Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1975

“You son of a bitch!”Lee Myung-hwan’s eyes blazed with fury.”Are you deaf? I told you not to go outside!””Ah, no, I just went to the mart for a bit…””Do you use the convenience store in front of your house to boil soup?””W-well, the convenience store doesn’t have as much stuff as the mart. I need to eat, don’t I?””Then order delivery, you idiot! Knowing everyone’s on edge, why would you go out!””S-sorry.”Lee Myung-hwan released his grip on the collar and sighed deeply.”You, you little shit. Don’t come out of your room for three days. Got it? If you step outside the dorm, I’ll cut you off. If a toe sticks out, I’ll cut off the toe, if your neck sticks out, I’ll chop off your neck, so don’t even think about it.””A-I won’t go out.””Get back inside before I beat you to a pulp.”Lee Myung-hwan, having confined yet another person to their room, let out a sigh that seemed to reach the depths of the earth.”These bastards, seriously.”He was learning something new.Martial artists were a species that couldn’t be controlled.Even though this wasn’t an order directly from the Clan Lord, but from the board of directors, it was still an order with the council’s seal. Yet, these bastards were itching to get outside at every chance they got.The guy he caught this time was just a minor offender, so it wasn’t a big deal. The problem was the ones who were deliberately trying to go out and cause trouble.Just then, Gong Young-gil dragged a man by the neck with his large hand.”Hey, I caught this bastard. The one who escaped yesterday.””Shit.”A curse escaped Lee Myung-hwan’s lips.Only one guy escaped, but it took more than three people on their side to catch him. Everyone was sleep-deprived and on edge from watching the escapees.Thud.Gong Young-gil threw the man down in front of Lee Myung-hwan.”You son of a….”The man who had fallen glared at Lee Myung-hwan with venomous eyes.”What? What, you little shit. What are you looking at me like that for? I’ll stomp you to a pulp.””Ha, Lee Myung-hwan has grown up a lot.””What?”The captured man began to sneer.”Since when were you so great that you sit there and act all high and mighty? What gives you the right to judge me?””Since when was I great? Since a few years ago, you little shit. What have you been doing while I’ve been getting this great?””You bastard…”The captured man ground his teeth at Lee Myung-hwan’s mockery.”What’s your problem, you little shit! If you don’t like me doing this, you shouldn’t have caused trouble in the first place!””Trouble? What trouble? What did I do?””Are you asking because you don’t know?””I’m not some slave, what right does the council have to control my movements!””Who told you to stay cooped up and die? We’re just asking you to stay put until things calm down!””Calm down? This?””Are you an ostrich with your head buried in the sand? Do you think this will pass if you keep your mouth shut? You must be carrying your head around as a hat rack [meaning you’re not using your brain].””What did you say your name was?””You’re so great now you don’t even know my name. It’s Yoo Ji-woong. Though you’ll probably forget it again.”Lee Myung-hwan sighed deeply.”Okay, Yoo Ji-woong. I know what you’re trying to say. But if you’re unhappy, you should file a formal complaint, not sneak out and cause a ruckus in the downtown area.””There’s no solution anyway!””What’s wrong? We’ve been hiding all this time, and now we’re finally able to hold our heads up high, and those bastards started it first!””But this bastard!”Thwack!Gong Young-gil, who had been listening, kicked Yoo Ji-woong in the stomach.”Cough!””Listen to yourself. What do you want, you little shit! If you’re so great, why don’t you fix it yourself. You’re just full of complaints and can’t do anything.””Ah! Stop hitting me!””Ugh, damn it!”Gong Young-gil turned away in annoyance.Lee Myung-hwan sighed deeply.
‘It’s all bullshit. It’s bullshit, but… the problem is, I understand why Yoo Ji-woong is doing this.’Lee Myung-hwan himself hadn’t realized it, but… the pressure martial artists were receiving from society was more severe than he thought.Even those who hadn’t committed crimes had to live like criminals.Hiding themselves, hiding their identities.Even Lee Myung-hwan felt an indescribable sense of liberation watching the Black King’s broadcast, so how much more would others feel?’When people feel that way, they want to enjoy it.’They want to smash everything and go after those living ordinary lives.Even without that concept, it’s only natural to want to enjoy life walking in the open world.But the council was blocking that, so it was only natural that there would be a backlash.”I don’t care how you feel.””If you broke the rules, you have to be punished. Lock this bastard in the dungeon and let him out in a week. Don’t give him a drop of water.””Haha, you’re so great. You’ve got a little power and now you think you’re a judge?””Do you think I want to do this?”Lee Myung-hwan, having reached his limit, grabbed Yoo Ji-woong’s collar and yanked him forward.”Then you do it, you bastard!””Then let me!””What?”It was the very moment Lee Myung-hwan clenched his fist.”Hey, Myung-hwan.””Shut up!””No, it’s not that…””Ah, damn it! I’ll take care of it! I’ll…””The Clan Lord is coming, you idiot!””Clan Lord, my ass… Huh?”Lee Myung-hwan turned his head sharply.He saw Kang Jin-ho walking towards them from the distance.Thud.Lee Myung-hwan, with a blank look on his face, released his grip.Then, startled, he bowed deeply towards Kang Jin-ho, who was walking towards them.”C-Clan Lord, you’ve arrived!””Yeah.”Kang Jin-ho, who had walked over, looked around once, then looked at Yoo Ji-woong, who was sitting on the ground.”What’s wrong?””…C-Clan Lord.”The color drained from Yoo Ji-woong’s face.He had been saying whatever he wanted in front of Lee Myung-hwan, but there was no way he could act the same way in front of Kang Jin-ho.”What’s the problem?””W-well…”Yoo Ji-woong’s face was quickly covered in cold sweat.The biggest problem was that he couldn’t just brush it off with ‘it’s nothing’ since Kang Jin-ho was asking.”Clan Lord…”Yoo Ji-woong, resigned, bit his lip.Rather than lying in front of Kang Jin-ho, it was better to be honest and take the punishment. Even though he was unhappy with the current situation, he couldn’t possibly not answer Kang Jin-ho’s question.”Until when… until when do we have to do this?”Yoo Ji-woong’s eyes were earnest.”The world is changing. It’s changing now. Shouldn’t we be doing something too?””Honestly, I’m scared. I’m not scared of the world changing, but I’m scared that it’ll go back to the way it was. I’m scared that this will become nothing again, and we’ll have to live like we’re not alive, like we don’t exist. That’s what scares me.”Kang Jin-ho silently looked at Yoo Ji-woong.Then, he patted him on the shoulder once.”I understand your frustration.””…Clan Lord.””I’m also making plans, so I hope you can understand. I’m not telling you to just endure it. It’ll be resolved soon.””I’m sorry. It’s not that I don’t trust you, Clan Lord…””I know.”Kang Jin-ho, patting Yoo Ji-woong’s shoulder once more, said calmly.”However, rules are rules. If you did something wrong, you have to be punished.””I understand. I’ll go in and come out.””Okay.”Yoo Ji-woong got up and started walking towards the prison on his own.Lee Myung-hwan chuckled at the sight.A moment ago, he was acting like a venomous snake, but as soon as Kang Jin-ho appeared, he turned into a docile sheep and went into his cage and locked the door himself.Lee Myung-hwan knew.This wasn’t because he was afraid of Kang Jin-ho’s power.The members of the council respected and revered Kang Jin-ho not as a strongman, but as a human being, as the Clan Lord of the council itself. So, even if Kang Jin-ho didn’t threaten or yell, they would act accordingly on their own.However, that also meant that they were all so pent up that they would cause problems even knowing Kang Jin-ho’s intentions.”You’ve been through a lot.””It’s nothing, Clan Lord.”Lee Myung-hwan sighed deeply.”Everyone knows that you’ll come up with a solution eventually, but they can’t even wait for that short time…””It can’t be helped.”The ones who felt the most intense anxiety about the world changing were not the ordinary people, but the martial artists.After the chaotic era of Lee Joong-gul’s reign, things were finally stabilizing, but the Black King’s actions had amplified their anxiety.In this situation, telling them to just endure it wasn’t the answer….”How are the others?””Most of them are holding up well. However… there are so many of them that even if only a few cause trouble, it’s a big mess.””I guess so.””The strange thing is… the Demonic Cult is really quiet. Not a single one of them is causing trouble. It’s not like Elder Jang Min caught them and dealt with them separately, they’re just not causing any trouble.””I see…””Yes?””I think I understand why the country tried so hard to spread religion in the old days.””…I guess so.”To be so well-controlled.It’s enough to bring tears to my eyes.”The prison is overflowing with the guys we’ve locked up. We need some kind of solution…”Kang Jin-ho nodded.”I need to have a talk.”Kang Jin-ho turned his head and looked at the council’s scenery.Compared to when he first came here, so much had changed. Today, those changes seemed to stand out even more.”Gather the kids.””All of them?””Yeah.””They won’t all fit in the training grounds. I’ll gather them in a dispersed manner and broadcast it.””Do that.”Kang Jin-ho nodded and walked towards the central building.Lee Myung-hwan, who was silently watching his back, sighed.”…He’s so calm.””What?”Lee Myung-hwan turned his head at Gong Young-gil’s words.”I thought the Clan Lord would come and punch that bastard in the jaw right away. When your head is a mess, you want to kill anyone who’s being annoying next to you.””…The Clan Lord isn’t you.”Kang Jin-ho certainly seemed calm. But in Lee Myung-hwan’s eyes, that calmness was more worrying.’How heavy must it be.’The weight of the burden on his shoulders was enough to make his stomach churn. Kang Jin-ho, who once fought to protect the martial artists of Korea, was now carrying the fate of the entire martial world, no, the fate of the world, on his shoulders.”…Gather the kids. We need to reduce the time wasted by even a second.””Got it.”Gong Young-gil nodded in agreement and quickly ran off.Lee Myung-hwan also shook his head and turned around.He had to be of some help to Kang Jin-ho.That was the way to repay the favor he had received.