Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1

It was a strange sensation. The Crimson Demon Lord felt as if his body was floating in the void. It was like drifting on water, or perhaps falling from the sky. A bizarre feeling, as if every part of him, from head to toe, was not his own. In that sensation, the Crimson Demon Lord was floating. Amidst the strange sense of incongruity, he felt an inexplicable sense of stability. Forever like this… A desire to rest peacefully arose. How long had it been since he had felt such comfort? The comfort he had never felt while awake and breathing was slowly stealing away his consciousness. However, something began to disturb his peace. “…Sir.” His peace was shattered. The comfort vanished, and in an instant, an unbearable unpleasantness and a terrible foreign sensation tormented him. “…Sir!” What is it? Who is not letting me be? “…Are you awake?” Me! Leave me alone! Me! “Are you conscious?” At that moment, the Crimson Demon Lord’s eyes snapped open. Discovering something in front of him, he reflexively reached out to grab it. “Ugh!” “Eek!” But a ridiculous thing happened. His hand, which had always sliced through the air faster than lightning, was now trembling and weak, moving at a snail’s pace, instead of sharply subduing an enemy. At the same time, a sharp pain shot through his side. The Crimson Demon Lord grimaced and looked at the human in front of him. “…Where is this?” A hoarse voice escaped his lips. The Crimson Demon Lord was surprised by his own voice and brought his hand to his mouth. An unfamiliar voice. A low voice that didn’t seem to be his own came out. The woman in front of him. A woman with her hair neatly tied back, wearing a pink uniform, cried out in surprise. “You shouldn’t move!” “…?” “You were brought in after a traffic accident and had surgery. If you move…” The woman, who was about to explain something, was dumbfounded when she saw the bandage wrapped around the Crimson Demon Lord’s side turning red. “It’s opened up. What do we do!” “…” The Crimson Demon Lord had to struggle to understand the scene unfolding before him. He barely managed to take in his surroundings. White walls. And a bed. A glass window and a large…. “TV?” The woman looked at the Crimson Demon Lord and said, “You mustn’t move anymore! I’ll go call the doctor! Don’t move until I get back! Do you understand?” The Crimson Demon Lord nodded without realizing it. The woman quickly left the room, glancing back once without realizing it. ‘What kind of eyes…’ The look in the patient’s eyes when he opened them. The patient had only opened his eyes after surgery, but the look had made her scream. She clutched her shoulder, recalling that look. ‘Did I see wrong?’ She shook her head and walked out. And the Crimson Demon Lord quietly watched her leave. If his memory was correct, the woman in front of him was probably a nurse. Someone who works at a hospital and takes care of patients. It was not strange that there was a nurse. What was strange was that he was looking at a nurse. And that he was looking at a glass window and a TV. “Am I back?” The Crimson Demon Lord looked down at his trembling hand. There, was a fair hand without calluses or scars. It was an awkward sight. His hand, which had been cracked and covered in spiderweb-like lines, even after reaching the pinnacle of demonic cultivation and achieving detachment, was now as white as a child’s. That meant his body had also changed. While the Crimson Demon Lord was calming his confused mind, a doctor wearing a white gown entered. The doctor frowned when he saw the blood seeping from the Crimson Demon Lord’s side. Then, he turned his head and looked at the nurse. “Didn’t you warn him not to move?” The nurse replied as if it were a common occurrence. “He suddenly twisted his body as soon as he woke up.” The doctor sighed deeply. “I need to check the wound.” Then, without waiting for the Crimson Demon Lord’s reply, he took scissors from the nurse and cut the bandage. A wound that looked like a long centipede was revealed. Red blood was seeping through the stitched seams. Although it had opened slightly and was bleeding, fortunately, the stitched area had not completely come apart. At this rate, it would heal naturally. “It hasn’t burst.” The doctor nodded in relief and wiped the blood from the wound. “You shouldn’t move. If the stitched area bursts, you’ll need to be restitched. It would be fortunate if it ended with just restitching, but if the inside bursts, you’ll need another surgery. Do you understand?” The Crimson Demon Lord nodded. The confusion, which he didn’t know how to answer, stole his words. The doctor frowned, then instructed the nurse to apply a bandage. Then, he picked up a chart. “What’s your name?” The Crimson Demon Lord, not thinking he was being spoken to, hesitated without answering. The nurse called out to the Crimson Demon Lord again. “Excuse me, sir?” “…Yes.” “What’s your name?” “Name…” “Yes, your name.” The Crimson Demon Lord pulled his name from his memory. It was a name he hadn’t spoken in so long that it felt awkward. “Kang Jin-ho.” “Where do you live?” “Huh?” “Your address, I mean, your address.” The Crimson Demon Lord, no, Kang Jin-ho, honestly shook his head. “I don’t know.” “Um, how old are you now?” His age when he was here…. “Thirty-five.” Is that right? He didn’t remember exactly, but it seemed like it was around that age? But there seemed to be someone who didn’t think so. The doctor stared at him with a face that was clearly hardened. Then, he turned his head and looked at the nurse. “Please call the neurosurgery department.” “Yes, I understand.” Soon, another doctor entered the room. The doctor looked at the new doctor and left. But perhaps he was a little careless, as their voices leaked into the room. “Why? Is there a problem?” “It says there’s nothing wrong with his brain.” “He might have a mild concussion, but no hematoma [a collection of blood outside of blood vessels] or bleeding was found.” “He seems to be in a state of confusion.” “What are you talking about?” “He remembers his name, but he doesn’t know where he lives and says he’s thirty-five.” “Thirty-five?” “Yes.” “This is going to be a headache. Why is he like this?” The door opened, and the doctor came inside. Kang Jin-ho looked at them with a bewildered expression. What on earth were these people talking about? “Mr. Kang Jin-ho?” “Yes.” “How old are you now?” “…Thirty-five.” “Where do you live?” “I don’t remember.” “What is your occupation?” “I didn’t really have a job.” “I see.” The doctor didn’t ask any more questions and performed a few tests. Simple tests like looking at his hand, asking which direction the sound was coming from, and if he felt pain when pinched, but Kang Jin-ho followed his instructions without saying anything. “There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong…” The doctor shook his head. “Mr. Kang Jin-ho, you must be confused right now, but it seems like a temporary memory impairment, so you don’t have to worry too much. But just in case, I’ll take another CT scan [Computed Tomography scan, a medical imaging technique] .” “Huh?” “There won’t be any big problems. It’s just in case, so don’t worry.” “…Yes.” At that moment, the door burst open, and a woman rushed in. “Jin-ho!” Kang Jin-ho looked at the woman calling his name. His pupils widened. “Uh…?” “Jin-ho! Jin-ho! What were you doing to get into a traffic accident! Doctor! Is our Jin-ho okay? Huh? Doctor!” The doctor calmly reassured the woman. “The surgery went well. He had a ruptured spleen and a few broken ribs, but there won’t be any life-threatening issues or lasting aftereffects, so you don’t have to worry.” “Thank you! Thank you so much!” “The problem is that… Jin-ho seems to have some memory impairment…” “Yes? Memory? Did he hurt his brain?” “No. It’s not that, but he had a slight concussion during the accident, so he seems to be temporarily confused. Nothing was found on the CT scan, so he’ll be fine soon. Just in case, I’ll take another CT scan in the afternoon.” “Yes, thank you! Thank you so much.” The woman nodded repeatedly to the doctor and then approached Kang Jin-ho. “Are you okay? Are you in a lot of pain?” “Jin-ho?” Kang Jin-ho stared intently at the woman in front of him. Why was this person here? This person was… A person who could never be here. He had never forgotten her. He had never forgotten her even once. But she was someone he had never even hoped to see again. “Uh…Mother…?” “Yes, you rascal! I told you so many times to be careful! Why weren’t you careful! Why!” After scolding Kang Jin-ho for a while, his mother wiped her eyes and held Kang Jin-ho’s hand tightly. “Still, it’s a relief that it ended like this!” “Why…?” “Huh?” Kang Jin-ho looked at the woman with a dazed expression, then quickly turned his head to look at his legs. ‘This is?’ His legs were moving. His legs were moving. Kang Jin-ho’s body trembled. “Why? Jin-ho, are you in a lot of pain?” “…No.” Kang Jin-ho looked at the person in front of him and calmed his trembling self. Mother. The person he thought he would never see again was here. But how? How was the person who had died over a decade ago in his previous life in front of him? “Mother…?” “Mother, this kid must have been really shocked. He’s saying things he’s never said before.” “Just rest for now. You must be very shocked. Tell me if anything is uncomfortable. Okay?” “…Yes.” His mother stroked Kang Jin-ho’s hair with a worried expression. Kang Jin-ho was startled by his mother’s hand approaching his head, but he didn’t avoid it. Her hand slowly stroked his hair. Kang Jin-ho closed his eyes at the warmth he felt on his head. ‘I’m back.’ He didn’t know how it happened, but he was back. Decades after being born in the Murim world [a world of martial arts and cultivation], he had returned to the modern world where he had lived in the past. And that too… To a time much earlier than when he had died.