Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1583

The foot pressing the accelerator trembled slightly.

‘Driving is difficult.’

The damage is too great.

It wasn’t a major physical injury, but rather a huge mental toll.

The wounds on his body were already healing, but his depleted mental energy showed no signs of recovery.

In that languid sensation, Kang Jin-ho couldn’t help but laugh.

‘How long has it been?’

To feel this sensation through training, not actual combat.

He couldn’t remember well; it was too distant.

‘It’s hard to deny it like this.’

The words of the Demonic Celestial, that he had become complacent in peace, pierced his heart.

In the past, when he was in the Central Plains [a fictional ancient China-like setting], he never neglected his training even after reaching the highest position. He tried to get stronger by any means, not just meditation.

Excuses that it was different because it was the modern era didn’t work.

He already knew.

That this world was not so different from the Central Plains.

The weak are robbed. They lose everything.

Already, the General Assembly, the Round Table, and Japan had lost their lives in his hands. Was there any guarantee that Kang Jin-ho wouldn’t end up in the same position?

Putting aside the past, the fact that he had neglected his training even after learning about the existence of the Three Kings was inexcusable.

Kang Jin-ho pressed the accelerator a little harder.

The car began to speed aggressively on the highway. But Kang Jin-ho’s sharp senses made even this speed seem like slow motion.

‘I am…’

Everything starts from one point.

Survive.

From the past until now, the biggest principle that governed Kang Jin-ho was this. And as he experienced modern life, another principle was added.

‘Together with everyone.’

The Demonic Celestial might call it weak.

But Kang Jin-ho couldn’t let go of this. The Demonic Celestial, who had lived alone without anyone, could never empathize with him. Kang Jin-ho, who had learned how to share emotions with someone, could never let go of it.

A more difficult path.

The only way to follow that path was one.

If the past him had succeeded in surviving alone with his own strength, the current him had to protect others with his strength. To make that possible, he had to become twice as strong as he was in the past.

‘It’s far.’

Kang Jin-ho pressed his left hand against his side.

The pain, like tearing flesh, made the hair on his whole body stand on end.

The Demonic Celestial was strong.

To be precise, the Demonic Celestial’s martial prowess wasn’t that much different from his own. The current Kang Jin-ho was capable enough to compete with the Demonic Celestial.

But….

‘I was unilaterally crushed.’

Their martial prowess was not that different, but he was no match for him. Thinking about how the righteous sects of the Central Plains had faced such a monster in the past, he even felt sympathy for the guys who had killed him.

Where did this difference come from?

‘Martial prowess isn’t everything.’

A new realization.

Something he didn’t need to know because he already had it.

What determined the outcome of a fight was not just the strength of martial arts, but also the strength of a human being. In that human strength, the Demonic Celestial was far beyond Kang Jin-ho’s reach.

However….

“Ha…”

An uncontrollable laugh burst from Kang Jin-ho’s mouth.

‘I see it.’

The path.

The path to reach that Demonic Celestial was visible.

If he could regain the competitive spirit of the past Demonic Celestial while maintaining his current martial prowess and the martial arts he was newly establishing, Kang Jin-ho would become incomparably stronger than he was in the past.

‘Even if it’s far, if I can see the path, I’ll reach it someday.’

From now on, all Kang Jin-ho had to do was to shorten that time.

It felt like finding a distant lighthouse from a ship drifting in a foggy, vast sea.

Bwaaaaaaaaaaang!

Kang Jin-ho’s car began to accelerate. Sharply overtaking cars that seemed to be standing still, the car sped on and on.

“You’re back?”

Kang Jin-ho, who had opened the front door, made an awkward expression as he saw Baek Hyun-jung sitting on the sofa, waiting for him.

“Weren’t you sleeping?”

It was almost sunrise.

“How can I sleep when my son doesn’t come home without even calling?”

“I’m sorry. I was going to call, but I thought you might be sleeping…”

“It’s okay. It happens. Nothing serious, right?”

“Yes.”

Baek Hyun-jung nodded.

“Okay. Now your father will be able to sleep too.”

“…Isn’t he sleeping?”

“Don’t you know your father? He’s just lying there with his eyes open.”

Kang Jin-ho scratched the back of his head.

“I’m not a kid.”

“Yeah, I know. That’s why I’m not saying anything, right?”

Baek Hyun-jung smiled gently.

“I know our son does everything well. But Jin-ho.”

“Yes.”

“Even if you’re a capable child, it doesn’t mean I don’t worry.”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Baek Hyun-jung without saying anything.

“Sometimes, I worry even more because you’re so capable.”

“You don’t have to worry.”

“You don’t have to worry either. It’s not like I’m waiting because I’m worried about you.”

“Huh?”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head.

It was hard to understand what she meant.

“It’s just like that. Knowing that you’re okay, knowing that you’ll do everything well, doesn’t mean I want to be a mother who doesn’t worry about her child.”

Kang Jin-ho bit his lip slightly without realizing it.

Baek Hyun-jung smiled as she looked at Kang Jin-ho.

“These days, Mom is very happy. Our son seems to be enjoying whatever he’s doing, your father seems to have finally found his calling, and your sister… your sister…”

Baek Hyun-jung’s brow furrowed.

“Let’s leave her out.”

“Yes.”

I agree with that, Mother.

“Anyway, everyone seems to be enjoying themselves, so I’m happy too. That’s why I sometimes feel anxious. I’m afraid that this happiness might be shattered in an instant.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

It was strange.

It didn’t feel like a conversation between parents and children. It felt like a conversation between people.

Baek Hyun-jung’s words were accurately piercing the worries that Kang Jin-ho had been experiencing recently.

“So, Mom is thinking of going to a homemaker class starting next week.”

“Huh?”

“Why are you so surprised?”

“You never used to…”

Baek Hyun-jung smiled gently.

“I help with the cafe, and I do the housework… but that’s not what I wanted to do. I help because your father is struggling, and I do the housework because I have to feed you.”

“Yes.”

“I think I’m anxious because I can’t create my own happiness. If I’m waiting for someone to do something for me, I can’t help but be anxious. Don’t you think so?”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“Now that everyone seems to be enjoying themselves, I need to find my own joy. I can’t just live looking at your father or you forever. Will you support Mom?”

“You made a good decision.”

“Okay. I’ve kept the late-coming kid for too long. Go wash up and sleep. Okay?”

“Yes.”

Baek Hyun-jung got up from her seat, patted Kang Jin-ho on the shoulder, and went into her room.

Kang Jin-ho stood blankly in the living room where Baek Hyun-jung had disappeared for a while.

‘With her own hands.’

It was a coincidence.

Baek Hyun-jung was thinking about what Kang Jin-ho had been thinking about today.

No.

That wasn’t it.

In the end, everyone lives with their own worries. And the worries of those who live life can’t help but be similar.

‘Happiness…’

Perhaps what Kang Jin-ho was trying to pursue was also happiness with a different name. The reason he couldn’t let go of people, the reason he wanted to survive with everyone… it was because he didn’t want to let go of the happiness he felt when he was with them.

‘It’s not reckless.’

It was something he had to do.

If there was something he wanted to obtain, he had to make an effort. Nothing was given while sitting still.

Just like Baek Hyun-jung now.

Kang Jin-ho, who had taken off his clothes and walked into the bathroom, turned on the shower. As the cold water began to hit his skin, his wounded body screamed.

Feeling the throbbing pain, Kang Jin-ho leaned his head against the bathroom wall.

‘I’ll do what I can.’

Just realizing that was meaningful.

Just that alone.

* * *

The next morning.

“I’m off.”

Clang.

Kang Jin-ho, who had opened the front door, widened his eyes slightly.

“…What is this?”

“I’ve come to pick you up, Chairman!”

Lee Hyun-soo, who had parked a sedan in front of the house, was dressed in a neat suit and bowed ninety degrees towards him.

“…What do you mean?”

“Hey, you have to play along.”

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled and pointed to the car.

“Get in.”

“Huh?”

“I really came to pick you up. You’re going straight to the headquarters, aren’t you?”

“I was planning to…”

Kang Jin-ho’s gaze turned slightly towards the garage.

“It’s not like I don’t have a car, or that I don’t have hands…”

“Of course, you have feet too. But I think you’d want to pour all your energy into training right now, even the energy it takes to drive.”

Lee Hyun-soo grinned.

Kang Jin-ho, who had been about to say something, couldn’t say anything and just laughed.

“You seem to have a lot of time on your hands.”

“Of course, I’m extremely busy. But if the Chairman’s top priority is to get stronger, then my top priority is to assist the Chairman. Compared to that, everything else is a secondary issue.”

“You said you were just doing what you had to do. It’s the same for me. I’ll do what I have to do. So…”

Thud!

Lee Hyun-soo, who had opened the back door of the car, bowed and pointed inside the car.

“Get in.”

“Hurry.”

Kang Jin-ho sighed.

“I don’t want to ride with someone who’s as slow as a snail.”

“Trying to get there five minutes faster can lead to going fifty years earlier.”

“We’re not going anywhere.”

“But someone else might. Always drive at the speed limit. A beautiful society that follows the rules.”

“Okay, okay.”

Kang Jin-ho waved his hand and got into the car.

“Closing.”

Thump!

Lee Hyun-soo, who had closed the door, scurried to the driver’s seat.

“I’ll take you right away, Chairman.”

“…But why have you been calling me Chairman since earlier?”

“You have to be called Chairman when you ride in a car like this. If I call you Guild Leader, it sounds like you’re the head of some club or alumni association, it doesn’t have any style.”

“Don’t worry! I’ll take you comfortably.”

Lee Hyun-soo started driving, whistling.

‘He must be tired.’

Lee Hyun-soo hadn’t finished his work even when Kang Jin-ho had left work yesterday. Given Lee Hyun-soo’s personality, he wouldn’t have stopped before finishing his work. So, that meant he had driven here right after finishing his work….

“Are you okay?”

“I won’t die from not sleeping for a few days. I’m a martial artist too, you know.”

“What’s with that reaction?”

“Nothing.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

Kang Jin-ho, who had leaned back in his seat, quietly watched Lee Hyun-soo’s back as he hummed while driving.

Survival of the fittest.

Yes, survival of the fittest.

The world hadn’t changed, and nothing had changed. Survival of the fittest might be the greatest truth that permeated Kang Jin-ho and this world.

However….

However.

‘That’s not everything, Demonic Celestial.’

These people were in that world.

The people Kang Jin-ho had met were there.

In Kang Jin-ho’s ears, with his eyes closed, he could hear Lee Hyun-soo’s humming.

‘I won’t become like you.’

He would become stronger.

Enough so that he wouldn’t have to abandon everyone around him and pursue strength only for himself.

Even more.

Even more!