Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 757

A space where nothing exists. That would be the right way to describe it. Because all that could be seen was darkness.

It can’t be said that the space was filled only with darkness. After all, darkness is a concept that doesn’t exist. To say it’s filled with only darkness means that light doesn’t exist.

In that space where the words ‘nothing exists’ fit perfectly, Kang Jin-ho was simply floating.

A state where it couldn’t be said whether he had consciousness or not.

In a space where he was seeing something, yet also not seeing, Kang Jin-ho was simply drifting.

How long had he been here?

He had even forgotten how to think.

Even the will to do something had disappeared. He was just floating. Just…

“How is that different from your life?”

What awakened Kang Jin-ho was a voice that reached his ear.

A voice that echoed like thunder in a silent world. Because it was a space where nothing existed, even that not-so-loud voice sounded incredibly loud.

Kang Jin-ho recalled the concept of ‘looking’.

He tilted his head, which he wasn’t even sure existed, and looked towards where the sound came from.

And then he saw.

Him.

Kang Jin-ho.

It was like looking in a mirror.

He could tell. That wasn’t just his appearance. It was a being completely identical to him.

He was talking to himself.

“Life?”

“Yes. Just drifting, floating, living according to the flow, as the surroundings dictate… Isn’t that the way of life you chose?”

“What have you ever chosen for yourself?”

A sneer.

Kang Jin-ho looked at the being he had named ‘Jeokcheonmajon’ [a title that can be roughly translated to ‘Heavenly Demon Lord’].

“You’re still around. I thought you had disappeared.”

“Disappear?”

Jeokcheon wore a strange smile.

“Me? Me disappear? You’re talking nonsense, imposter. I am the essence. I am the true Kang Jin-ho. I cannot disappear. How can I disappear when I am Kang Jin-ho? You’re the one who should disappear.”

“…Are you still spouting such nonsense?”

“Nonsense?”

Jeokcheonmajon scoffed.

“Why don’t you look at yourself?”

Kang Jin-ho looked down. He existed.

His faded body was regaining its form. Identical to Jeokcheonmajon on the other side, not a single difference.

“Who’s calling who an imposter?”

Jeokcheonmajon’s words pierced Kang Jin-ho’s heart.

“You know it yourself. You called it ‘change’. But that’s not change. It’s just ‘difference’. You are not Kang Jin-ho. You’re just a collection of miscellaneous trash that couldn’t be Kang Jin-ho.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly stared at Jeokcheonmajon.

“Because you’ve lived longer?”

“You fool.”

Jeokcheon was looking at Kang Jin-ho with displeased eyes. The humiliation in his gaze made Kang Jin-ho flinch involuntarily.

“Time doesn’t matter. What matters is density. Everything you think of as ‘yourself’ originated from me.”

“That’s not true.”

“What constitutes me is my life. Even if your spirit was fully directed towards your first life, it’s the same. Because you longed for the past, the past you is the real you? You’re not really thinking such foolish thoughts, are you?”

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t say anything.

“Everything about you was created in the Murim [a martial arts world]. What difference does it make if you were born in Korea, born in this era? You are a Murim person. Your whole life, everything about you, was made in the Murim. Should I put it bluntly?” He sneered.

He sneered at him.

“If you had to give up everything you gained as Jeokcheonmajon to become the complete Kang Jin-ho, could you choose that?”

Kang Jin-ho already knew the answer.

He couldn’t answer, but he already knew. It was impossible to separate Jeokcheonmajon’s abilities from him. All the life he had built now was based on Jeokcheonmajon’s abilities.

“You rely on Jeokcheon’s abilities but deny that you are Jeokcheon. Simple. A very convenient logic.”

Jeokcheonmajon slowly approached Kang Jin-ho.

“Can you say it’s not true?”

“I asked if you can deny it.” Their eyes met. Eyes gleaming with murderous intent were glaring at Kang Jin-ho.

Kang Jin-ho met Jeokcheon’s gaze, filled with hatred, and let out a low sigh.

“So, you want to claim you’re Kang Jin-ho? And take this body?”

“Absolutely not.”

Jeokcheonmajon turned around with a spin. Jeokcheonmajon, who had lightly distanced himself, spread his arms.

“Me claiming to be me doesn’t mean I’m rejecting you. Because… you are also me. Guilt and remorse, countless humans you’ve killed… you couldn’t live in the modern world with all that. I don’t mind taking on that part. Rather, that’s proof that I am Kang Jin-ho. Not taking any responsibility for what you’ve done, that’s the ultimate proof that you’re an imposter. But…”

Jeokcheonmajon smiled.

“You rejected me too much. You’ve become too much of a complete individual. So, you will eventually be absorbed by me. I can exist without you, but you cannot exist without me. The moment I take the forefront, you will experience something completely different from what I experienced. You will just become a part of me.”

“So, that’s not happening now?”

“Yes.”

“Why? Because I have the initiative now?”

“You know the answer, don’t you?” Kang Jin-ho’s face hardened.

He knew the answer.

Yes, Kang Jin-ho knew the answer.

“You can’t handle your life anymore.”

“It’s breaking. The things you’ve done will choke you. And that will kill you. You prioritized others over yourself to be Kang Jin-ho, not Jeokcheonmajon. The moment you prioritize yourself over your so-called family and friends, you’ll be no different from me.”

A dilemma.

Kang Jin-ho could understand what Jeokcheonmajon was saying.

The moment he prioritized himself above all else and struggled to survive, he would become no different from Jeokcheonmajon. But if he prioritized others, he wouldn’t have enough power to protect them. In the end, he would have to reach out to Jeokcheonmajon.

No matter which path he chose, his end was predetermined.

“I’ll wait. Here.”

Jeokcheonmajon sat leisurely on a throne that appeared from nowhere.

At the same time, Kang Jin-ho’s body began to fall, down, down. A low voice reached his ears as he was instantly enveloped in darkness.

“Don’t forget. Just as you can’t be completely you, I can’t be completely me either. Because you took what I should have had. You know what that means.”

At that moment, everything was cut off.

He opened his eyes.

It wasn’t the feeling of regaining consciousness. It was the sensation of someone forcibly opening his eyes. What entered his opened eyes was…

“I opened my eyes… and saw an unfamiliar ceiling.”

“Do you have the strength to joke?”

Kang Jin-ho’s head slowly turned.

There, Lee Hyun-soo was sitting with a pale face.

“You’re joking, so it seems you’re in better condition than I thought. That’s a relief. Though I don’t know if it’s really a relief.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s condition was also a bit strange.

His voice was cold, but his face was flushed. As if he couldn’t control his emotions. But Kang Jin-ho didn’t bother to point that out.

It was polite to pretend not to notice in such situations.

“How long was I unconscious?”

“Three days.”

“I slept a long time.”

Kang Jin-ho raised his upper body. Lee Hyun-soo rushed towards him and pressed down on his shoulders.

“It’s better if you lie down. Right now, you’re in a state where even a rag doll would want to call you ‘hyung-nim’ [an honorific term used by younger males to address older males]. If your wounds open up again, we’ll have to call a tailor, not a doctor. Along with a good sewing machine.”

Kang Jin-ho let out a hollow laugh.

It seemed Lee Hyun-soo had only increased his strange jokes after going through a big ordeal.

“I’m fine.”

“No, the doctor…”

“I know my body well.”

Kang Jin-ho brushed off Lee Hyun-soo’s hand and raised his body.

Then, he unbuttoned his patient gown.

“No, showing off your body can wait…”

Lee Hyun-soo shut his mouth. When Kang Jin-ho took off his top, bandages completely wrapped around his upper body were revealed. After removing even those bandages, the muscles filling Kang Jin-ho’s upper body were revealed.

Solid muscles.

Not muscles that had been enlarged simply for aesthetics. They were slightly small-looking muscles, but the more you looked at them, the more you couldn’t help but admire them. Such muscles were packed tightly.

But what caught Lee Hyun-soo’s attention wasn’t the muscles.

Kang Jin-ho’s appearance was in a state that couldn’t be looked at favorably. On his not-so-large body, stitches made with sutures were placed haphazardly, as if an elementary school student had scribbled on it.

The combination of dried bloodstains and black sutures made even Lee Hyun-soo frown.

‘What is this?’

But after examining Kang Jin-ho’s body closely, Lee Hyun-soo was able to discover something different.

It would be normal for the stitched areas to be bulging, but Kang Jin-ho’s stitched marks were just reddish. If it weren’t for the sutures, you wouldn’t even know there had been wounds. You would have just thought they were scratches.

“Ah, no, what?”

Snap. Snap. Snap.

Kang Jin-ho began to tear off the sutures one by one with his fingers. Then, he frowned and said to Lee Hyun-soo.

“Scissors.”

“Don’t you have scissors?”

“I don’t know if there are scissors in the hospital room…”

Lee Hyun-soo sighed.

“Wait here. I’ll call the doctor now. It doesn’t seem particularly necessary, but it’s better for an expert to cut them.”

“Hmm, I guess that’s…”

Thud!

At that moment, the door was violently opened.

These days, visiting services were trending, so he thought a doctor had come on their own without being called, but that thought vanished the moment he saw the huge figure through the open door.

“Master!”

Lee Hyun-soo and Kang Jin-ho covered their ears at Bator’s shout, which sounded like he had swallowed a train whistle.

“Master, are you okay?”

“…I was fine until you came.”

“Your body? Is there anything wrong with your body?”

“That too, was fine until you came.”

Kang Jin-ho let out a low sigh.

He had recovered from injuries countless times, but it was the first time someone had been running around beside him like this.

“You look like you’re in good color.”

As Bator struggled to enter through the door, Wiggins, who had been hidden by his huge frame, came into view.

Kang Jin-ho’s gaze was fixed on Wiggins’ shoulder.

Kang Jin-ho’s lips pressed slightly at the sight of the empty space. Wiggins also didn’t say anything. It wasn’t a good situation to joke around.