Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1293

“You don’t look convinced?”

“…It’s nothing like that.”

“Tsk.”

Jang Min shook his head, looking displeased.

“Surely you don’t think I’m just saying this to praise the Demonic Lord? Or that I lose my mind whenever anything related to the Demonic Lord comes up?”

“Answer.”

“Ah, no, well… It’s a bit hard for me to say it myself, Elder. There are some things that shouldn’t be said out loud in this world.”

“You pathetic fool.”

Jang Min clicked his tongue and then opened his mouth.

“A frog in a well can’t possibly know the vastness of the ocean.”

“No, but logically…”

“The reason I could guide you isn’t because I’m great. Rather, it’s because I’m lacking.”

“I don’t quite understand what that means.”

“If you were to learn mathematics from John von Neumann, do you think you’d be able to surpass others?”

“Who’s John von Neumann?”

Jang Min looked slightly flustered.

“A, a genius mathematician.”

“Isn’t it better to learn from someone better?”

“Do you think it would be easy to teach martial arts to someone who knows nothing about it?”

“It would be difficult.”

“The Demonic Lord is facing such difficulties. From the Demonic Lord’s perspective, it’s like the world’s greatest scholar, who has studied mathematics his entire life, having to teach the basics of math to a kindergartener.”

“…Ah!”

He felt like he understood something.

“He lives in a different world from ordinary people. At least when it comes to martial arts and demonic arts, no one surpasses his understanding. But that can be a poison. The Demonic Lord is facing the dilemma of having to explain logically what he understands through instinct.”

“Ah! That’s like when playing games…”

“Exactly.”

Lee Myung-hwan nodded vigorously, as if he understood.

If you ask a pro gamer how to play a game well?

– Just do it meticulously.

There’s no other answer that can come out.

Those who have surpassed a certain realm tend to move by instinct, not logic. That’s why the best athletes often make terrible coaches.

Those who are born with talent don’t understand the perspective of ordinary people. Even if they try to explain, they can’t because they don’t understand what difficulties they are facing.

“But I’m different. I’m not like the Demonic Lord, so I can adjust to your level.”

“It’s like, if there’s a professor and a teacher, the teacher might be better at teaching elementary school students.”

“That’s right. But that doesn’t mean the teacher is better than the professor.”

“I understand.”

Lee Myung-hwan was in shock for two reasons.

The first was that the difference between Lee Myung-hwan and Kang Jin-ho, who he thought was at least a decent martial artist, was so enormous…

‘Why does this old man understand game analogies?’

He thought he had made a mistake by saying it himself, but the old man understood perfectly and continued the conversation. He didn’t know whether to be amazed by Kang Jin-ho’s martial prowess or this old man’s knowledge.

“Did you catch the leader?”

“I don’t know if he’s the leader, but we captured the one they were trying to protect.”

“Captured?”

“Yes.”

“A pointless act.”

Jang Min shook his head.

“There’s no use in keeping him alive.”

“We’re going to extract information.”

Jang Min’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Are you going to torture him?”

“…If necessary.”

Jang Min looked at Lee Myung-hwan with a calm gaze.

“You know what you’re saying, right?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t particularly intend to stop you. It would be ridiculous for both you and me to pretend to be saints now.”

Lee Myung-hwan bowed his head slightly without saying anything.

“But keep one thing in mind. What you’re about to do cannot be justified by any words.”

“Of course.”

“Don’t try to excuse yourself by saying that personal feelings aren’t involved.”

Lee Myung-hwan’s face hardened slightly.

“Just because you’re doing it for the sake of the Assembly and the Cult, and not out of personal resentment, doesn’t mean your wrongdoings disappear.”

“What…”

“All evil is usually packaged as a greater cause. Do you know why the Japanese who invaded Korea and China were so cruel?”

“…I don’t know.”

“Because they weren’t aware that they were committing evil.”

Lee Myung-hwan looked at Jang Min with a puzzled expression.

“What does that mean…”

“It’s exactly as I said. They weren’t aware that they were committing evil.”

That didn’t make sense.

How could they not be aware of their own evil when so many people died at their hands? But he couldn’t easily refute it because Jang Min had lived through that era.

“A greater cause gives people will and purpose, but sometimes it also swallows them whole. The excuse of achieving something greater makes everything in front of you insignificant.”

“Those guys were the same. They were killing people right in front of them, but to them, it wasn’t murder. It was just a means to achieve something greater.”

Lee Myung-hwan bit his lip.

“They said they would kill a thousand people to create a country where hundreds of millions could live well. That was a story they quite openly talked about. Of course, you and I now know how much nonsense that is, but back then, they didn’t doubt it at all. They believed it completely.”

That’s why they could be cruel.

That’s why they didn’t doubt what they were doing.

Just like a fanatic who entrusts everything to their faith doesn’t doubt their sins, a person who is immersed in the false name of a greater cause packages everything they do in the name of that cause.

Jang Min was saying that now.

“The Assembly and the Cult… They didn’t tell you to sacrifice yourself for a greater cause. They just told you to be loyal. Loyalty is blind, but it is not blind. Keep in mind that what you do in the name of loyalty doesn’t give you absolution.”

“…Yes.”

It was a bit complicated, but to put it simply, it meant not to make excuses using the Sect Leader while committing sins.

You have to take responsibility for everything you do.

Lee Myung-hwan couldn’t help but reflect on himself.

If he had to take responsibility for everything he was doing, not just under the pretext of loyalty to Kang Jin-ho, could he really proceed with what he was doing with a clear conscience?

He couldn’t answer with a clean yes.

“Foolish people think that loyalty is about blindly following.”

“…Yes.”

“But true loyalty is about refining oneself. It’s not about offering your current self, but offering a better version of yourself. You must always contemplate and contemplate.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

Jang Min nodded and stroked his beard.

‘Not bad.’

He was quite sharp.

He might lack a bit in martial arts talent, but the position of Elder wasn’t about martial arts in the first place. What was more important was the ability to see the political landscape and unwavering loyalty.

Lee Myung-hwan had both.

‘It’s a shame he’s not a cultist.’

That was a problem that could be solved at any time. Thanks to Kang Jin-ho’s direct intervention, Lee Myung-hwan could become much stronger in the future. If he could continue to grow at this pace, he could become a martial artist representing the Assembly within a few years.

Jang Min had no intention of leaving the demonic flames under the Assembly’s control.

He didn’t know what Lee Hyun-soo was thinking, but no matter how much they were from the Assembly, it didn’t make sense that Kang Jin-ho’s personal guard, who had learned demonic arts, wasn’t part of the Demonic Cult.

This was an issue that had to be resolved.

Even for the safety of the Demonic Lord.

“How is the training of the others by the Elders going?”

“It seems they’ve just started.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Jang Min nodded.

‘Occupying Japan isn’t everything.’

Those who only do what they’re told will only go so far. Jang Min was aiming for three things simultaneously while carrying out this task.

The first was the complete control of the Japanese martial arts world.

The second was to completely take over the Japanese underworld by linking up with Korean organizations, as Lee Hyun-soo had said.

And the last was the re-education and elite training of the demonic flames who had come to Japan with them.

Jang Min chuckled.

‘The cart is before the horse.’

No matter what, the most important thing for Jang Min to focus on was the Cult. But now, Jang Min was prioritizing the Assembly’s work over the Cult’s.

Even if it was Kang Jin-ho’s order, it wouldn’t have been like this if there hadn’t been a change in Jang Min’s mind.

It meant that Jang Min had also begun to consider the Demonic Cult and the Assembly as one family.

“Humans are truly interesting.”

“Yes?”

“It’s nothing.”

Jang Min waved his hand.

‘Well…’

No matter what anyone said, it was the Demonic Lord who accepted the Demonic Cult and gave them a new life, but it was the Assembly and Lee Hyun-soo who actually planned and carried out those tasks.

Thanks to them, the Demonic Cult members could focus solely on demonic arts without worrying about their livelihood. Even bringing the families of the Demonic Cult members to Korea was a kindness that even Jang Min hadn’t imagined.

The cultists also seemed to understand their kindness, and unlike before, they weren’t causing any trouble now.

‘One family…’

It was an interesting phrase.

They, who were looked down upon even in the Central Plains, had come to this distant land and found new brothers. That’s why life is so interesting.

“We must give back as much as we have received.”

“Lee Myung-hwan.”

“Yes, Elder.”

“Leave the handling of the one we captured to me.”

“…Yes?”

“I’d be better at it than you.”

“B, but Elder.”

“Don’t worry. I know exactly the meaning of what I’m doing.”

Jang Min grinned.

‘Sin…’

Not bad.

The reason he warned Lee Myung-hwan not to be consumed by a greater cause was very simple.

It was because Jang Min was that kind of person more than anyone else in the world.

Jang Min wouldn’t hesitate to douse himself in oil and jump into hellfire for the sake of the Demonic Lord and the Cult. Even if he had to suffer in hellfire for countless eons because of the sins he committed now, he could commit those sins without the slightest hesitation.

Jang Min’s goal was very simple.

To follow the Demonic Lord and revive the Cult according to his will.

And…

‘There must never be another monster like me in the Cult.’

He had to become a monster to endure the years of suffering. But at least Jang Min wanted to give his descendants a chance to escape that miserable fate.

‘Old man’s greed.’

Jang Min knew his age. He also knew that no matter how much he hurried, the probability of him dying was higher than the day his goal would be achieved.

But so what?

If the day came when he could hear the laughter of the Demonic Cult members even after he died, Jang Min would be able to laugh happily even in the pits of hell.