Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 436

That voice was as if it had crawled out of hell. It wasn’t that he was deliberately making a creepy sound or that it was filled with threats. Yet, the voice sounded more cruel and grotesque than anything else in the world. Elena felt as if her mind had been bleached white in that instant. ‘Why?’ After the feeling of terror that made her whole body tremble passed, a question arose. Why was this person suddenly angry? “Hoo…” Kang Jin-ho deeply exhaled the cigarette smoke he had inhaled and then stubbed out the cigarette. Kang Jin-ho, who threw the butt into the ashtray, stood up. “Manners are important.” “Remember this. The reason I’m letting you go is because you were polite today. If that wasn’t the case, I wouldn’t have let you go so easily.” Elena’s lips trembled. The Kang Jin-ho she had heard about and the Kang Jin-ho in front of her now. The mismatched sync between the two very different Kang Jin-hos began to align. ‘Is this his true nature?’ She couldn’t accept it. She couldn’t understand it. How could such a person live with such a gentle demeanor just moments ago? ‘A split personality.’ That was the perfect description. The current Kang Jin-ho was like someone who had pulled a trigger, completely different from how he was just a moment ago. “I’ve received your proposal well. I don’t think I need to give you an answer. Get lost. And it would be best if you never appeared before me again.” Kang Jin-ho left those words behind and walked away. Elena clasped her hands to her chest and curled up her body. Scary. Frightening. She was overwhelmed by an extreme fear that she couldn’t understand why she was trembling so much. It was so intense that she couldn’t tell if it was really fear caused by Kang Jin-ho or if she was having a panic attack. “Cough.” Elena, who had been breathing roughly a few times, lifted her head with a pale face. Scary. Still frightening. But one thing was certain: she couldn’t let Kang Jin-ho go like this. She didn’t even know why Kang Jin-ho had rejected her proposal. If she let Kang Jin-ho go now, the organization would plot to eliminate him, and then he would become her enemy. Enemy. Her and an enemy? ‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ She had never felt this kind of pressure even from the Knights of the Round Table [a legendary group of knights in Arthurian legend]. Turning such a person into an enemy was the worst possible move. “Wait a minute!” Honestly, she didn’t want to grab him. Just the thought of having to face that person again made her pores stand on end. But a sense of duty and responsibility forced her to speak. Right now, she had to look at something bigger than her own well-being. “Just a moment… please talk to me a little more.” “Please. I beg you.” Elena forced her reluctant legs to move and ran in front of Kang Jin-ho. Then, she knelt down on the spot. “Please.” Kang Jin-ho looked at Elena with indifferent eyes and said, “It seems there are people who listen if you act like this.” Her body flinched. “Unfortunately, I’m not one of those people.” Elena raised her head. Her eyes were filled with desperation. “But I am curious.” “Yes?” “What makes you so desperate?” “Ah, I…” “Stand up.” Elena looked at Kang Jin-ho with trembling eyes. “Stand up. Conversations are meant to be held at eye level. If you want to talk, get up from there. I’ve never had a subordinate like you, so I don’t need to receive a report from you.” Elena staggered to her feet. A chilling feeling washed over her. Even though it was the time between dawn and morning, it was the middle of summer. She shouldn’t have been feeling chills, but she was. “Tell me, what do you want to say? I’ll listen.” “Why…” Elena knew that this wasn’t the answer Kang Jin-ho wanted. But she couldn’t help but ask. It was beyond her understanding. “Why are you rejecting our proposal? It’s not a bad offer for you either. You need information about China and Japan to survive their threats. You know that.” “Two things are wrong.” Kang Jin-ho opened his mouth without waiting for Elena’s reaction. “First, I don’t need your information. Survival and all that is my problem. I don’t involve other people in my problems. And secondly…” The corners of Kang Jin-ho’s lips curled up slightly. “You need to be honest. It’s not that I need you, but that you want to use me.” “Isn’t it that you’re trying to manipulate me as you wish under the guise of giving me information?” At that moment, Elena was able to gain one more piece of information about Kang Jin-ho. ‘This person isn’t just a martial artist.’ She had been too fixated on what she had heard. The Kang Jin-ho she had heard about was someone who fit the description of being ignorant. She thought he was the type to ignore strategies that could bring better results and only push forward with force. But that wasn’t it. This person’s mind was exceptionally sharp. Even though they had only exchanged a few words, he had grasped all of her intentions and the intentions of the organization she belonged to. “I’ll give you credit for the audacity to try to use me. It’s the first time I’ve ever received such treatment. Strangely, I’ve never met anyone who tried to use me.” That’s right. Of course, that’s right. Those people would have seen what kind of person you are. If Elena had met Kang Jin-ho first, she wouldn’t have dared to say such things to him. “Is that why?” Kang Jin-ho chuckled softly. “It’s a strange feeling. It doesn’t seem so bad. Maybe it’s a little amusing. However…” Kang Jin-ho growled. “Go and tell them.” “This is the only time I’ll laugh it off as a joke.” Elena nodded her head frantically. Elena’s face was pale as she continued to nod. Kang Jin-ho, as if he understood her reaction, nodded lightly and turned his body. “And tell them this too.” Kang Jin-ho said without looking back. “If they don’t touch me first, there won’t be any problems. If they don’t want the balance to be broken, they should stop the other side, not me.” “Th-there…” Elena grabbed Kang Jin-ho once more. If her previous words were due to a sense of duty and responsibility to the organization, her current question was a pure question from herself. “If, if they target you, then what will you do? Then?” Kang Jin-ho didn’t answer. He just lightly turned his head, looked at Elena, and smiled. The moment Elena saw his unusually sharp teeth, she knew his answer. Leaving Elena, who was staring blankly at him, Kang Jin-ho drove his car out of the rest area. Thud. As the red sports car carrying Kang Jin-ho drove away, Elena collapsed on the spot. Her legs had given out, and she couldn’t hold on any longer. “I was scared.” It was something she wouldn’t say if there were other people around, but fortunately, there was no one watching her here. “…This, this is wrong.” Everyone is mistaken. The Round Table sees him as a fuse thrown into a powder keg. They say that the surroundings are in turmoil and shaking because a person named Kang Jin-ho has appeared in Korea. But the cause and effect were wrong. He wasn’t a fuse. He was the bomb itself. This person wasn’t someone who stirred up East Asia, but someone who was holding and shaking East Asia itself. ‘I have to report this.’ She had to inform the Round Table of this fact quickly. Before something uncontrollable happened. If their response was even slightly wrong, they would be the ones to ignite the powder keg of East Asia. Elena jumped up from her spot and ran towards her bike. The red sports car sped along the road without hesitation. Inside the car, which was moving smoothly, Kang Jin-ho had a subtle expression on his face. ‘Europe, huh…’ Kang Jin-ho felt his mood becoming uneasy. ‘This is unexpected.’ Elena’s appearance was a bit unexpected for Kang Jin-ho. In a way, it was natural. Martial arts had developed alongside humans. And it had declined with science. In the past, when he was a modern person who knew nothing, it might have been different, but now that he knew that martial arts existed in the Central Plains [a historical region in China], he had to assume that there was something similar to the martial arts of the Central Plains in the West as well. ‘Martial arts, huh…’ It was different. He couldn’t pinpoint it exactly, but it was different from his own. “It must be magic.” Kang Jin-ho grinned, revealing his teeth. Everything that exists in the world leaves its traces somehow. Even before he knew that martial arts existed, he knew that martial arts and magic existed. In movies, in comics, in novels. History has been passed down through the name of imagination. And the moment he realized that fact, Kang Jin-ho’s world began to expand. This isn’t everything. The world Kang Jin-ho knows isn’t everything. Perhaps there are countless hidden masters in this world that Kang Jin-ho doesn’t expect. Perhaps this era is even more interesting than the era when he was only in the Central Plains. Kang Jin-ho couldn’t control the corners of his mouth that kept curling up. There is. There are other things. For him, martial arts was a process of stepping forward again. No matter how powerful an enemy he met, it was something he had already experienced. But they were different. There were those who had developed their martial arts in a completely different way from Kang Jin-ho. He was burning with curiosity about what level their martial arts were at and what methods they used. Kang Jin-ho quietly licked his lips. If Elena accepted his warning, there wouldn’t be any conflict for a while, but if they had any vain thoughts, they would reveal themselves before him soon. Kang Jin-ho couldn’t control his own mind. The desire to live quietly without any complications and the curiosity about new martial arts were clashing. Kang Jin-ho took a deep breath. Calm down, calm down. He had already conveyed his intentions to them. Whether they accepted his intentions or tried to trick him was entirely their choice. Kang Jin-ho pressed down on the accelerator. Bwaaaaaaaang! The engine roared explosively, and the car began to surge forward. What if. What if they ignored Kang Jin-ho’s warning? And what if they revealed themselves before Kang Jin-ho? “Then I’ll have to show them.” Who he was. Who Kang Jin-ho was, and what Kang Jin-ho’s martial arts were like. They might gain new knowledge, but the tuition fee would be far from cheap. “Hehehehehe.” Kang Jin-ho, with a twisted smile, pressed the accelerator even harder. The car moved faster, even faster forward.