Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1620

The sports car sped down the road.

The way it weaved through lanes with sharp, precise movements seemed to reflect the driver’s state of mind.

*Click.*

Kang Jin-ho pressed the accelerator a bit more and lowered the window with one hand.

*Whoosh!*

The wind rushed into the car, so loud it made his ears ring. With the wind whipping around him, Kang Jin-ho put a cigarette in his mouth and flicked his lighter.

“I’m worried because it feels like the things you’re doing now are preparing for when you disappear.”

Kang Jin-ho’s brow furrowed slightly.

‘She can be strangely sharp sometimes.’

Park Yu-min had often surprised Kang Jin-ho with unexpected remarks in the past. This was another one of those times.

The only difference was that this time, Kang Jin-ho felt like he’d been hit with a hammer by what Park Yu-min said.

‘Is that really it?’

Kang Jin-ho pressed harder on the accelerator.

Preparing for the future isn’t a bad thing. It’s something anyone with sense should do.

But…

Kang Jin-ho knew that wasn’t what Park Yu-min meant.

*Screech!*

The car cut roughly into the next lane.

“That crazy bastard! Is he out of his mind!”

The cursing of the driver behind him, which he normally wouldn’t have heard, was clearly audible thanks to his heightened senses.

Kang Jin-ho bit his lower lip and slammed on the accelerator.

*Vroom!*

The engine roared as the car shot forward.

‘Preparing…’

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes turned cold.

Preparing?

Me?

He let out a hollow laugh.

‘That’s ridiculous.’

Not thinking about death before a war?

That was something that didn’t exist in Kang Jin-ho’s philosophy.

Anyone who tries to take another’s life must be prepared to give their own. He had never gone to war without thinking about death.

But…

That didn’t mean he had ever done anything assuming he wouldn’t return from war.

This wasn’t preparation.

‘Am I scared?’

Of the Three Kings Realm?

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes became bloodshot.

No.

That was definitely not it.

But undeniable proof had come from Park Yu-min’s mouth, something he couldn’t deny himself.

*Slam!*

*Screeeeeech!*

Spotting a rest stop, Kang Jin-ho slammed on the brakes. The car, rapidly slowing down, skidded onto the side road leading to the rest stop, leaving long skid marks on the road.

“Haa…”

Kang Jin-ho slumped back in his seat after roughly parking the car.

‘Where am I?’

He didn’t know.

Kang Jin-ho had been the one driving, but at some point, he had just been following the road in front of him. He didn’t even know how he had ended up here.

Kang Jin-ho chuckled and got out of the car.

The rest stop was almost deserted late at night. Kang Jin-ho looked around blankly.

Should I leave?

No.

He didn’t think going anywhere would make a difference in his current mood.

Kang Jin-ho closed the car door and walked towards one side. His gaze turned to a small building with dim lights. He then walked towards a gazebo on the side of the rest stop and sat down, leaning against one of the posts.

It was quiet.

Only the sounds of cars speeding on the road and the chirping of insects could be heard.

‘This is a strange feeling.’

This was the first time he had been so shaken since returning to the modern world.

Probably… it was because he had heard unexpected words in an unexpected place.

*Click.*

Kang Jin-ho lit the cigarette in his mouth.

The white smoke slowly drifted into the sky with the wind.

‘Scared…’

Scared, huh?

It was a ridiculous thought.

If this were the Murim [Martial Arts World] of the past, everyone who heard that would have been rolling on the ground laughing.

The great Heavenly Demon Lord, scared?

What a ridiculous thing to say.

Kang Jin-ho had fallen into Murim alone and risen to the position of leader of the Demonic Cult. If he had been afraid of anyone, he would never have reached that position.

But…

While everyone else might laugh, Kang Jin-ho couldn’t. He knew that Park Yu-min’s words had struck him right in the heart.

‘It wasn’t that I wasn’t scared.’

It was that he had nothing to lose.

Life in Murim was like hell to him.

Different ways of thinking, different cultures, incomprehensible people, and an unforgettable past.

Maintaining his life in that place was no different from living in hell.

That’s why he had nothing to cling to and nothing to regret.

Even if he fell in battle and died, what would he have to regret?

But…

Kang Jin-ho closed his eyes.

He knew.

That it wasn’t the same now.

Even if the Heavenly Demon Lord of the past came here instead of him, he couldn’t live like a madman with nothing to hold onto.

Kang Jin-ho had gained too much in this world.

He had gained a family, friends, and comrades.

And he had gained people he had to protect.

So…

Kang Jin-ho looked up at the sky.

‘Have I come too far?’

The sky was full of stars.

It wasn’t the sky he had known, a sky filled with sword energy.

The sky, full of stars that looked like they would fall at any moment, like the sky of Murim in the past, was looking down at him.

It was strange.

That sky, which he once thought was terrible, didn’t bother Kang Jin-ho now.

Looking at the sky calmed his mind.

After staring at the sky for a long time, Kang Jin-ho closed his eyes.

‘Let’s admit it.’

Yes.

He was scared.

He was scared.

It wasn’t that he was scared of dying. It was that he was scared of losing…

“No.”

Kang Jin-ho muttered softly.

“I’m scared of dying.”

Kang Jin-ho covered his face with both hands.

There was no need to lie. There was no one here right now. He didn’t need to force himself to be confident by deceiving himself.

Yes.

He was scared.

Scared of dying.

Scared of losing everything he had achieved so far because of his death.

And scared that he wouldn’t be able to protect the people he had been protecting.

That his death would put them all in danger…

He was scared.

So scared that his whole body was trembling.

So…

“So what?”

A growl escaped from Kang Jin-ho’s lips.

There was a time when he thought not being afraid was proof of strength.

Those who know the fear of the world and how terrifying it is to lose what they have become adults.

He thought that only those who never became adults until the very end and were willing to die could climb the steep cliff of martial arts.

And hadn’t Kang Jin-ho proven that?

But…

‘No.’

Kang Jin-ho had just been ignorant.

He just didn’t know how terrifying it was to lose the warmth he held in his hands.

No.

Hadn’t he known?

Even after achieving everything and facing death, the one thing Kang Jin-ho couldn’t let go of was the small warmth of his family.

He had lived for decades in another world and never forgotten that memory. And yet, he had no fear of losing things?

“Ha…”

That was ridiculous.

Kang Jin-ho looked up at the sky again.

‘I’m scared.’

Scared of dying.

Scared of losing.

And scared that everything he had done so far would disappear like a mirage because of his defeat.

A coward?

‘Maybe I am.’

Then was it right not to be afraid?

Not to be afraid of his family dying because of his defeat.

Not to be afraid even if Choi Yeon-ha died because of his defeat.

To ignore the deaths of his friends,

To ignore even the deaths of his comrades, and to just ignore the orphanage he was protecting going back to the way it was before?

Just?

‘Is that really strength?’

Absolutely not.

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

That wasn’t strength.

That was irresponsibility, ignorance, and stupidity.

Kang Jin-ho took a deep drag of his cigarette.

‘It’s ridiculous.’

Kang Jin-ho knew.

Life in this world had made him stronger. Not just in terms of physical strength. Kang Jin-ho, who had been almost like an inorganic being, had finally become human again by living in this world.

The Heavenly Demon Lord of the past was just strong.

A strength without meaning.

If he couldn’t create something with it, then the strength he had was nothing more than self-satisfaction.

That’s why the current Kang Jin-ho could confidently say.

That he had become stronger.

That he had become much stronger than he was in the past.

But…

Everything that had made him stronger was now on his shoulders. Sometimes, Kang Jin-ho felt the suffocating weight of it.

‘I…’

Kang Jin-ho closed his eyes slightly.

What should he do?

Kang Jin-ho, thinking about the question that had no answer, slowly got up.

He was thirsty.

He didn’t know if it was because he was thinking too deeply or because there was a fire burning in his chest, but he kept feeling thirsty.

Kang Jin-ho walked over to the vending machine on the other side and stared at it.

Cola.

The vending machine was clearly selling cola.

The problem was that he didn’t have any coins or even bills.

Kang Jin-ho stared blankly at the vending machine.

It was funny.

He strangely felt like laughing.

If Kang Jin-ho had been here right after returning, he would have known what to do. He would have broken open the thin metal vending machine and calmly taken out a cola.

But the current Kang Jin-ho couldn’t do that.

This insignificant vending machine showed him how different the past Kang Jin-ho was from the current one.

He couldn’t even buy a drink because he didn’t have a single thousand-won bill, even though he was thirsty. So many restrictions, so many rules were pressing down on him.

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Should he throw it all away?

Like in the past?

Should he kick the vending machine, tear it open with his bare hands, and take out the cola?

Kang Jin-ho was biting his lower lip when it happened.

*Whirr!*

“…Huh?”

A small hand slipped a bill into the vending machine.

“Huh?”

“You wanted a cola, right?”

“…Uh?”

*Clunk.*

The person who picked up the cola that came out of the vending machine held it out to Kang Jin-ho.

“You were staring so intently, I couldn’t help but help. Here, take it.”

Kang Jin-ho stared blankly at the person standing next to him.

A woman with hair as dark as the late night and striking white skin.

“Take it.”

“Ah…”

Kang Jin-ho, slightly flustered, reached for the cola the woman was offering.

Or rather, he tried to.

“Huh?”

The cola didn’t come out of the woman’s hand.

Was she teasing him?

But he quickly realized that she wasn’t. The woman who had offered him the cola was staring at him with her mouth open.

‘Ah!’

She recognized his face.

He had been on TV quite a bit lately, so this kind of thing happened often.

He wasn’t in the mood for a friendly greeting right now, so he would just…

That’s when it happened.

“Pe, pe… pervert.”

Kang Jin-ho’s face hardened instantly.

What was she saying, calling him a…

“Pervert oppa [older brother]?”

“Huh?”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head.

His gaze fell on the woman’s face in front of him.

Wait?

Could it be?

“…Kid?”

Oh, wow…