Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 164

“I’m warning you one last time. This is not a place for the likes of you. Go back. Then I’ll spare your lives.”

‘What is he saying?’

Jo Gyu-min couldn’t understand a word the strange man was saying. Even when he spoke clearly and precisely, Jo Gyu-min struggled to interpret it, which was a testament to his poor Chinese skills. No matter how much intensive tutoring he had received, cramming always had its limits, as was always the case.

So, there was no way he could understand the man’s slurred, dialect-mixed speech.

However, there was one thing he could understand.

The strange man was threatening them. His gestures, voice, and the chilling glint in his eyes visible through his disheveled hair were enough to make that clear.

“H-he seems like a crazy person?”

“Heh heh.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled softly.

Considering how things were going, Jo Gyu-min thought that they were not in a much better position. He quietly moved to a corner and crouched down.

‘I should stay out of the way.’

It seemed like there was no need for him to step in.

“You’re telling us to go back?”

When Kang Jin-ho spoke, the strange man nodded.

“That’s right.”

“Exactly where are you telling us to back off from? Is it this place, or that cave?”

The strange man tensed up.

To Jo Gyu-min, it looked like a predator lowering its stance before pouncing.

“Heh heh heh.”

Kang Jin-ho kept chuckling, as if he found something amusing.

Why wouldn’t he be enjoying this?

He could feel it.

The demonic energy emanating from the strange man had been tingling his skin for a while now, so there was no way he wouldn’t be in a good mood.

It was there.

The traces of the Demonic Cult still remained in this world.

The disappointment he had felt earlier seemed like a lie as Kang Jin-ho’s heart fluttered.

“I’ll make you realize the price of stepping into this forbidden area.”

The strange man slowly approached Kang Jin-ho. His eyes began to glow with a red light. Just looking at him was enough to make one’s hair stand on end; he was that terrifying.

“Kuaaaaah!”

The strange man roared and charged at Kang Jin-ho. A faint blue aura emanated from his body.

“Oh?”

Azure Flame Energy.

Although it was a weak energy, the aura the strange man was emitting had traces of Azure Flame Energy.

‘Is he a descendant of the Azure Demon?’

But the Azure Demon should have died that day.

And the Azure Flame Energy should have been cut off after that.

‘That damn foreigner.’

If it weren’t for that guy, he wouldn’t be in this situation, searching through mountains at this time.

But that could wait.

Kang Jin-ho’s right hand began to turn dark red.

At the same time, the strange man’s eyes widened.

Kwaang!

The strange man and Kang Jin-ho’s hands collided, and unbelievably, a huge explosion, like a bomb going off, erupted.

The ground shook as if an earthquake had struck, and the birds resting in the mountains all took flight.

“Kuaaaaak!”

And the strange man was flung away like a pinwheel caught in a strong wind.

Thud! Thud!

After bouncing several times on the ground, the strange man finally stopped, propped himself up with both hands, and raised his head.

‘That guy is even tougher.’

Jo Gyu-min wasn’t even surprised anymore.

It was physically impossible for a person to send another person flying like that, but since coming to China, had anything made sense?

What was certain was that the strange man who had just been flung away had clearly received more impact than the Chinese man from a few days ago. However, unlike that Chinese man, this strange man was immediately getting back on his feet.

‘Huh?’

And his reaction was different as well.

The strange man blinked in disbelief, then shuddered.

‘Is, is he crying?’

Tears began to flow from the strange man’s eyes.

“…I really don’t understand.”

Jo Gyu-min sighed deeply.

Was he upset because he attacked first and got thrown back?

Or was he crying because he was in pain?

Either way, Jo Gyu-min couldn’t understand those tears.

‘But I feel strange.’

Seeing the strange man kneeling and shedding tears, Jo Gyu-min’s heart strangely stirred.

The tears the strange man was showing were conveying such deep emotions.

The strange man slowly approached them on his knees, not quickly at all.

After approaching Kang Jin-ho from over 20 meters away on his knees, the strange man stared at Kang Jin-ho’s face for a long time, then slammed his head on the ground and shouted.

“Demon Lord of the Heavenly World! May all demons submit!”

Listening to the unintelligible words, Jo Gyu-min looked up at the distant sky.

“…I want to go home.”

* * *

“He’s not here?”

“Nope.”

“Where did he go?”

“He said he was going to China?”

“Chiiiiina?”

Joo Young-gi looked at Park Yu-min as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“No, that crazy bastard, I told him so many times to answer his phone, and he went to China?”

“He should have roaming on, right? Isn’t he answering?”

“It seems like he’s out of service range. It’s not going through.”

“Then there’s nothing we can do.”

“Ha…”

Joo Young-gi sat down and sighed.

He had just barely finished organizing everything and come up here, and now, if Kang Jin-ho wasn’t here, what was he supposed to do?

“Hyung!”

His younger brother, Joo Min-gi, came running up to him and said.

“Grandma is calling for you.”

“Why? Why is Grandma calling for me?”

“It seems like there’s something to organize in the storage behind the house, and she wants you to do it.”

“Me?”

Joo Young-gi blinked, pointing at himself.

“Yeah.”

Ha.

“Hey, did I come here as a porter! Or a laborer! I just came to visit, and you can’t even wait before trying to make me work?”

“Why are you yelling at me? It’s what Grandma wants.”

“Ha, geez!”

Joo Young-gi jumped up from his seat and shouted.

“Where’s the storage?”

“Behind there.”

“Aish!”

Even while grumbling, Joo Young-gi quickly walked towards the storage.

Park Yu-min smiled at the sight.

‘He’s an interesting guy.’

His words are so rough, but he has a deep heart. He’s a complainer, but he does everything he’s asked to do while complaining, which is what makes him so interesting.

According to what he heard from Kang Jin-ho, he used to be involved in some organization in the past, but it was a funny situation that such a person was working at the orphanage.

‘Since Min-gi is so kind, Young-gi can’t be a bad person either.’

Although siblings can have different tendencies, it’s rare for one sibling to have a particularly bad personality.

Since coming to the orphanage, Joo Min-gi had taken good care of the children and listened well to his older siblings.

Since he was Min-gi’s brother, Joo Young-gi must also be kind at heart.

“Yu-min.”

“Yes?”

Joo Young-gi’s grandmother came out of the room and said.

“The girls are running out of disposable items. Who should I tell about this?”

“…Ah, you should tell the general manager, but since they’ve gone home, I’ll tell them separately.”

“Okay.”

Joo Young-gi’s grandmother, who was hospitalized, often left the hospital to come to the orphanage to see Min-gi.

At first, she would just see Min-gi and leave, but as her visits became more frequent, she started to find things she could do at the orphanage.

‘Thankfully.’

Seeing her take care of the children with disabilities as if they were her own children made him feel grateful.

There was just one thing…

“The boys’ room smells musty. It seems like the kids aren’t washing themselves enough, but since all the teachers here are women, it’s hard for them to talk to the older boys about that.”

“…Yes.”

“Then you should take care of it. The kids listen to you, right? You don’t seem to have anything to do these days, and you just seem to be eating, so how can you not take care of your younger siblings? That’s what a freeloader is! A freeloader!”

He flinched.

“Go fill up the bathroom with water and make all the kids take a shower.”

“Yes.”

“When they shower, if anyone just splashes water on themselves and comes out, I’ll strip them naked and kick them out, so tell them to wash properly. Do you understand?”

“…Yes.”

“Starting from between their toes, if they don’t wash properly, I won’t let them…”

Park Yu-min closed his eyes.

He felt like his ears would start bleeding soon.

‘It would be so nice if she could just nag a little less.’

Whether it was because she was getting older and had more worries, or if it was just her nature, Joo Young-gi’s grandmother was a living nagging machine. Even Joo Young-gi couldn’t dare to rebel against her.

Park Yu-min headed to the room to gather the children.

‘He’s not answering the phone?’

Nothing bad could have happened.

Who was his friend? Kang Jin-ho. His friend was someone who could walk out fine even if a tank ran over him.

‘Come back safely.’

“What are you doing? Hurry up and get the kids to shower!”

“Yes, Grandma!”

Park Yu-min quickly ran into the room.

The strange man, who had slammed his head on the ground, couldn’t get up for a while, as if he was in a state of shock.

His faintly trembling back seemed to show how deep he was in the vortex of emotions.

“Get up.”

At Kang Jin-ho’s low voice, the strange man slowly raised his head.

“I greet the descendant of the Demon Lord.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled in disbelief.

‘A descendant…’

Well, from the strange man’s perspective, there was no way he could have guessed that he was the Demon Lord himself.

“Why do you think that?”

It was a somewhat vague question. However, the strange man seemed to understand Kang Jin-ho’s words and explained.

“I heard that the Demon Lord’s Asura Energy suppresses all martial arts of the Demonic Cult. The moment I exchanged blows with the Demon Lord, I felt my power being scattered. Please punish me for not recognizing the Demon Lord and only realizing your dignity after exchanging blows.”

“That’s enough.”

Kang Jin-ho slowly shook his head.

‘It seems like he’s been waiting for a long time.’

Judging by his appearance, it seemed like he had been living in the mountains for a long time. What had kept this man here?

“There are many things I need to hear, but that can wait for later.”

Kang Jin-ho turned his gaze away from the strange man and looked at the cave.

Something inside the cave was calling to him.

“I’ll be back.”

As Kang Jin-ho turned towards the cave, the strange man slammed his head on the ground again.

Kang Jin-ho slowly moved into the cave without rushing. A strange sense of tension and excitement was rising within him.

‘It’s calling me?’

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

It was a thrill he hadn’t felt in a long time since returning to the present world.

After passing through the dark and narrow entrance, a wide-open interior appeared.

‘The Heavenly Demon Cave.’

This place was called the Heavenly Demon Cave in the past.

A forbidden area that only the leader of the Demonic Cult could enter.

The place where he was standing now was a place that others could enter, but the area behind it was a place that no one could enter unless they were the leader who possessed the Asura Energy.

‘It’s not far.’

What was calling him seemed to be quite close, not deep within the forbidden area.

Kang Jin-ho slowly followed the voice that was calling him.

Then, what he found was a huge altar.

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes slowly sank as he saw what was placed on the altar.

Two swords.

Two identical twin swords, with crimson and azure threads tied to their ends to distinguish them.

“The Crimson Dew and the Azure Dew.”

Kang Jin-ho slowly reached out and grabbed the two swords.

When he closed his eyes, it was as if the days he had fought with these swords flashed by.

And now…

“It’s a new beginning, isn’t it?”