Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 509

“…What’s with those guys?”

Park Yumin looked at Bator and the others with a bewildered expression. Bator, who had been glaring at them, suddenly jumped up from his seat, bowed repeatedly to those around him, and headed for the stairs.

Then, he glanced back at them once before climbing the stairs again and leaving the stadium.

A bit of bewilderment, and a bit of ‘huh’.

“Those guys… they were looking this way, right?”

“Maybe?”

Kang Jin-ho neither confirmed nor denied it. In fact, there was no need to confirm it. The more Park Yumin got involved in this world, the more dangerous it would become.

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes were very cold and calm.

If Bator had known a little more about Kang Jin-ho, he wouldn’t have approached him like that. If he had known that such behavior would provoke Kang Jin-ho more than any other action.

Kang Jin-ho was a person who extremely disliked martial artists interfering in his daily life. It was as if the boundary he had barely drawn had been invaded by muddy feet.

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes sank even deeper.

“Jin-ho?”

“Huh?”

But the moment Park Yumin called him, Kang Jin-ho turned to him with gentle eyes.

“Th-there… Jong-in is running away!”

“Where!”

Kang Jin-ho quickly turned his head and spotted Jong-in climbing the stairs, escaping the hands of the childcare teachers.

“Go get him!”

“Deploy!”

Park Yumin clapped his hands behind Kang Jin-ho, who was jumping over chairs to catch the child.

“H-hyung! I’ll help too.”

“Sit down.”

“Jin-sung, don’t go anywhere, stay here. You’re more of a worry than the kid.”

“Hyung!”

“Please, just stay still and don’t cause trouble. Please.”

Han Jin-sung looked up at the sky with a soul-departing face.

There was no god or Buddha in this world.

“You worked hard today.”

“You’re saying all sorts of things.”

“Hard work is hard work.”

He didn’t know if this could be called hard work. Even if it was called hard work, he could do this kind of hard work anytime.

“Oppa, today was fun!”

“Hyung, you did a great job.”

“Thaaank you, very much.”

“Let’s go play again next time.”

“Sure, sure.”

It seemed like there were some strange words mixed in, but who cared? Kang Jin-ho reached out and ruffled Han Jin-sung’s hair.

Normally, he would have resisted, but Han Jin-sung, whose mental state was shattered, just let his head be tossed around.

Kang Jin-ho smiled lightly at the sight.

Bang Jin-hoon had told him.

He asked if it was necessary to unilaterally waste effort and money on something that had no return.

But that was a misunderstanding.

‘Yumin is right.’

It’s fun.

There was nowhere else in the world where he could invest this much effort and get this much joy. So, the statement that there was no return was definitely wrong.

“Then, I’ll go.”

“Go safely.”

Park Yumin waved his hand.

“Hyung, go home safely.”

“Oppa, see you next time.”

“Ugh, ugh, uhh.”

Only after hugging the child who was waddling towards him could Kang Jin-ho turn around.

‘I think I understand.’

He thought he understood what Park Yumin meant by trust. When he first came to the orphanage, everyone was wary of him. And after visiting the orphanage a few times and getting a little closer to the children, there were children who would grab his hand and not let go when it was time to leave.

Don’t go.

It wasn’t an unusual sight anywhere, but the intensity of the children here was a bit extreme. It was as if Kang Jin-ho would never return if he left, and they would cry and cling to him.

But now, even when he says he’s leaving, they just wave their hands and don’t try to grab him.

Is it because they’ve grown distant?

No.

It was because they were now certain that Kang Jin-ho would definitely visit again. That certainty came from the bond created by the time and effort Kang Jin-ho had spent here so far.

This bond.

It was a bond he had not been able to obtain even after spending decades in the Demonic Cult [a fictional martial arts sect].

So, it was more like… what should he say…

After confirming that the children had moved away, Kang Jin-ho took out his phone. Then, with a nonchalant hand gesture, he dialed a number.

[Yes, this is Lee Hyun-soo.]

Kang Jin-ho said in a monotone voice.

“There is someone provoking me.”

[Did you say provoking?]

“Yes. They provoke from afar and then disappear.”

A heavy silence was transmitted from the other side of the phone.

After a moment of silence, a low voice was heard again.

[What can I do for you?]

“Confirm it.”

[Did you say confirm?]

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho spat out the words.

“Who he is.”

The response was faster than expected.

He thought it would take some time, but Lee Hyun-soo easily obtained the opponent’s video by collecting the CCTV footage installed in the baseball field. Then, by sending that video to informants in China and Japan, he was able to easily find out who the opponent was.

Everything went smoothly, but Lee Hyun-soo’s face was not bright at all. Rather, it was a little darker.

“His name is Bator.”

“Bator?”

“Yes. He’s quite famous.”

There was a slightly strange nuance mixed in Lee Hyun-soo’s words. Kang Jin-ho noticed it, but he didn’t urge Lee Hyun-soo. He knew he would tell him if he waited.

“Strictly speaking… he’s from the Hongwang faction.”

“Hongwang, huh…”

Kang Jin-ho thought that name was mentioned quite often. Although he was involved with China, he knew almost nothing about the other two kings. All he ever heard was the name Hongwang.

“The reason I said ‘strictly speaking’ is because he is not a complete member of the Hongwang faction.”

Lee Hyun-soo coughed as he saw Kang Jin-ho’s questioning gaze.

“We don’t have a complete grasp of the Hongwang faction’s divisions, but Bator’s name is not on the list. Of course, if Bator belonged to the Hongwang faction, he would hold a very high position. Nevertheless, the reason we don’t classify him as a Hongwang faction member is… he is not someone who submitted to Hongwang and entered his command, but rather someone who is bound by a contract with Hongwang.”

“Like a retainer.”

“Yes?”

“No. Continue.”

Lee Hyun-soo seemed to think that more explanation was needed, but Kang Jin-ho could understand the relationship between Hongwang and Bator with what he had heard so far.

In the past, many large sects and families had outsiders who stayed with them as ‘retainers.’ They were people whose abilities were outstanding and who they wanted to be with, but they were not blood relatives or disciples of the sect, so they could not be brought into the sect. They were called retainers and were treated well.

In return for receiving various things from the sect, the retainers would step forward and fight or solve various problems when needed.

In the past, when the Namgung family was at the height of its fame, there were twice as many retainers as there were family members.

“Anyway, that’s how it is. He’s from the Hongwang faction, but he’s not. Bator is Mongolian, and it is known that he came to China for some reason and was recruited by Hongwang. Before being recruited by Hongwang, he seems to have caused quite a stir. Thanks to that, even though his activity period is not very long, he is recognized as a strong figure.”

“Hmm…”

Kang Jin-ho nodded quietly.

“So, Hongwang sent him.”

“That’s highly likely.”

“But why?”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head.

“I don’t have any particular grudge against Hongwang, so why would he send a retainer to try to eliminate me?”

Lee Hyun-soo closed his mouth.

Originally, he was going to explain that from the moment Kang Jin-ho destroyed the Yeongnam Association, which was supported by the Hongwang faction, and absorbed its power, they had become irreconcilable.

But when he was about to say that, a question arose in Lee Hyun-soo’s mind as well.

‘Is that really it?’

The answer was ‘no.’

Of course, it was true that Kang Jin-ho had harmed the Hongwang faction by destroying the Yeongnam Association, but the damage was not so great that Hongwang would have to react so aggressively.

For Hongwang, who ruled a third of China, a power struggle in a small peninsula was not something worth obsessing over.

‘Then why?’

The question Kang Jin-ho had thrown out was messing with Lee Hyun-soo’s head. Even when he thought about it, there was no reason for Hongwang to try to eliminate Kang Jin-ho.

Even if he had such a desire, the order was wrong. Hadn’t Hongwang already tried to put the Korean peninsula under his control by supporting the Yeongnam Association?

If so, before eliminating him, he should have first contacted Kang Jin-ho and made the same attempt, or after Kang Jin-ho disappeared, he should have supported a force that could dominate Korea…

At that moment, Lee Hyun-soo’s face hardened slightly.

‘I might be missing something.’

He couldn’t explain it exactly in words, but he was sure that there was something. And to pinpoint this feeling, he needed more time and information.

“I will investigate this part separately.”

“Do that.”

“The important thing is not the reason, but the fact that they are currently targeting Kang Jin-ho. But as far as I know, they just watched from afar and left. Is there a reason why you are so sure that they came to eliminate you?”

“You can tell by looking.”

“Yes?”

“You can tell when you face them. It’s not just a simple provocation.”

Lee Hyun-soo could only nod his head.

It was a vague statement, but there was nothing more certain than those words.

He was also half a martial artist. Even he could tell the hostility of the opponent just by feeling their energy, so how much more could a martial artist like Kang Jin-ho feel?

“Then what should we do now?”

At Lee Hyun-soo’s words, Kang Jin-ho smiled.

“There’s no need to do anything.”

Lee Hyun-soo stared at Kang Jin-ho with a blank face. Kang Jin-ho kindly explained to Lee Hyun-soo, who didn’t understand.

“I just wanted to know who he was.”

“But Kang Jin-ho, leaving such a dangerous person around…”

“Leave him?”

A smile formed on Kang Jin-ho’s lips.

The moment he saw that smile, Lee Hyun-soo’s body froze like a stone.

It was a familiar smile.

That day.

The day Kang Jin-ho single-handedly massacred the Yeongnam Association and tore Kim Seok-il’s limbs apart.

That very day, that smile was on Kang Jin-ho’s lips.

No matter how hard he tried to forget, the memory of that hellish day, which he could never forget, was revived, and Lee Hyun-soo’s body trembled involuntarily. Even though he believed that they were now completely on the same side, he couldn’t help but feel the instinctive fear.

That’s how scary Kang Jin-ho was with that face. Enough to leave a trauma that would never be erased.

The smile that he believed he would never see again was now on Kang Jin-ho’s lips.

“It’s not leaving him. They’ll come looking for me soon even if I don’t move. All I have to do is wait.”

Lee Hyun-soo nodded with a dazed look.

Then, Lee Hyun-soo, who had suddenly come to his senses, bit his lip.

“Kang Jin-ho…”

“Hmm?”

“Is there no way to avoid antagonizing him?”

“…Why?”

“He is under Hongwang’s command. Even if he is not a member. Defeating him won’t solve anything. Then Hongwang will send more people and stronger people. Before that…” Before that, shouldn’t we stop it?

Kang Jin-ho’s smile deepened as he listened to Lee Hyun-soo’s sincere advice.

And slowly, very slowly, Kang Jin-ho’s mouth opened.