Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 125

I couldn’t bring myself to ask. If I asked what was wrong, it felt like the words he was thinking would come back to me. The low breathing sounds coming through the receiver felt like they were weighing me down.

“What’s the situation?”

I couldn’t keep my mouth shut forever.

[It’s not good.]

“I see.”

Kang Jin-ho didn’t ask further.

That one sentence was enough to understand a lot.

That it wasn’t over yet.

And that there was no time to be like this here.

“Okay.”

[I thought you should know.]

“Yeah. You did well to call. Just wait a little.”

Kang Jin-ho hung up the phone.

Kang Jin-ho, letting out a deep sigh, turned his head and asked the administrative soldier.

“Sergeant Lee Myung-chan.”

“What?”

“Can I move up my leave?”

“Leave?”

“Yes.”

“Just a moment.”

Sergeant Lee Myung-chan opened the leave request form and frowned.

“It’s possible, but the approval has already been submitted, so you need a reason to move up your leave. Do you have a reason?”

“An acquaintance is sick.”

“That’s not enough. They’re not a direct family member. How urgent is it?”

“I want to leave as soon as possible.”

“Even if you have a reason, it takes about a week to get approval from the higher-ups and have it sent back down. Should I move it to a week later?”

A week?

By that time, everything could already be over.

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

“No, thank you.”

“Okay. This isn’t something I can do anything about. Even the battalion commander can’t do anything about it.”

“…I understand.”

Kang Jin-ho went outside.

After hesitating for a moment in front of the administration office, Kang Jin-ho went to the smoking area and put a cigarette in his mouth.

‘This isn’t the time for rules.’

Under different circumstances, Kang Jin-ho wouldn’t want to break the rules, but this time, if he stuck to the rules, he wouldn’t be able to do anything and would just be left twiddling his thumbs.

Kang Jin-ho took a deep drag, put out the cigarette, and went to the public phone to dial a number.

[Hello?]

“This is Kang Jin-ho.”

[I guessed from the area code. What brings you here?]

“I need to go on leave.”

[Leave?]

“I already have leave scheduled. I need to move it up, but it’s impossible here.”

Cho Kyu-min, who had organized his thoughts during a brief silence, replied.

[I understand what you mean.]

Cho Kyu-min, realizing that Kang Jin-ho’s voice was tense, immediately lowered his voice. The fact that Kang Jin-ho, who extremely disliked deviating from the norm, was saying this meant that the situation was urgent.

[I don’t think this is something I can handle. I’ll get the chairman’s approval.]

“I don’t care how you do it. Just hurry.”

[Yes.]

As soon as the call ended, Kang Jin-ho left the phone booth and looked up at the sky.

Grind.

His teeth were grinding on their own.

Even though he had tried so hard, he hadn’t been able to accomplish anything.

Kang Jin-ho, staggering from the helplessness that was seeping into his body, slumped down on a bench in the smoking area.

His body sank into the bench.

How long had it been since he had felt like this?

He just felt languid and tired.

Things progressed quickly.

The battalion commander, who was shocked by the call from the higher-ups, called Kang Jin-ho to the battalion commander’s office to ask about the situation. The battalion commander was relieved to hear that he didn’t need a new leave, just to move up the schedule, and started to lecture him.

“It would be good if you could discuss these things with the battalion commander in the future. Of course, from your perspective, the battalion commander, who is closer, might be more difficult than the division commander, who is far away, but please consider that my lifespan is shortened when I receive calls from the division commander.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think about that part.”

“Okay. Anyway, they told me to send you as soon as possible, so I’ll do that. When are you leaving?”

“I’ll leave now.”

“Okay. Get ready.”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho, who quickly changed his clothes and finished reporting, left the guard post. Even though he had done everything as quickly as possible, the sun was already setting.

Cho Kyu-min’s familiar car was waiting in front of the guard post.

This wasn’t the time for obvious conversations about how he got here. As soon as Kang Jin-ho got into the car, he urged them to leave.

“Where to, sir?”

In response to Cho Kyu-min’s words, Kang Jin-ho replied with a stiff face.

“Please go to Seoul first. I’ll confirm the exact location by phone.”

Kang Jin-ho called Park Yu-min on Cho Kyu-min’s phone and soon told him the destination.

“What’s going on?”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head at Cho Kyu-min’s cautious question.

“I don’t know exactly yet. I’ve only heard that the director’s condition has worsened.”

“…The director?”

Cho Kyu-min raised his sunglasses.

“Wasn’t she fully recovered?”

“I don’t know either.”

Cho Kyu-min bit his lip tightly.

After Kang Jin-ho returned, Cho Kyu-min was in charge of the director’s surgery and treatment. He had received confirmation that she could go home and only needed to focus on chemotherapy, but if her condition had suddenly worsened, Cho Kyu-min couldn’t avoid responsibility.

“I’ll hurry.”

Kang Jin-ho looked out the window without answering.

He felt like he wanted to jump out of the car right now and run to Seoul, but even if he could do that here, he couldn’t run once he got to Seoul.

‘Calm down.’

Kang Jin-ho, clenching his knees tightly, closed his eyes.

When the car arrived at the main gate, Cho Kyu-min stopped Kang Jin-ho from getting out immediately.

“Let’s go together.”

“Together?”

“It will be easier for me to meet the doctor, and the process will be faster. Please wait a moment.”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho, thinking that Cho Kyu-min’s words made sense, sighed.

‘Since when have I been so impatient?’

He was impatient.

Too impatient.

“It was just covered up.”

“Yes?”

“…It’s nothing.”

Kang Jin-ho bit his lip.

He had felt that he had become indifferent while living as the Demonic Heavenly Lord. In his final moments, he had lived a life indifferent to his own death.

But now that he thought about it, it seemed that when he lived as the Demonic Heavenly Lord, he had the idea that it was half not real. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be so anxious about someone who wasn’t even family.

Kang Jin-ho immediately called Park Yu-min.

“Where are you?”

[I’m at the hospital right now.]

“Come down to the main gate.”

[Okay.]

After waiting a little, Park Yu-min, with a haggard face, came out of the elevator.

“…Since when?”

“It seems like she suddenly started feeling unwell these past few days.”

Kang Jin-ho clenched his fist, about to say, ‘You should have taken her to the hospital right away.’

It wasn’t Park Yu-min’s fault.

In a situation where the doctor had said she was fine and only needed to continue chemotherapy, there was no way Park Yu-min could have predicted all of this and acted in advance.

Besides, wasn’t it Kang Jin-ho who had pushed Park Yu-min to return to the practice room?

Perhaps if Kang Jin-ho had been able to take a closer look at the director at the orphanage, this might not have happened.

In the end, if you look at it, all the causes…

‘It’s my fault.’

The conclusion was too obvious.

It wasn’t self-blame. Anyone who knew the situation would have no choice but to blame Kang Jin-ho. All of this was the result of Kang Jin-ho’s arrogance.

Cho Kyu-min grabbed Kang Jin-ho’s shoulder.

“Let’s meet the doctor in charge first.”

“…Yes.”

The path to the examination room was too long.

It was something he had to hear, but also something he didn’t want to hear. With the heart of a sinner who had to go to court to receive a death sentence, Kang Jin-ho moved his feet.

When they entered the examination room, Dr. Kang Chun-shik, with a troubled face, was waiting for them.

Kang Jin-ho sat across from him and waited for Kang Chun-shik to speak.

“…I don’t know what kind of words of comfort to offer first.”

“I’ll just listen to the situation.”

Kang Chun-shik, hearing Kang Jin-ho’s stiff voice, started to explain with cold sweat.

“We had removed most of the cancer cells through a gastrectomy [surgical removal of part or all of the stomach], and although a small amount of cancer cells remained around the area, we thought that it was possible to overcome it with chemotherapy alone without additional surgical procedures, according to medical opinion.”

Kang Jin-ho waited silently for Kang Chun-shik’s words without answering.

“But unfortunately, rapid metastasis occurred. Currently, the cancer cells have spread throughout the body.”

“…So?”

Kang Jin-ho silently waited for the last words.

Kang Chun-shik sighed with a troubled face and finally uttered the words he had to say.

“Unfortunately, there is no hope.”

Kang Jin-ho closed his eyes.

“As a doctor, I am truly sorry to have to say these words.”

Kang Jin-ho got up from his seat.

Even though he knew that the person in front of him was not at fault, he felt a surge of anger for no reason. He felt like he would say harsh words if he stayed here any longer, so he had no choice but to go outside.

When Kang Jin-ho went outside without saying anything, Cho Kyu-min and Park Yu-min followed him.

He went outside the hospital and put a cigarette in his mouth. Park Yu-min covered her face when she saw that.

“It’s because of me.”

“No, it’s not.”

“If I had paid a little more attention…”

“This isn’t the time to blame yourself. You know that it’s not something you could have done anything about.”

‘If I have to blame someone, it should be me.’

It wasn’t something he could just let go of.

Once he had started, he should have pushed through to the end, even if it meant breaking rules and regulations.

If he had stayed and helped the director with her treatment until the end, wouldn’t the situation have been different?

Tap.

The cigarette, which he had taken a long drag from, began to burn with a bright red flame.

Kang Jin-ho opened his mouth with a blank face.

“Let’s go up. I need to see her.”

His steps were too heavy.

“…Jin-ho, you’re here.”

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t say anything.

He couldn’t say anything at all.

This wasn’t the first time he had seen an acquaintance die. But the deaths he had experienced were either sudden accidents or deaths in battle where they couldn’t even scream.

He had never experienced watching a living person slowly wither away like this.

Looking at the director’s face, which couldn’t even be described as haggard, he couldn’t say anything. What was he supposed to say in this situation?

“Director, Jin-ho is on leave.”

“Yes. It’s so good to see your face.”

The director reached out her hand.

“Come here. Let me hold your hand.”

Kang Jin-ho silently approached the director and took her hand.

A cold hand.

Feeling the cold hand, which was so thin and barely had any warmth, he felt the reality that the person in front of him was dying.

“Did you come in a hurry?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Your military life must be hard, but this old woman is just making you worry.”

“…No, you’re not.”

“Thank you for coming to see me.”

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t answer and just bit his lip.

He could feel it.

The energy he had sent through his hand was being pushed back by the poison that was filling her body.

There was nothing he could do.

He wasn’t a god.

He didn’t have the ability to pull someone who was facing death back into the world.

The director, seeing Kang Jin-ho quietly bowing his head, said to Park Yu-min.

“Can you leave us for a moment? I have something to say to Jin-ho.”

“Yes. I’ll be outside.”

As Park Yu-min staggered out, a strange silence filled the hospital room.

“Jin-ho.”

The director called Kang Jin-ho softly.