Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 550

“You need to undress.”

“……Undress?”

Undressing, wasn’t that about taking off clothes? But why on earth would he need to take off his clothes?

Kang Jin-ho felt a sense of dread as he looked at the strangely shaped bed inside the treatment room. Humans tend to feel a sense of rejection when faced with the unknown that surpasses their understanding.

The treatment room, decorated with various plants and expensive-looking interiors, was a sight Kang Jin-ho had never seen before. He felt the same strange sense of unease he had felt in the alien lair he had seen in movies.

The massage bed in the center was even more out of sync with Kang Jin-ho’s style.

“Do I really need to undress to get skin care?”

“Yes. You’ll be getting a full body massage at the same time as the skin care. You need to undress because we’ll be using oil.”

“……Is that so?”

Kang Jin-ho grabbed his waistband with a reluctant expression.

“Here?”

“Oh, no, customer! This way!”

The startled attendant guided Kang Jin-ho to a door on one side. Opening the door revealed a space for changing clothes.

The only difference was that there was a personal locker that seemed to be about three times the size of a normal cabinet.

“There are gowns and underwear inside. Please change and come out wearing the gown.”

“……Underwear?”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded with a solemn expression, like a soldier going into battle. The attendant also nodded solemnly and closed the door to the changing room.

Then, she went to the counter and sighed.

“He doesn’t seem to know anything?”

“That’s what it seems like. He’s supposed to be Choi Yeon-ha’s friend, but he doesn’t seem like it at all? He seems a bit naive, too.”

“And on top of that, he’s handsome.”

Everyone’s eyes were fixed on one direction.

“No, I’m serious. He’s really handsome. Look at him again properly.”

“I didn’t get that feeling?”

“I’m serious. I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before… Isn’t he the guy who was in that drama with Choi Yeon-ha before?”

“Who?”

“You know, the guy who was only in the first episode of the drama Choi Yeon-ha was in recently, and everyone was talking about him.”

“Oh?”

People began to tilt their heads in confusion.

“Come to think of it…”

“No way, that can’t be him. There was so much buzz about him back then. If it was him, he wouldn’t be so ordinary.”

“I’m telling you, he’s handsome! He’s really handsome! Didn’t you see the manager taking pictures and making a fuss earlier?”

“Hmm…”

At that moment, with a clattering sound, Kang Jin-ho came out with a frown on his face.

Everyone was speechless.

‘He’s handsome.’

‘He really is handsome?’

‘Why is he wearing clothes? Is it some kind of seal?’

It was a strange thing.

When he was wearing his clothes, Kang Jin-ho didn’t seem particularly special, but when he came out wearing just a gown, his face seemed to come alive. They say clothes make the man, but in Kang Jin-ho’s case, his clothes were actually hiding his face.

‘He should just walk around without clothes.’

‘Look at those leg muscles.’

‘His skin… wow, his skin!’

As everyone at the counter stared silently, Kang Jin-ho opened his mouth with an uncomfortable expression.

“……What do I do now?”

“Ah! I’m sorry, customer!”

The attendant was startled and rushed to Kang Jin-ho.

“Please come this way. I’ll guide you to the treatment room.”

“Oh, sis, didn’t you say you were busy today? I can do it.”

“I’m not busy. Not at all.”

Kang Jin-ho was led into the treatment room by the attendant, who seemed to be in a hurry.

‘Is this… a good idea?’

Questions had been piling up since a little while ago.

He had started this on the condition that he wouldn’t object to whatever Choi Yeon-ha told him to do, so it was hard to stop now, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going wrong.

“Please lie down here.”

“……Okay.”

Somehow, the attendant’s voice seemed to have become brighter, but… well, it must be his imagination, right?

After lying on the bed, a large blanket was placed over his body. Then, the attendant, who was positioned above his head, smiled brightly.

“You’ll feel refreshed after the treatment.”

“……”

He was starting to feel tired.

***

Jang Da-jing’s face was ashen.

He hadn’t been eating properly for days, nor had he been sleeping well, so it was only natural that his face was haggard.

“Go get some rest.”

“No. I’m fine.”

“You’ll collapse if you keep this up.”

“Would a warrior collapse from not sleeping for a few days? Don’t worry about me.”

“You’re so stubborn.”

His colleagues were worried about him, but Jang Da-jing didn’t hear a word they said. His gaze was fixed on the tightly closed door.

‘Master Bator.’

Bator had been discharged from the hospital the day he woke up, and he hadn’t come out of that room since. He had even refused Jang Da-jing’s entry and had locked himself in the room.

Others thought that Master Bator was disheartened by the shock of his defeat, but Jang Da-jing knew that wasn’t the case.

‘No.’

Jang Da-jing shook his head.

The ‘statement’ Bator had made when he woke up was still ringing in his mind.

‘That’s not it!’

It was something that couldn’t be possible logically. How could someone with a strong spirit like Bator completely submit to his opponent after just one defeat?

Even when he had lost to the Red King, Bator had declared himself his servant in order to challenge him again. But how could it be Kang Jin-ho of all people…

“Aaaaaaaah!”

A huge roar came from inside the room.

Jang Da-jing’s body trembled. He had tried to go inside several times, startled by the roar, but Bator had refused. Jang Da-jing couldn’t say anything in front of Bator, who had shouted with red eyes that he would tear him limb from limb if he dared to step into the room without permission.

‘What on earth is going on…’

It’s nothing much.

What they experienced, that is.

It was just that one person had passed it on to another and lost. There were many things that happened in the process, but it was something that could be simply assessed.

But the result was unusual.

The only reason Jang Da-jing couldn’t sleep was this.

The Bator he knew was not someone who would be so disheartened by a single defeat. The fact that such a person was refusing to be approached by others meant that something was definitely going on.

Inside Bator.

‘What did you do!’

If so, there was only one cause.

Kang Jin-ho.

That guy had done something to Bator. Otherwise, there was no way Bator would be suffering like that.

But what on earth did he do?

What could he have done to make the strong Bator suffer so much?

Jang Da-jing raised his hand and grabbed his face.

He was overwhelmed by worry for Bator and a chilling fear of Kang Jin-ho at the same time. It was unbearable.

“……Master Bator.”

His quiet voice was devoid of strength.

“Huuu…”

Bator was clutching his head.

No, the word ‘clutching’ didn’t suit him. Bator’s strong hands were full of bulging veins. And his head was trembling, unable to withstand the pressure from his hands.

If he applied just a little more force, Bator would burst his own head.

“Kang… Jin-ho.”

Bator opened his eyes, which had been tightly closed.

His eyes were dyed red, as if they were covered in blood. The blood vessels in his eyes had all burst, making him look like a demon.

Bator’s body trembled.

What he was doing now was simple.

Rejection.

Resisting with all his might.

It was to reject and resist the voice that was coming from his head. Just that alone was painful and exhausting enough to make his whole body tremble.

“Huuu…”

A whistling sound escaped from Bator’s mouth.

It was coming.

The voice.

The voice that was forcing him.

– Obey.

“No!”

Bator shouted roughly and gritted his teeth.

No.

He could never do that.

Why would he resist Kang Jin-ho? Of course, he should obey……

Ah, no! Why should he obey! Of course, he should resist!

“Damn it!”

Bator opened his mouth wide.

He was going crazy.

From some point on, his thoughts were refusing to be controlled by him. Every time he heard the name Kang Jin-ho, his whole body would shrink like a frightened puppy, and every time he thought of his appearance, he would feel terrified, like a child looking at an angry father.

He had to obey.

He had to obey him.

“No! Aaaaaaaah!”

Bator jumped up from his seat and kicked the table in sight. He swung his fist and broke the bed, then kicked the TV again.

“I am not your servant! I, I am!”

– Bator!

“No! I am! I am Bator!

The warrior of the blue plains, that’s who I am!”

It was right after he opened his eyes that he noticed the abnormality.

He had felt a surge of anger, as if his blood was boiling, at Jang Da-jing’s light words of cursing Kang Jin-ho. If he had lost his reason just a little more, Jang Da-jing would no longer be alive.

Like a fanatic whose god had been insulted, Bator felt a huge anger and hostility that he had never felt before.

How could this be happening?

As Bator realized the abnormality and tried to resist, a voice, as if whispering and declaring, was heard in his ear.

– Obey.

The voice was an absolute declaration.

Something that could not be refused, and something that should never be refused.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Bator screamed and grabbed his head. Unable to endure it, he eventually collapsed to the floor and groaned.

“No… No. I am not your servant! I am the warrior of the blue plains, Bator! I am…”

– Obey!

“I am!”

– Bator!

When he closed his eyes, a huge crimson flame engulfed him. As if it would burn his entire soul. Every time he tried to reject Kang Jin-ho, unbearable pain would take over his entire body.

A huge pain that even Bator could only scream like a frightened dog.

He could endure physical pain as much as he wanted.

But he couldn’t endure this pain that seemed to crush his soul.

“I am!”

– Bator!

With eyes that had lost their focus, Bator quietly muttered.

“I am…”

His small mutterings leaked out of his mouth several times, again and again.

Thud!

The door was roughly opened.

“M, Master Bator!”

Jang Da-jing was horrified and looked at Bator.

The door that had been tightly closed had finally opened. And behind that door, Bator’s majestic body, like a mountain, stood proudly.

Jang Da-jing looked at Bator’s face with trembling eyes.

“Ah!”

A gasp escaped from Jang Da-jing’s mouth.

As if he had blown away all the conflicts he had been having, Bator had a determined look on his face.

‘He overcame it!’

Joy filled Jang Da-jing’s heart.

“Jang Da-jing.”

“Yes! Master Bator!”

“Prepare the car.”

“……Wh, where are you going?”

Bator opened his mouth as if it was obvious.

“I’m going to see Kang Jin-ho, my master.”

Jang Da-jing’s world collapsed.