Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 605

“Hoo-ooh-ooh.”

Lee Myung-hwan took a deep breath.

His first deployment.

Kang Jin-ho’s words had a significant impact.

No matter how much he told himself to stay calm, it didn’t change anything. His body kept heating up as if he had a burning fire in his chest.

He tried closing his eyes, chanting Buddhist scriptures, and even humming a hymn he’d picked up somewhere, but nothing calmed him down.

‘Damn it, should I take a calming pill or something?’

A martial artist’s body wouldn’t be calmed by some measly medicine, but Lee Myung-hwan was desperate enough to consider it.

It felt like his blood was boiling. He tried to calm down, but the word ‘battle’ had triggered his brain, and it was forcing his entire body into a state of high tension, regardless of his will.

The others were the same.

‘Suffocating.’

The demonic energy filling the hall felt like it was blocking his lungs. Demonic energy wasn’t a tangible thing, so it shouldn’t actually make it hard to breathe, but that’s how it felt.

The hall was filled with the demonic energy spewing from those damned bastards. Lee Myung-hwan wasn’t the only one going through this.

“Hoo-ooh-ooh.”

Lee Myung-hwan took another deep breath.

‘He did say it might not be today.’

No, the accurate meaning of that statement was that there was a much higher chance it wouldn’t be today. Saying that the first deployment could be tonight was usually just a way of telling them not to let their guard down, even if the chances were slim.

It was pathetic how these guys were all worked up like dogs in heat over such a trivial comment. Of course, Lee Myung-hwan was the same.

‘Calm down.’

He didn’t know how many times he’d thought that already.

Lee Myung-hwan glanced back. These lunatics were so tense, yet they weren’t even getting annoyed with each other. They didn’t want to waste any of their energy that they should be using against the enemy.

He almost wanted to applaud their dedication.

‘I hope we can leave today.’

They were still human, so they couldn’t maintain this tension forever. If days passed like this, they would burn out like a candle, leaving only melted wax behind.

‘Then we need to put out the fire…’

He even started to think that they needed to take some kind of action. He was worried about himself, but the others were in a bad state. It was like they’d thrown a bunch of fighting dogs into one cage. If something went wrong, it would be a major disaster….

That’s when it happened.

Creak.

The sound of the iron door opening sharply pierced Lee Myung-hwan’s ears. Lee Myung-hwan turned his head like lightning. He held his breath when he saw who was entering.

Kang Jin-ho.

Kang Jin-ho was coming inside.

Kang Jin-ho walked to the center of the hall, looked at everyone once, and slowly opened his mouth.

“Are you ready?”

No answer was needed. Their eyes were already speaking for them.

‘This is creepy, seriously.’

Lee Hyun-soo rubbed the goosebumps on his arm. He could do something about his skin, but he couldn’t do anything about this eerie feeling.

It felt like he had a bomb strapped to his back.

‘Do I have to keep seeing these beasts in the future?’

Lee Hyun-soo’s face turned a little serious.

Lee Hyun-soo had dealt with deviants before. Compared to the madness of the deviants, these guys were like docile sheep. But….

‘Even sheep can kill people when they go crazy.’

And it wasn’t just one sheep, but a whole flock.

The thought of having to lead over a hundred of these unpredictable people made his vision go dark.

Lee Hyun-soo glanced at the rearview mirror and immediately turned his head back. Dozens of eyes glowing with red energy. Looking at them was difficult even for Lee Hyun-soo, who prided himself on his courage.

‘I should never do a solo operation.’

It was only because Kang Jin-ho was here that they were somewhat under control. Lee Hyun-soo was certain that if Kang Jin-ho wasn’t here, those guys would have already caused some kind of accident.

“…Didn’t you say the side effects were minimal?”

“Hmm?”

“The demonic cultivation. You said that since you gave them pure demonic cultivation, they wouldn’t go crazy like the deviants.”

“I did.”

“It looks to me like they’re crazy enough as it is.”

Kang Jin-ho grinned, showing his teeth.

“They’re docile compared to guys who kill people and eat their flesh.”

“Please choose a better comparison.”

If the comparison was deviants, then everyone in Korea was a master of anger management. Compared to ordinary martial artists, these guys were definitely not in their right minds.

“Don’t worry. They won’t cause trouble like you think.”

“So, they’re not as ferocious as they look.”

“No.”

Kang Jin-ho said calmly.

“They still have enough reason to fear death. I told them I’d kill them if they caused trouble, so they’ll be fine.”

“…Well, that’s comforting.”

Lee Hyun-soo stared blankly out the window.

‘I never thought the day would come when I’d miss Kim Seok-il.’

When he worked with Kim Seok-il, he only had to worry about Kim Seok-il. That one guy drove him to the brink of suicide with stress, but it was still better than the current situation where crazy people were running wild everywhere….

‘The Assembly is messed up.’

Back when he was in the Yeongnam Association, Lee Hyun-soo had never been pushed out of the top three in the rankings of the craziest people in the area. Everyone in the Yeongnam Association feared Lee Hyun-soo’s cruel methods.

But now?

He was no longer a crazy person, but a commoner who just hoped that the variety of crazy people wouldn’t cause any trouble. All concepts are relative. Lee Hyun-soo, who was a crazy person in the Yeongnam Association, had become a person of common sense by associating with even crazier people.

He didn’t know whether to be happy or sad about this.

“Um…”

At that moment, a low voice came from behind him. Lee Hyun-soo turned his head and saw Lee Myung-hwan looking at him with eyes glowing with red energy.

“Turn your face away when you talk. I thought I was going to suffocate, you bastard.”

“Sorry. But where are we going right now?”

“Why do you need to know?”

“Still, we should know who we’re fighting.”

“Hmm…”

Lee Hyun-soo turned his head and looked at Kang Jin-ho. He was asking what to do. Kang Jin-ho nodded as if to say, ‘Do as you see fit,’ and Lee Hyun-soo opened his mouth.

“We’re going to capture former Assembly Head Lee Joong-gul.”

“…Who did you say?”

“Former Assembly Head Lee Joong-gul.”

Lee Myung-hwan’s face hardened.

“Is there a separate Assembly Head?”

“The elders and his close aides will be there too. Oh, that’s right. Your family members and masters might be there too.”

It was something he already knew, but Lee Hyun-soo acted as if he had just found out.

“Well, those who want to go back can go back. We won’t force you. I don’t think Kang Jin-ho will care about that either, right?”

There was a stir.

It was okay to fight Lee Joong-gul. Even though he was the former Assembly Head, they didn’t have any particular loyalty to him.

But Lee Joong-gul’s inner circle included their own relatives.

Lee Joong-gul had ruled the Assembly for decades, and his close aides were at the heart of the Assembly. Naturally, the young martial artists of the Assembly were all connected to them in some way.

“Go back if you want to.”

Kang Jin-ho said in a monotone voice. It wasn’t a threatening voice. It was just a voice calmly stating the facts.

“Is it okay to go back?”

“Is there a reason why it wouldn’t be?”

Lee Myung-hwan closed his mouth. Then Lee Hyun-soo sighed and spoke for Lee Myung-hwan.

“If we go back now, we’re worried we’ll be at a disadvantage compared to those who fought here.”

“Disadvantage?”

“We’re worried about being discriminated against.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled. As if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“It’s unacceptable to retreat when facing an enemy.”

As soon as those words came out, the atmosphere began to cool down.

“But it’s up to you to decide whether the opponent is an enemy or not. Even if I say they’re the enemy, if you don’t feel they are, then that’s fine, isn’t it? I can’t blame you for that.”

Kang Jin-ho turned his head and looked behind him.

“Don’t retreat when you feel you have to fight. You choose the battlefield where you have to fight and the battlefield where you have to die. I don’t want you to follow me blindly. Make your choice.”

At Kang Jin-ho’s words, everyone’s eyes lowered.

They seemed to be deep in thought.

Kang Jin-ho finished speaking and sat down with his arms crossed.

Lee Hyun-soo watched the scene and whistled softly. They would probably be thinking a lot until the bus reached its destination. He just hoped they would finish thinking by the time they arrived.

The bus drove for a while.

In the past, Lee Joong-gul had lived in the Assembly Head’s residence, but after stepping down from his position, he was staying at his family’s main house.

Lee Hyun-soo turned his head and said,

“Tell the guys in the other buses about the situation and tell them to decide before we arrive. We’ll be there in about 10 minutes.”

“Yes.”

After sorting out the situation, Lee Hyun-soo quietly opened his mouth.

“Kang Jin-ho.”

“What?”

“Isn’t it like we’re going on a picnic, with all these guys riding the bus together?”

“Picnic?”

“Yeah. It’s my first time since graduating from school, so it feels a bit strange.”

Kang Jin-ho turned his head and looked out the window. Lee Hyun-soo could see Kang Jin-ho’s lips moving as if he was muttering something.

‘…Did he just call me crazy?’

No, he couldn’t have.

He probably didn’t.

The bus drove for a while and then stopped. The driver turned his head and said,

“I can’t go any further. We’ll get caught on CCTV.”

“Thanks for your hard work.”

Lee Hyun-soo got up from his seat and said,

“Only those who are getting off should get off. Those who aren’t going to fight should stay seated. We’ll get off first, so just stay there. Like I said, there won’t be any disadvantages. This is a civil war, and we’ll take the special circumstances of a civil war into account. You might have to kill your own relatives. So, think carefully and decide.”

Kang Jin-ho also nodded and got up from his seat and got off the bus first.

Then, he stood to the side and took out a cigarette.

Lee Hyun-soo quietly followed Kang Jin-ho and lit his cigarette.

“You’re still very polite.”

“Polite?”

“Yeah. No one would say anything if you smoked on the bus, but you held it in until now, didn’t you?”

“I was cursing inside.”

“…That’s true.”

Lee Hyun-soo smiled bitterly and turned his head to look at the bus. No one had gotten off yet.

‘Surely, no one’s not getting off, right?’

That wouldn’t happen. Those who were sure that their relatives weren’t here wouldn’t avoid the fight. Or those whose loyalty to Kang Jin-ho surpassed their affection for their relatives, so….

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled as he saw the first person getting off the bus.

Yeah, guys like Lee Myung-hwan.

Lee Myung-hwan got off the bus and stood to the side. And as if that was the signal, people started getting off the bus one after another.