Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 552

It was a rather bizarre scene.

In the middle of a bustling downtown area, a huge man was kneeling on one knee, head bowed. And the man standing before him was calmly accepting the gesture.

It was as if time had suddenly shifted, and the world had changed.

Everyone who witnessed the scene had that impression.

It was a strange and somewhat archaic sight. From a normal perspective, it should have felt odd, but no one watching seemed to think so.

That was because the pressure emanating from Bator had blown away all the strangeness.

“Get up.”

Kang Jin-ho commanded calmly.

And Bator, as if it were the most natural thing, accepted the command and rose to his feet.

Neither Bator nor Kang Jin-ho seemed to feel any awkwardness at all.

The only one who felt awkward was Jang Da-jing.

The meaning of this scene was not important to him. He just felt a terrible sense of incongruity.

“…Kang Jin-ho.”

Jang Da-jing glared at Kang Jin-ho with burning eyes. Despite receiving that gaze, Kang Jin-ho showed no change in expression.

“May I ask for an explanation?”

Perhaps this was presumptuous. Jang Da-jing knew his place very well. In the world of martial artists, a weak martial artist was treated differently from a weak person in the ordinary world. Even if Kang Jin-ho were to take offense at his rudeness and kill him right now, he would have no grounds for complaint.

That was why Jang Da-jing had been so moved by Bator.

But right now, Jang Da-jing didn’t want to consider such things. He felt like he wanted to rush at Kang Jin-ho right now, even if it meant his death.

His polite request for an explanation was the result of his patience being stretched to its limit.

“This is a bit inconvenient here.”

Kang Jin-ho pointed to the cafe.

“I’ll buy the drinks.”

“…Thank you very much.”

He laced his words with as much sarcasm as possible, but Kang Jin-ho simply laughed it off. Then, he took the lead and walked towards the cafe.

Just as Jang Da-jing sighed and was about to follow him, a chilling voice came from behind.

“Jang Da-jing!”

“…Bator-nim.”

“I warned you. Do not be rude to my master.”

“Bator-nim… Why are you doing this! Why…”

“This is the last warning. If it happens again, I will not hold back any longer. Do not forget that this is also the greatest mercy I can show you.”

Jang Da-jing’s face twisted in disgust.

Then, he glared at Kang Jin-ho’s back with murderous intent.

‘I’ll kill him.’

How dare a human toy with another human?

This should never have happened.

Jang Da-jing followed Kang Jin-ho with heavy steps.

Kang Jin-ho had a slight smile on his face.

It wasn’t because he was enjoying the situation.

It was because the glass placed in front of Bator, who was fidgeting uncomfortably in his chair, looked like a miniature.

Looking at Bator, it was as if this place was Lilliput [a fictional island inhabited by tiny people]. Like Gulliver in Lilliput, everything in the world seemed ill-fitting for Bator.

“Th-this is the biggest chair we have in the store.”

The clerk hurriedly brought a large chair. Bator nodded and switched to the new chair.

“This is…”

His face still looked a bit uncomfortable, but he seemed satisfied that his buttocks fit in the chair.

In fact, Bator was a martial artist who had reached a high level, so he could maintain his posture for a couple of hours without a chair, but still.

“…What happened?”

It was Jang Da-jing who broke the slightly heated atmosphere. Jang Da-jing was demanding an explanation from Kang Jin-ho as if he were Bator’s guardian.

It was presumptuous, but Kang Jin-ho didn’t point it out.

In terms of status, he didn’t have the right, but Kang Jin-ho remembered the dedication Jang Da-jing had shown when Bator had collapsed. If someone he cared about was harmed, Kang Jin-ho would act the same way.

“It’s as you see it.”

“Do you think that’s an explanation?”

A smile formed on Kang Jin-ho’s lips.

“I don’t understand why you’re asking for an explanation when you already know. Don’t you already have a good idea of how things are going? Is there a reason why you need to hear it from my mouth?”

Jang Da-jing pressed his lips tightly.

‘Damn it.’

Kang Jin-ho was right.

He wasn’t a fool. There was no way he wouldn’t know why Bator was reacting like this. Kang Jin-ho must have done something. But what was he asking again?

This was just lingering attachment.

It was just his lingering attachment, a situation created by his desire to somehow find out from Kang Jin-ho how to return Bator to normal.

“Is there no way to go back?”

“It’s possible.”

“If you release him?”

Kang Jin-ho nodded without answering.

“Is this the price for your sin?”

A smile formed on Kang Jin-ho’s lips.

“If you thought that a simple death could pay for everything, then you are truly foolish. I’m sorry, but death doesn’t have much meaning to me. Not to me, nor to others. So, you’ll have to pay the price in a different way than death.”

Jang Da-jing shuddered. This, this was too…

“Isn’t it too cruel?”

“What is?”

“To lose one’s mind and live as someone else’s puppet. This is too cruel.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly looked at Jang Da-jing.

“That’s strange.”

“For you, death has a different meaning than it does for me, so isn’t it better to live as a slave than to die?”

“There are times when life is worse than death. I guarantee that if you asked Bator-nim to choose between becoming your slave and dying, he would have chosen death without hesitation. Isn’t that why you subdued Bator-nim, because you knew that?”

“That’s certainly true.”

Kang Jin-ho didn’t deny it.

But that didn’t mean he thought it was excessive. This was the punishment he was giving to Bator. If you committed a sin, you had to pay the price. Even if that price was worse than death.

“Then, will Bator-nim be like this for the rest of his life…?”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

“I don’t particularly want to keep him for that long. A few years at most.”

“A few years…”

It was an ambiguous statement.

A number that wasn’t precisely defined. Other than it not exceeding ten years, nothing was set in stone.

Jang Da-jing ended up covering his face.

Even he couldn’t understand why he was in so much pain. If he were to be cold about it, from the moment Bator lost to Kang Jin-ho, his relationship with Bator was as good as severed.

Even if Bator was fine, he would have eventually returned to his home country, and he would have had to stay here and continue his life as an informant.

So, what kind of connection did Bator have that he had to suffer so much over this?

His head was telling him to back off, but his heart wouldn’t accept it.

“…So, are you going to treat Bator-nim like a servant now? After suppressing his mind?”

“Why do I have to explain that to you?”

Jang Da-jing bit his lip tightly.

Then, he slowly turned his head and looked at Bator. Bator was glaring at him as if he didn’t like the way he was questioning Kang Jin-ho.

‘Bator-nim.’

Would this be how it feels if a healthy loved one became an imbecile overnight?

The thought that Bator’s strong and great martial spirit had become subordinate to Kang Jin-ho made Jang Da-jing’s hands tremble.

Perhaps feeling sorry for Jang Da-jing, or perhaps it was just a whim, Kang Jin-ho quietly opened his mouth.

“It might be faster than you think. After all, if Bator becomes stronger, my control over him will weaken.”

In an instant, life returned to Jang Da-jing’s eyes.

“So, it’s not omnipotent.”

“That’s how all martial arts are.”

“Should we even call this martial arts? Isn’t it sorcery?”

“Do you think sorcery isn’t martial arts?”

Kang Jin-ho said mockingly.

“What do you think martial arts are? It’s a technique to defeat an opponent. If you’re going to shout about fairness, why don’t you tell each other to put down your weapons first?”

Jang Da-jing closed his mouth.

“This is the end of my mercy. Tell Hong Wang that I’ll use Bator well. I’ll release him when I no longer need him. But I can’t guarantee that Bator won’t die before then. It’s a borrowed item, but I’ll have to use it roughly.”

Kang Jin-ho got up from his seat.

Bator also got up from his seat, following Kang Jin-ho.

“W-wait a minute!”

It was Jang Da-jing who became flustered. If he let Bator go like this, it would be as Kang Jin-ho said. There was no reason for Kang Jin-ho to use the martial artist he had subdued gently.

Even if Bator were to die at some point, as Kang Jin-ho said, it wouldn’t be strange at all.

The moment he realized that, Jang Da-jing knew what he had to do.

“T-take me with you.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes lit up with interest.

“You?”

Jang Da-jing had a troubled look on his face, as if he couldn’t understand the words that had come out of his own mouth.

“…Yes. Take me with you.”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Jang Da-jing with amusement.

“Why should I do that?”

“Because it’s beneficial to you.”

“How so?”

Jang Da-jing sighed and said,

“Bator-nim is a wise man. But he is also a blindly impulsive man. Especially now. Bator-nim, who is trapped by the absolute command to follow your orders, will be even more blindly impulsive than before.”

“Hmm.”

“Then, in order for you to control Bator-nim, you will have to always keep him with you. That wouldn’t be efficient for either Bator-nim or you.”

“So, you’ll take on that role?”

“Yes.”

Jang Da-jing said firmly.

“Fortunately, Bator-nim still thinks of me in a special way. I don’t know why he thinks of me that way…”

Jang Da-jing bit his lip and said,

“I can use that. I can guide him more wisely.”

“I understand. But I don’t understand. It seems like there’s no benefit for you in this?”

“…Instead!”

Jang Da-jing glared at Kang Jin-ho with burning eyes.

“When Bator-nim! No, when we have done enough, please release Bator-nim. And while he is under your command, please treat Bator-nim humanely. If those two things are kept, I will give you my soul.”

Hostile eyes.

Eyes filled with nothing but hatred were glaring at him.

But Kang Jin-ho actually felt good.

‘Impressive.’

Loyalty…

It was an emotion that didn’t suit him, but there was something about it that made a man’s heart tremble just by looking at it.

“I accept.”

If that was the case, he had to reciprocate.

“But there’s one thing I want to ask.”

“Please, ask.”

Kang Jin-ho asked with a very serious face.

“Then, how much should I pay you for your annual salary?”