Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 655

“What are you talking about? Have you gone crazy from being locked up for so long?”

“I’ve always hated that way you talk.”

Lee Hyun-joo’s voice was sharp.

“And I also hated how you can’t understand what people are saying. Do you not understand what I mean?”

“It’s not that I don’t understand, it’s that I can’t accept it. What are you trying to do here? Did you develop some perverted hobby of enjoying being watched?”

Lee Hyun-joo stared at Lee Sung-hwi without answering. At that look, Lee Sung-hwi raised both hands as if surrendering.

“Okay, I’m sorry. I went too far.” Lee Hyun-joo shook her head.

“You didn’t even show your face while my grandfather was dying, and now you suddenly appear and ask me to go with you? Did you think I’d just happily follow you?”

“Damn it.”

Lee Sung-hwi’s face twisted like a demon.

“It’s not like I let Master die! That crazy bastard just moved earlier than I thought.”

“I don’t want to hear your excuses.”

“Excuses?”

Lee Sung-hwi gritted his teeth.

“If I had just a little more time, it wouldn’t be Master buried in the ground right now, but Kang Jin-ho.”

Lee Hyun-joo closed her mouth.

She sensed something in Lee Sung-hwi’s tone.

“You… were you perhaps in contact with grandfather?”

“Do you think that’s all I did?”

Lee Sung-hwi walked in as if it were his own home and leaned back on the sofa in the living room. Lee Sung-hwi, with his arms spread wide, tilted his head back.

“Didn’t you think it was strange? Does Master seem like someone who would fall so easily? He was stabbed precisely. I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but they hit the exact weak spot. If those bastards had moved just three days later, Master would be here drinking tea right now.”

Lee Hyun-joo quietly stared at Lee Sung-hwi, then sighed.

She did think it was strange. Lee Hyun-joo also didn’t think that Lee Joong-gul could be defeated by Kang Jin-ho. Unlike what Lee Sung-hwi said, even if three days had passed, it was obvious that Kang Jin-ho would ultimately win.

‘Because that’s who he is.’

Looking back at history, there are those who are favored by fortune. Such people always win and make history, regardless of their strength. Lee Hyun-joo thought that Kang Jin-ho had that fortune right now. Even if Lee Sung-hwi and Lee Joong-gul had made a perfect plan, Kang Jin-ho would have somehow broken through it.

But even so, it was also true that ‘that’ Lee Joong-gul had fallen too easily.

The Lee Joong-gul she knew wasn’t like that. Even if he couldn’t completely defeat an opponent, he was someone who would at least cut off an arm. For such a person to fall so easily?

She thought it was because times had changed and Kang Jin-ho was that strong. But now that she thought about it, something didn’t add up.

“You said three days?”

“Yeah. That would have been enough.”

Lee Hyun-joo shook her head.

“Not being able to buy three more days is also a lack of ability.”

Lee Sung-hwi’s face twisted.

“Okay, I admit it. I couldn’t buy those three days, and that’s why Master died. Master.”

His face became grief-stricken.

Lee Hyun-joo didn’t fully trust Lee Sung-hwi, but she didn’t think the expression Lee Sung-hwi was showing now was fake. In the past, Lee Sung-hwi had followed Lee Joong-gul that much.

“So, I have to at least take you out of here. That would be my way of repaying Master, who hid my existence from Kang Jin-ho until the very last moment.”

“You’ve grown up.”

“…Anyone would grow up if they were in my shoes.”

“For someone who’s grown up…”

Lee Hyun-joo looked into Lee Sung-hwi’s eyes and sighed.

Eyes gleaming with murderous intent.

If she hadn’t grown up with Lee Sung-hwi since childhood, she would have screamed and run away.

“Why did you become like this?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re a bit strange.”

“…Heh.”

Lee Sung-hwi raised his hand and rubbed his face.

“This is what happens when you make a deal with the devil.”

“Devil? You… you learned demonic arts?”

“I had to.”

“You’re crazy.”

“Yeah, I admit it.”

Lee Sung-hwi stood up and looked straight at Lee Hyun-joo.

“I’m crazy. I’ll go as crazy as I need to in order to kill Kang Jin-ho.”

“What did that person do to you? Is it worth going this far?”

“It’s not about that kind of grudge.”

Lee Sung-hwi gritted his teeth.

“It’s not because I was defeated by him that I hold a grudge. It’s because I realized that as long as he exists, I can never be the best. If that’s the case, then I have to step on him and climb to the top, even if it means making a deal with the devil, right?”

“…Who gave you the demonic arts?”

Lee Sung-hwi didn’t answer. But Lee Hyun-joo knew. Because there was only one person in Korea who possessed demonic arts before Kang Jin-ho appeared.

“It’s Kim Seok-il. You made a deal with Kim Seok-il too.”

“Let’s drop the useless talk.”

“You’re crazy. How can you join hands with Kim Seok-il to take down that person? Do you even know what kind of person Kim Seok-il is…”

“Do you think Master didn’t know?”

This time, Lee Hyun-joo closed her mouth.

“That’s how it is. When an external enemy invades, even those who were trying to bite each other’s throats just moments before have to join hands and fight together.”

“Let’s drop the meaningless talk. I know, I know it’s unsettling to go with someone like me. And I don’t intend to ask you to come with me. Come with me. I’ll give you freedom. Then you can do whatever you want. At least you can get out of this situation where you’re being watched and confined.”

At Lee Sung-hwi’s words, Lee Hyun-joo shook her head.

“I’m not going.”

“Lee Hyun-joo!”

Fire sparked in Lee Sung-hwi’s eyes.

“What on earth are you thinking, staying here?”

“Don’t shout. I’m perfectly rational right now. It’s not that I’m being stupid, it’s that you’re being stupid.”

“Me?”

“Yes. Let’s say I get out of here. Then what can I do? The Assembly has taken over Korea, what can I do in this situation? Hide my identity and work at a convenience store?”

“So, you’re saying you’ll just live like this here?”

“No.”

Lee Hyun-joo shook her head firmly.

“The surveillance won’t last forever. They don’t want to waste manpower either. Once they realize I’m not a threat, they’ll let me go. Then I’ll go back to work.”

“Work? At the Assembly?”

“Yes.”

“You’re crazy!”

Lee Sung-hwi’s fighting spirit surged.

“You’re going to work with the people who killed Master? Are you out of your mind?”

“I’m sane. Perfectly sane.”

“No. You’re crazy.”

Lee Sung-hwi clenched his fist.

“How long has it been since Master died? And you’re already planning to work with those bastards? That’s not something a sane person would do. You’re even crazier than me.”

Lee Hyun-joo sighed.

“Yeah, maybe I am. But you said it yourself, there are times when you have to be willing to go crazy. Now is that time for me. To live here, I have no choice but to go under them.”

Lee Sung-hwi’s face changed several times in a short period.

After staring at Lee Hyun-joo for a long time, Lee Sung-hwi opened his mouth with difficulty.

“No, right? Hyun-joo, no, right? You have another plan, right? Like assassinating Kang Jin-ho.”

“Get a grip.”

Lee Hyun-joo’s voice was icy cold.

“You can’t dream just because reality is hard. How am I supposed to do anything to Kang Jin-ho?”

Lee Hyun-joo laughed as if she was dumbfounded.

“Admit it. That person is not someone we can do anything about anymore. No, he never was from the start.”

From the first time she met Kang Jin-ho.

She should have realized it when she saw his true nature in the dark underground parking lot. What kind of person Kang Jin-ho was. From the moment they tried to use him, they had fallen into a swamp.

“We were the ones who brought Kang Jin-ho into the Assembly. He gave us chances several times. We couldn’t accept that fact and opposed him. And now we’re paying the price.”

“You’ve changed, haven’t you?”

“Everyone changes. Just like you have. But I’ve become realistic. I don’t dream like you do.”

Lee Sung-hwi looked at Lee Hyun-joo with a desolate expression.

In a short time, his face seemed to have aged several years.

“So, stop it now, Sung-hwi. You have to accept reality. We can’t do anything to that person. Come back now. If you just bow your head, that person…”

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

Lee Sung-hwi yelled.

“Bow my head to the guy who killed Master and took everything away from us? Are you telling me to wag my tail to survive?”

“If not that, then at least give up on fighting that person. Sung-hwi, I don’t want to lose you too. Then…”

“Don’t worry. You won’t lose me.”

Lee Sung-hwi took a step back.

Just like their relationship had grown distant, so had their physical distance.

“I also realized that we can’t communicate. That you’ve been half brainwashed by Kang Jin-ho.”

“Sung-hwi!”

“So, I’ll show you. I’ll show you the collapse of Kang Jin-ho’s myth. When I come back with his head, let’s see if you can still say the same thing.”

Lee Hyun-joo couldn’t say anything.

She realized it.

The person in front of her now was not the Lee Sung-hwi she knew. He was just a vengeful ghost blinded by revenge. No words would reach his ears.

“It’s impossible.”

“No, it’s possible.”

Lee Sung-hwi chuckled.

“Just watch. I’ll show you. All the plans are already underway. So, just watch. Until then, rest easy.”

Lee Sung-hwi turned around.

“Are you planning to go through the front door?”

“Is there a reason why I shouldn’t?”

Lee Hyun-joo sighed.

“If you care about me even a little, think about what my position will be after you hurt those people. Please.”

Lee Sung-hwi turned his head and quietly looked at Lee Hyun-joo. Then, he turned and headed towards the small room.

“Thank you.”

Lee Sung-hwi, who had been walking without answering, grabbed the doorknob of the room and stopped in his tracks. After standing there silently for a while, Lee Sung-hwi opened his mouth in a low voice.

“Hyun-joo.”

“Yeah.”

“…Why did it end up like this?”

Lee Hyun-joo didn’t answer. That was not a question she could answer.

“There’s no way to get off a running train. I’m going all the way.”

Lee Sung-hwi opened the door and entered the room as if he didn’t expect an answer. Then, the door closed quietly. He would probably go out through the window in the room.

Lee Hyun-joo let out a low sigh.

The living room, where the coffee scent had faded, felt more desolate than ever.

‘That’s how the world is.’

Change always accompanies obsolescence. To avoid being obsolete, you have no choice but to change. If you stay in the same place and cry and shout that it wasn’t like this before, no one will listen.

Lee Hyun-joo bit her lip tightly.

‘I will survive.’

Even if it’s a world that’s painful to watch, she wouldn’t turn away from it.

After spending a little more time, Lee Hyun-joo opened the front door and went outside. Those guarding the entrance turned their heads at her appearance.

Lee Hyun-joo took a deep breath and opened her mouth.

“Connect me to the person in charge. I have something urgent to tell them.”