaction was quite unexpected.”

“According to our expectations, you were quite a mild-mannered person. You like to follow the rules, you hate trouble, and you don’t have much greed. Such people prefer to run on the rails that society has laid out. So, just as our interest in you was waning… we saw what you did.”

Kang Jin-ho didn’t answer.

But Nam Tae-sik didn’t notice that Kang Jin-ho’s eyes were gradually cooling down.

“That’s when we realized. That there’s a beast living inside you. We judged you to be a dangerous person. Usually, the more normal a person looks on the outside, the more rotten they are on the inside. We overlooked that part. In the end, we came to the conclusion that we had to contact you.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“Is that all?”

“There is someone who wants to meet you. That person wants to respectfully invite you. That’s why I came in person.”

Kang Jin-ho took out a cigarette from his pocket.

Then, without even taking out a lighter, he snapped his fingers and lit it.

It was definitely something that would surprise an ordinary person, but Nam Tae-sik, who had a lot of experience seeing returnees, didn’t show any surprise.

“Let me ask you a few things first.”

“As you wish.”

“First of all, are all the returnees you’re talking about affiliated with one place?”

“Not really.”

“Then?”

“Since they are rather free-spirited, it’s almost impossible to control them in one place. However, there is some exchange between groups that have some kind of organizational character.”

Nam Tae-sik continued, watching Kang Jin-ho exhale smoke.

“Except for a few who refuse to belong due to their outsider nature, and the returnees we haven’t yet identified, it’s better to assume that most of them belong to some kind of organization.”

There was no way this information would be given to Kang Jin-ho for free. If so, it was a part that could be taken as a persuasion, saying, ‘Since others are also affiliated with organizations, you shouldn’t move alone, but slowly join this side.’

“I see. And…”

“Yes.”

“How do you find the returnees? If they don’t reveal themselves, there’s no way, is there?”

“…Do you think they can not reveal themselves?”

Kang Jin-ho didn’t answer.

“Humans tend to seek out their own kind. We don’t really need to look for them. As Kang Jin-ho has already done, just by living in society, returnees tend to find each other and gather.”

Kang Jin-ho had no choice but to nod.

For example, as soon as Kang Jin-ho discovered traces of martial arts, he approached ‘him’. In other words, it meant that others besides himself would not be able to help but be interested if they saw someone with different abilities in this society.

As Nam Tae-sik said, humans tend to seek out their own kind.

Even though they are both human, returnees and ordinary humans are different beings. If there is someone who seems like them, they will inevitably approach that person.

“There are a few other methods, but I can’t tell you about that part. It’s a trade secret.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“Lastly…”

“Yes.”

“Why does your boss want to see me?”

Nam Tae-sik’s face slightly distorted.

He didn’t seem to like the word ‘boss’. No one would like it if the person they served was referred to in such a way.

But Nam Tae-sik soon recovered his composure.

It was true that he didn’t like Kang Jin-ho’s attitude, but he thought there was no need to reveal such a thing in a place where he was trying to persuade him.

“Isn’t the reason why that person wants to see you obvious?”

“Obvious?”

“They want you.”

“It would be nice if you could be more detailed.”

“It’s not just about simple power. They want your existence, itself. The sense of kinship as a returnee, and the interest in each other’s lives. In all those aspects, that person wants you.”

“The power part is quite interesting. Does that mean there’s a chance to use power in this world?”

Nam Tae-sik sighed.

“I don’t know how you see this world, but the power you guys have is much more significant in this world than in the world you lived in.”

Kang Jin-ho agreed with that statement.

If the Demonic Heavenly Sovereign in the Murim world [a world of martial arts] had the same power as Kang Jin-ho now, he wouldn’t have been able to do anything. It’s not that there weren’t that many masters, but any major sect would have at least one master stronger than that.

But here?

If Kang Jin-ho decided to move, no one could find his trail.

Becoming a superhuman was not difficult either.

“One of our jobs is to accept such people, help them adapt to life, and prevent that power from being used in the wrong way.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“So, what do you say? Would you like to meet that person?”

Kang Jin-ho smiled.

But even seeing that smile, Nam Tae-sik couldn’t smile along.

The smile he saw in front of him felt eerie, unlike any he had seen before.

“Let me tell you one thing.”

Nam Tae-sik didn’t answer. No, he couldn’t answer. All his senses were fixed on Kang Jin-ho’s expression and his hand, which was slowly approaching his face.

Kang Jin-ho’s hand slowly approached and grabbed Nam Tae-sik’s face.

It wasn’t strong.

It just felt like a little force was applied.

But Nam Tae-sik couldn’t move. He knew that if Kang Jin-ho wanted to, crushing his face would be nothing.

“I don’t want to know who your boss is, and I don’t care. But let him know this one thing.”

Kang Jin-ho’s teeth growled.

“If you’re an ordinary person, it doesn’t matter. But if you’re one of those returnees you’re talking about, it’s a different story.”

Nam Tae-sik’s body began to tremble.

This was not a delusion.

A strange energy that he had never felt before was emanating from Kang Jin-ho’s body.

And that energy was constricting and trampling on Nam Tae-sik’s heart, body, and soul.

“If you’re someone living in the same world as me, you shouldn’t dare send a subordinate. Tell him to come himself and bow his head. If he’s a martial artist, he won’t dare lift his head in front of me.”

Kang Jin-ho’s teeth were bared fiercely.