Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 163

Jo Gyu-min quietly watched Kang Jin-ho walk towards him.

“Sorry for the commotion.”

Kang Jin-ho had already returned to his usual self.

Finding himself relieved by that fact, Jo Gyu-min chuckled in disbelief.

‘Relieved?’

It wasn’t like Kang Jin-ho had a switch that changed his mode. That Kang Jin-ho was still just Kang Jin-ho. He was just hiding that side of himself usually.

Realizing that fact anew, Jo Gyu-min swallowed hard.

Behind the returning Kang Jin-ho, he could see the Chinese man sprawled out, unconscious.

‘What did he do?’

Kang Jin-ho had only waved his hand a few times in front of his face, and he had screamed, foamed at the mouth, and fainted.

“Now we should rest. We have to climb the mountain again tomorrow.”

“Ah, yes.”

Resting is good. Resting is good, but…

“Are we just leaving that guy like that?”

“He’s not dead.”

Of course, I can see that he’s still twitching, so I know he’s not dead.

But if we leave him to sleep in the mountains like that, he’ll probably be dead by morning, right?

At the very least, it seems certain that his mouth will be twisted…

As Jo Gyu-min looked at the Chinese man with a look that said he had something to say, Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

“He’s got surprisingly sturdy bones, so you don’t have to worry.”

“…Of course, they’d be sturdy.”

He flew 20 meters in a straight line and crashed, but he’s still alive, so I could believe that his bones were made of adamantite [a mythical substance of great hardness].

“Is he Wolverine?”

“Huh?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Jo Gyu-min shook his head vigorously.

Kang Jin-ho took out the sleeping bag he had prepared.

“Are you going to sleep?”

“You don’t have to turn off the fire. I’ve made sure the sparks won’t fly.”

No, a forest fire isn’t the problem right now.

No, it is a problem!

A forest fire is a problem, but isn’t that not what I’m worried about right now?

But whether he knew Jo Gyu-min’s feelings or not, Kang Jin-ho calmly got into his sleeping bag and zipped it up.

‘Is he sleeping?’

Is he really sleeping?

In this situation?

Jo Gyu-min, who had been alternating between looking at the slowly rising and falling sleeping bag and the fallen Chinese man, sighed and covered himself with his sleeping bag.

“I don’t know anymore.”

If I’m told to do it, I’ll do it, and if I’m told to sleep, I’ll sleep.

Jo Gyu-min, who had a restless night, had a very hard time climbing the mountain. As if his worries were for nothing, when he opened his eyes, the Chinese man was gone without a trace.

Since he came out of his sleeping bag later than that, it didn’t seem like Kang Jin-ho had cleaned up, and it seemed that he had somehow gotten up and ran away despite the accident he had suffered.

‘He’ll take care of himself.’

It was a pity, but Jo Gyu-min didn’t have the energy to worry about him right now.

This mountain was crazy.

Back in the day, Jo Gyu-min had some experience climbing mountains like Seoraksan and Taebaeksan [famous mountains in Korea]. When you’re working, you’ll meet a boss who thinks that climbing a mountain together on the weekend will strengthen your relationship.

Instead of strengthening the relationship, it only made me angry, but it was true that I was able to gain experience in hiking.

When you’re a secretary, each of those experiences is helpful, so I was grateful in a way…

‘It’s completely useless!’

That mountain was not a mountain.

Compared to this mountain, that should be called a hill.

It wasn’t just that the mountain was higher.

Jo Gyu-min realized that hiking on a hiking trail was not hiking.

It was hard enough to endure the fact that his feet were sinking into the accumulated fallen leaves, but the fact that the fallen leaves were slippery was incomprehensible.

It felt like climbing a mountain where half of the snow that fell last night had melted and new snow had piled up on top.

The top was soft, but the bottom was slippery. Moreover, just pushing through the dense vines and bushes was incredibly draining.

Jo Gyu-min, who couldn’t take it anymore, finally asked Kang Jin-ho.

“By the way, Mr. Kang Jin-ho.”

“Yes?”

“Where are we going, exactly?”

Without answering, Kang Jin-ho used the hiking stick in his hand to slash at the vines in front of him to make a path, then straightened his back and raised his head.

Kang Jin-ho’s back, as if he was looking at a distant place, felt somehow poignant.

“…Should I call it a ruin?”

“A ruin?”

“That’s what we should call it now.”

Kang Jin-ho left those cryptic words and started walking forward again.

“Let’s go together.”

Jo Gyu-min hurriedly followed Kang Jin-ho.

It felt like they had been climbing the mountain for three days.

Jo Gyu-min was on the verge of exhaustion, but he was not collapsing. It was thanks to Kang Jin-ho, who took a break at just the right time whenever he thought he couldn’t go any further.

Crack, crack.

Jo Gyu-min swallowed hard as he watched the rabbit cooking in front of him.

‘Where did this guy learn this?’

At first, he didn’t carry much luggage and climbed the mountain, so I wondered what he was going to do, but every mealtime, he would catch a rabbit from somewhere.

And he was so good at grilling it.

Jo Gyu-min usually didn’t eat rabbit meat because of its strong smell, but the rabbit that Kang Jin-ho grilled was so good that he could finish one in an instant.

‘If I had a lot of luggage, I would have been exhausted.’

If he had told me from the beginning that it might take a long time, Jo Gyu-min would have prepared several days’ worth of food, and he would have been completely exhausted in this mountain.

Come to think of it, did he think about all of that?

‘More than that, why is he so skilled?’

Anyone would think he was a natural man living in the mountains.

Kang Jin-ho was doing this series of actions very naturally. Moreover, hunting.

It’s easy to say, but hunting is not an easy thing to do.

A normal person can’t catch a single rabbit or cat without a weapon. In the first place, the speed difference is extreme. But Kang Jin-ho caught several rabbits with his bare hands from somewhere. He could change his job to this.

“But… is it okay to catch these?”

In Korea, it would be something to be arrested for, but Jo Gyu-min didn’t know how the Chinese law worked.

‘If I don’t get caught, it’s fine.’

Jo Gyu-min closed his eyes tightly and chewed the rabbit meat. Jo Gyu-min was more concerned about his hunger than his immediate qualms.

How much further did they go?

Kang Jin-ho’s pace began to quicken.

“Huh?”

Jo Gyu-min, seeing Kang Jin-ho quickly moving forward, hurriedly followed him.

“Let’s go together!”

But Kang Jin-ho didn’t seem to hear him and quickly moved forward.

‘It’s this way!’

They say that even mountains and rivers change in ten years.

Hundreds of years had passed since the time he lived, so it was no exaggeration to say that it had changed into a completely different mountain.

The familiar terrains had all disappeared.

But the reason he could find his way without getting lost was because places like peaks and cliffs hadn’t changed much. And that towering peak over there was telling him.

It’s down below here.

Below here is where the pavilions of the Demonic Cult he belonged to were located.

Kang Jin-ho tried to suppress his pounding heart.

‘Is there even any lingering attachment?’

He just came here to confirm. But the fact that his heart was pounding like this meant that there was still something left in his second life, didn’t it?

Kang Jin-ho entrusted himself to the unknown feeling and climbed the steep slope.

“M-Mr. Kang Jin-ho!”

Jo Gyu-min, who couldn’t keep up, shouted, but this was not the time to respond to him. When the slope ended, a wide basin came into Kang Jin-ho’s view.

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t say anything and closed his mouth.

Below the vast basin, only weeds grew profusely.

Below the huge basin that seemed to stretch endlessly… there was no trace of humans left.

“Huff, huff!”

Jo Gyu-min, who had hurriedly followed him, came to his side and sat down.

“What’s here that…”

Jo Gyu-min’s brow furrowed as he looked down.

“There’s nothing here, Mr. Kang Jin-ho?”

“…That’s right.”

Jo Gyu-min closed his mouth.

There was a hint of loneliness in Kang Jin-ho’s voice. He had seen Kang Jin-ho get angry or happy while working together on several cases, but this was the first time he had seen him express such an emotion.

‘What did he come to find?’

I couldn’t even guess. Because there was nothing in his eyes.

Kang Jin-ho quietly closed his eyes.

When he closed his eyes, he could see it clearly. In the past, this place was filled with endless pavilions.

Many people lived, and many people were together.

The place where he met his end was not far from here either.

But…

Now, nothing remained here. It was as if the time Kang Jin-ho had lived was a dream.

“Is there… nothing left?”

It was a strange feeling.

That life was no longer related to Kang Jin-ho.

Hadn’t he decided to be faithful to this life?

It was not like Kang Jin-ho to have lingering attachments to the past that could not be undone.

But strangely…

A corner of his heart was throbbing.

It was as if the traces of the past that had completely disappeared were pressing down on Kang Jin-ho’s heart.

Kang Jin-ho turned his body.

“Mr. Kang Jin-ho?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head and started going down the mountain to the side.

‘What does he mean by nothing?’

It was hard to understand, but Jo Gyu-min realized that he shouldn’t ask Kang Jin-ho anything right now.

Jo Gyu-min silently followed Kang Jin-ho down the mountain.

‘This isn’t the way down?’

But Kang Jin-ho was not going back the way he came and was heading somewhere.

‘A cave?’

He wouldn’t have found it if he had come alone.

Behind a place cleverly hidden between the slopes of the mountain, there was a small cave entrance that was just big enough for one person to enter.

“…There’s a place like this?”

But Kang Jin-ho didn’t answer Jo Gyu-min’s words. He just closed his eyes and stood still with his head raised.

Jo Gyu-min wouldn’t be able to understand Kang Jin-ho’s reaction.

Right now, Kang Jin-ho’s heart was fluttering wildly.

‘It wasn’t a dream.’

The proof that those times were not a dream was right here.

The place that could not be completely filled with his lack of knowledge and remaining knowledge.

The proof that the place where he lived in the past was none other than this world was right in front of Kang Jin-ho’s eyes.

From behind Kang Jin-ho, who was about to enter the cave with slightly trembling steps, a low and murderous voice was heard.

“Ni hui qu ba! [Go back!]”

Kang Jin-ho turned his head.

There was a strange man of an age that could not be guessed.

His hair was disheveled and his clothes looked like rags.

The strange man glared at Kang Jin-ho and opened his mouth again.

“I warn you. Go back.”

A smile bloomed on Kang Jin-ho’s lips.

“Somehow…”

Kang Jin-ho laughed as he slowly approached the strange man.

“It feels welcoming.”