Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1362

‘Calmness, you say…’

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

It must seem that way.

‘Isn’t it?’

‘I wonder.’

How should he define Kang Jin-ho’s current mood?

‘I’m probably on the verge of exploding.’

Kang Jin-ho smiled bitterly.

Kang Jin-ho is different from Jang Pil-jae. Kang Jin-ho doesn’t have the perception that the state will protect him.

His first life was a series of complete neglects, and his second life was a struggle solely for survival. And now?

What protects and guards him is not the state, but his acquaintances and the Assembly [a group or organization].

‘First of all.’

‘It’s not the state that abandoned you, but the government.’

Kang Jin-ho slowly exhaled cigarette smoke.

‘Or maybe it’s an even narrower scope.’

‘But isn’t it the same that the state doesn’t protect me?’

‘When did it ever protect you?’

‘Nothing has changed. In the end, you have to protect your own life. Whether the opponent is China or South Korea.’

Jang Pil-jae chewed his lip.

It’s a fundamental statement.

Not comforting at all.

‘I don’t know. Maybe I’m just being timid. But most ordinary people would react like me.’

‘Maybe so.’

Kang Jin-ho shrugged.

‘But does that change anything?’

Kang Jin-ho slowly inhaled his cigarette. The tip of the cigarette crackled as it burned. Kang Jin-ho, who had deeply pushed the cigarette smoke into his lungs, slowly exhaled.

‘I only know one thing. If you move instead of being frustrated, the chances of solving it increase. So, I’m just moving.’

Jang Pil-jae sighed deeply.

‘I sometimes feel that you are made of steel, Lord. I can’t even imitate you.’

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

‘A man made of steel, huh…’

That’s how it might look to Jang Pil-jae.

But that’s a complete misinterpretation of Kang Jin-ho.

Anyone who knows Kang Jin-ho well would say that Kang Jin-ho’s seemingly hard exterior is actually a scar that has hardened from too many wounds.

He bleeds and bleeds again, wounded and wounded until no more blood comes out.

He becomes dull and dull, and eventually, he doesn’t come out of his own world. That was Kang Jin-ho’s second life.

‘Honestly, I don’t know how you feel.’

‘So, I don’t have any intention of comforting you.’

‘You’re cold.’

‘But I’ll promise you one thing.’

‘……Yes?’

Kang Jin-ho curled up the corners of his mouth.

‘If you follow me to South Korea alive, I’ll show you those who betrayed you paying the price.’

Jang Pil-jae closed his mouth.

For a moment, he felt an extremely cold aura from Kang Jin-ho. It was enough to make his hair stand on end.

‘I don’t know if it’s fortunate or unfortunate.’

If he hadn’t met Kang Jin-ho, he wouldn’t have been caught up in this. But thanks to meeting Kang Jin-ho, he was able to survive even after being caught up in such a mess.

Just seeing how they instantly healed his broken body to the point where he could move again, their abilities are beyond doubt.

‘Lord.’

Jang Pil-jae opened his mouth with a determined look, as if he had made up his mind.

‘With your abilities, it might be possible to overturn the National Intelligence Service [South Korea’s primary intelligence agency].’

Kang Jin-ho looked at Jang Pil-jae without a word.

‘But you can’t touch the Prime Minister.’

‘The Prime Minister is a symbolic figure. If you touch the Prime Minister, the higher-ups will have no choice but to step in. It will make the relationship with the state irreparable. I fully understand your anger. But realistically…’

‘That’s usually how people talk.’

‘……Yes?’

‘It’s realistically difficult, it’s reality, so you have to endure it.’

Kang Jin-ho smiled wryly.

‘Then, where is the line between reality and unreality?’

Jang Pil-jae couldn’t answer easily.

Kang Jin-ho reached out and drew a line on the table.

‘Everyone has a line. A line they set for themselves, a line they cannot tolerate being crossed. But sometimes, someone crosses that line. That’s when it splits.’

‘How…’

‘Some people protest, but some people understand. It’s a mistake, it can happen once. They think that way and endure it. But what about the other person? What does the other person think?’

‘Well…’

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

‘The person who crossed the line thinks that this is not the other person’s line. And they push in again. They trample into the area where I cannot tolerate being invaded with muddy feet and calmly push the line back again.’

Jang Pil-jae bit his lower lip.

‘If you protest then, you’ll only be scolded for getting angry now, when they’ve already come in several times.’

It was a convincing statement.

‘Once a line is pushed back, it never returns to its original place. You give up that much of your territory.’

‘The line…’

‘Yes, you have to protect it. You have to make them protect it. The moment they cross this line, you have to make it clear that you will use every means at your disposal to punish them.’

Kang Jin-ho chuckled and leaned back in his chair.

‘I won’t stop there, I’ll just show them directly. What the price is for crossing the line I set.’

Jang Pil-jae sighed.

The reason why Kang Jin-ho is saying this to Jang Pil-jae is to tell him that the reason he is trying to punish the Prime Minister is not just an emotional one.

This was a matter of principle.

‘There’s no room for compromise, then.’

‘I haven’t really done that before.’

Jang Pil-jae shook his head.

It’s strange that Jang Pil-jae, who hasn’t known Kang Jin-ho for long, is thinking this, but it felt very much like Kang Jin-ho.

It’s ridiculous when you think about it.

If this had happened to others, they would have to worry about how to survive, but Jang Pil-jae was already thinking about the aftermath. In other words, Jang Pil-jae was already unconsciously judging that the Prime Minister could not handle Kang Jin-ho.

He was once again realizing how terrifying the person he was sitting across from was.

At that moment, a waiter came out with coffee on a tray. The two people received their coffee and drank it without saying a word.

And before the coffee was even finished, Lee Hyun-soo returned with a backpack.

‘What’s that?’

‘Simple food and water, medicine, and…’

Lee Hyun-soo held up a small black device.

‘It’s a GPS.’

‘Why that?’

‘……Can you find your way in the middle of North Korea, Lord? You sometimes get lost even in the middle of the city?’

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t answer and turned his head slightly.

‘That’s why I have to assist you, Lord. If I wasn’t here, you would have jumped into North Korea without a plan and gone to Gangwon-do [a province in South Korea]. Or you would have arrived and found yourself back at the Amnok River [the river that forms the border between North Korea and China].’

‘I know the difference between north and south.’

‘I wish I could say the same.’

Lee Hyun-soo shrugged.

‘I even bought a satellite phone with stolen goods. Now, we can contact Director Wiggins even in North Korea.’

‘You got that so quickly?’

‘Yes. I asked those people earlier to get the items for me. As expected, people who work in the underworld are fast. They even offered to get me a gun, but I stopped them.’

‘……A gun?’

‘Yes.’

‘Are guns legal in China?’

‘Hey, no way.’

Kang Jin-ho didn’t ask any more questions. It seemed better not to know.

‘And this.’

Lee Hyun-soo took out a map from his backpack. The map showed the border of North Korea.

‘What is it?’

‘It’s a defector route. We’re going to go in the opposite direction.’

‘……Where did you get that?’

‘This is where defector brokers hang out. It’s not the Chinese public security that’s patrolling here to catch defectors, but the North Korean public security. Anyone can get a map like this if they want to. It just costs a bit of money.’

If you say so, then it must be so.

Something is a bit strange, though.

‘But why bother? Can’t we just cross the river?’

‘The North Koreans have laid landmines on the border to stop defectors. You’re fine, Lord, but I hate the idea of losing my ankles.’

Jang Pil-jae nodded his head vigorously, as if he strongly agreed.

‘Landmines too?’

‘Don’t try to judge them by common sense. And that will be the same in the future. North Korea is basically a country where common sense doesn’t exist. Nothing that happens is strange.’

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

‘They said it’s like the Demonic Cult [a fictional, often villainous, group in martial arts stories].’

That statement is now hitting home. That’s exactly how people used to view the Demonic Cult in the Central Plains [a region in China]. A place where you can’t judge by common sense, and nothing that happens is strange.

When you think about it, some of it is true, and some of it is wrong. North Korea must be the same.

‘Then, is everything ready?’

‘Yes. That’s it.’

‘Let’s go.’

Kang Jin-ho got up from his seat without hesitation.

‘Wait, just a minute.’

But Jang Pil-jae didn’t seem to be ready yet.

‘Wait, just a minute. My legs are shaking.’

‘You’re timid.’

‘I know, right?’

‘You guys are the weird ones, you crazy bastards!’

Unfortunately, Jang Pil-jae’s inner voice only stayed in his mouth and didn’t come out as a sound.

What kind of conversation could he have with guys who talk about going to North Korea like it’s a picnic?

‘Is this really okay?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Ah, no, I mean, do you have any plans…’

‘We don’t know anyone in North Korea, and we don’t know what it’s like inside, so what kind of plan are you talking about?’

‘What if we get caught by the North Korean army?’

‘We’ll have to fight and run.’

Ugh.

Jang Pil-jae hit his chest.

Is that what you call a plan! No! Huh? But why has that bastard been using informal language since earlier?

‘Mr. Jang Pil-jae.’

As if he had noticed his thoughts, Lee Hyun-soo chuckled and called out to Jang Pil-jae.

‘Yes?’

‘What’s the worst that can happen? You’ll just die. You’re a disgrace to be an agent of the National Intelligence Service.’

‘Does an agent have two lives?’

‘Aren’t we all dead men walking anyway?’

‘Ha…’

That’s also true.

Even if Jang Pil-jae stayed here alone, he would eventually be caught by the public security or the People’s Army and die, or die in the sea while trying to smuggle himself to South Korea.

Whether he lived or died, he had a chance of survival if he followed these guys.

‘……Okay. Let’s go, let’s go. I’ll die once… damn it.’

Jang Pil-jae jumped up from his seat and poured the coffee into his mouth in one gulp.

‘Ah, hot! Ugh!’

Jang Pil-jae, who spat out the coffee, bent over and coughed violently. Kang Jin-ho and Lee Hyun-soo narrowed their eyes as they watched him.

‘Should we leave him behind?’

‘We brought him all the way here, though…’

‘Ha, seriously.’

Lee Hyun-soo shook his head a couple of times and started walking, grabbing Jang Pil-jae.

Kang Jin-ho, who was silently following behind the two, slowly lowered his eyes.

‘They must still be sleeping soundly.’

But soon they will know.