Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 287

Bang Jin-hoon swallowed hard.

‘He’s different again.’

He thought he had seen Kang Jin-ho’s true colors before. But the Kang Jin-ho now was different from then.

It was as if a sword that had been in its scabbard had been taken out and sharpened to a razor’s edge.

‘Is this Kang Jin-ho preparing for battle?’

He was relieved again.

If Kang Jin-ho had joined hands with Lee Joong-geol and targeted him, Kang Jin-ho would now be his enemy across the way. Imagining himself falling without even being able to resist that merciless hand, he could once again realize how fortunate it was that Kang Jin-ho had reached out to him.

‘It’s not the time to think about my position.’

First, he had to survive.

When Kang Jin-ho slightly narrowed his brow, Bang Jin-hoon realized his mistake and opened his mouth.

“It’s done.”

Kang Jin-ho looked around slightly and said,

“Is this your preparation?”

“I gathered a small elite group. Among those who could move without being detected, only the strongest…”

“These pieces of trash?”

Bang Jin-hoon’s mouth snapped shut like a clam.

Kang Jin-ho was looking at Bang Jin-hoon with a strange expression.

“If this is the kind of people gathered here, then the Assembly Head must be just as pathetic.”

It was an insulting remark.

It was an extremely insulting remark that proud martial artists would not be able to tolerate. But no one could open their mouths to protest to Kang Jin-ho.

They could also feel it.

The person in front of them now was as sharp as a razor blade.

The pressure that he might immediately cut their throats if they carelessly spoke to him made them speechless.

“…They are quite elite.”

“I see.”

Kang Jin-ho didn’t push Bang Jin-hoon any further.

It was pointless.

In fact, Kang Jin-ho didn’t expect anything more than this. Even if Bang Jin-hoon had gathered much stronger people, nothing would have changed.

“What’s the plan?”

Bang Jin-hoon sweated at Kang Jin-ho’s concise question.

“We are currently behind the Assembly Head’s headquarters. If we go straight from here, we will reach the wall of the headquarters, and if we cross that, we can enter the residence where the Assembly Head is.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“Simple, I like it.”

“But the Assembly Head will know that we are targeting him. The security will be tighter than usual, and it is impossible to approach the residence without being detected.”

Kang Jin-ho gave an unexpected answer to Bang Jin-hoon’s words.

“Then we just don’t hide.”

“…Excuse me?”

Srrrring.

It was a familiar sound.

The metallic sound of a sword being drawn from its scabbard.

It was a sound that a martial artist would have to hear countless times, but Bang Jin-hoon thought that this sound was strangely eerie.

Srrrring.

Once more.

Kang Jin-ho, who had drawn both swords from the scabbards at his waist, turned his body in the direction Bang Jin-hoon had pointed.

“Just keep one thing in mind.”

“Don’t approach me. You’ll die.”

Bang Jin-hoon looked at Kang Jin-ho with a nervous gaze. Kang Jin-ho, with an expression that he could no longer bear it, licked his lips with his tongue and slowly began to walk forward.

Bang Jin-hoon couldn’t hide his hollow feeling as he watched Kang Jin-ho walking ahead.

‘If this is the case, why was there a need for preparation?’

He felt a little wronged, but it didn’t matter.

‘Today, history will change.’

The long, drawn-out power struggle with the Assembly Head would end today. It was still unknown who would win, but the result would soon be revealed.

Min Dae-sung yawned widely.

“Haaahm.”

After yawning and stretching, he felt a little more awake.

“Ah, what a anachronistic thing to do.”

Min Dae-sung, leaning against the wall, tapped the floor. The security was good. He could understand being asked to stand guard.

Even though it was the 21st century where CCTV could check and record movements more accurately than people, there were blind spots in CCTV. He could understand the idea of people filling those blind spots.

However, what he couldn’t understand was why he had to be guarding the outside of the building at this early hour.

‘Is he senile, really?’

He didn’t intend to criticize him for being afraid, unlike a martial artist. The rumor that Director Bang had recently targeted the Assembly Head and narrowly failed had already spread throughout the Assembly.

It wasn’t officially confirmed, but everyone thought it was true. If that wasn’t the case, there would be no reason for Director Bang to suddenly disappear from public appearances, and no reason for the Assembly Head to surround himself with people like a coward.

‘Even so, this is too much.’

Unless Director Bang was crazy, there was no way he would attack the Assembly, claiming he would assassinate the Assembly Head who was holed up inside.

If that many people moved, there would be no need to be on guard. Everyone would know before they even arrived here. And if that many people were missing from the Assembly, it wouldn’t go unnoticed.

Since there had been no such reports so far, it would be a small number that could move, and for a small number to attack the Assembly Head’s residence was something only a madman would do.

The Assembly Head’s residence was located right behind the main building, and if anything happened, those who were staying in the main building would rush to the residence.

‘But why is he doing this?’

It was an incomprehensible order to those who knew the situation. It wasn’t like they were guarding the residence, but they were guarding all the paths that could lead to the residence. Did that make any sense?

‘This is why Director Bang is gathering forces.’

He didn’t know what the Assembly Head was like in the past, but the current Assembly Head was nothing more than a cowardly old man. He seemed to be completely unaware that each and every order he gave could be a standard for evaluating him.

Why didn’t he know how shameful it was for a martial artist to be so afraid of the enemy that he holed up inside?

‘There’s also the issue of morale.’

If he had even a little bit of consideration for how miserable those who had to stand guard in the cold night air after receiving such an absurd order, he wouldn’t be able to give such an order.

“I can’t take it anymore, really.”

Min Dae-sung banged his head against the wall behind him to wake himself up.

At that moment, his phone started ringing. He slowly took out his phone as if everything was a bother, pressed the call button, and put the phone to his ear.

“What?”

He frowned when he heard the voice coming from the other end of the line.

“What do you mean what am I doing? I’m just spacing out. Looking at my phone to kill time is only good for an hour or two, I don’t know what to do. Isn’t it a violation of human rights to make people stand around and guard until morning when there’s nothing to do? They should at least bring a TV or a game console. Damn it.”

He tilted his head as he complained on the phone.

“Hey, what are you doing? Why aren’t you talking after calling?”

He checked his phone, wondering if the machine was broken, and then hung up, tilting his head.

‘What is it?’

He couldn’t understand why someone who had been talking on the phone suddenly stopped talking. It didn’t seem like something had happened…

If there had been an accident, he would have heard even a small noise. But there was no sound at all. There was no way that a martial artist would be defeated without making a sound.

“Is my phone broken?”

He had told him to get a newer model.

The problem was that martial artists were all old-fashioned. The Assembly was full of communication dinosaurs who still used feature phones in the 21st century.

“If their heads are old-fashioned, what else can you expect?”

He shoved the phone into his pocket irritably and leaned back against the wall.

There were many others besides him who were dissatisfied with the Assembly Head’s actions. They were keeping their mouths shut because it was difficult to openly rebel, but there were quite a few who supported Bang Jin-hoon even while siding with the Assembly Head.

However, since they were often tied to factions and families rather than individuals, it was not easy to change sides.

Overall, many of the younger generation supported Bang Jin-hoon, while the older generation tended to support the Assembly Head.

“Who cares?”

Whether the Assembly Head wins or Bang Jin-hoon wins, what does it matter to them? It was just a fight between the higher-ups. They just had to watch who wins and take whatever they could get.

Let the higher-ups fight it out.

“I wish my shift would end soon.”

It was still a long time before sunrise.

Just as he was wondering how to pass the time, Min Dae-sung’s eyes widened slightly.

‘What is it?’

It seemed like he could see something white in front of him.

At first, he thought he had seen it wrong, but the blurry shape was getting closer and closer.

‘Is it a ghost?’

He knew that was impossible, but he couldn’t help but think that. This place was deep in the mountains, and the place he was guarding was far from the road.

There was no way a normal person would come this way.

Was it an enemy?

That was unlikely.

If it was an enemy, such a small number wouldn’t be heading this way. It wasn’t just a matter of dealing with Min Dae-sung himself.

The shape was becoming clearer as it got closer.

A person.

It was definitely a person.

A person dressed in black was slowly approaching him, holding something long in both hands. Min Dae-sung was momentarily at a loss as to how to react to his slow pace.

If he was rushing towards him, he would immediately shout for help and stop him, but it was difficult to think of him as an enemy since he was approaching so slowly.

‘But that…’

He couldn’t see the face of the person walking towards him clearly, but there was something that caught his eye. The long objects in his hands.

‘Is that a sword?’

Min Dae-sung narrowed his brow and focused his gaze on the object the strange man was holding in his hands.

White… and red?

‘Blood?’

Min Dae-sung’s mouth opened wide as he realized that the red liquid dripping from the end of the long object, the sword, was blood.

“Here…”

At that moment.

The strange man appeared right in front of Min Dae-sung, as if compressing space, just as he was about to shout for help.

Min Dae-sung’s eyes widened as if they were about to tear.

How could he close that distance in the time it took to take a breath unless he was a ghost?

He was so surprised that he felt like his heart was jumping out of his throat.

At the same time…

Swish.

A familiar yet unfamiliar sound was heard. The sound of a sharp blade cutting through soft flesh.

The sound was familiar, but the place where the sound was coming from was unfamiliar.

No one in the world would be familiar with the sound of their own flesh being cut at their neck!

Swish, swish.

Along with the indifferent sound, extreme pain began to surge from his arms and legs.

He tried to scream in pain rather than shout for help, but only the sound of wind escaping could be heard from his throat, and no voice could come out.

Only gasping groans and the sound of wind escaping quietly spread into the silent forest. His arms and legs didn’t move properly either. It seemed like his tendons had been cut.

Min Dae-sung, terrified, wet his pants. But Min Dae-sung didn’t even know that he had wet his pants. Fear and pain had taken away his senses.

The strange man, who had been quietly watching Min Dae-sung under the moonlight, curled up the corners of his mouth.

“You’re lucky.”

Because you might live.

Those inside won’t be able to fall as easily and comfortably as you.

Kang Jin-ho jumped over the wall, bathed in the shimmering moonlight.

A long, long night was beginning.