Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1705

“…Well, it’s not as refreshing as I thought it would be.”

Life was fading.

Lee Sung-hwi’s breath was growing faint. And that was a fact that anyone could tell, not just Kang Jin-ho.

To anyone who looked, Lee Sung-hwi’s appearance was not that of a living person.

Even the great Kang Jin-ho could not reverse this flow.

“…Wiggins.”

“Yes, Lord.”

“Can’t you save him?”

Wiggins remained silent, not answering.

This was Wiggins’ way of showing consideration. He couldn’t say it was impossible while Lee Sung-hwi was listening.

But Lee Sung-hwi instead mocked the two of them.

“…Don’t bother with useless things…” His voice became a little clearer.

But Kang Jin-ho knew that this was not a good sign.

Just as a candle burns brightest before it goes out, Lee Sung-hwi was now burning his last remaining life.

“My body is something I….”

Lee Sung-hwi glanced down and chuckled.

“…Saying I know it well… is also laughable.”

Looking at his abdomen, split open and spilling out his intestines, anyone could guess his fate.

Lee Sung-hwi let out a low laugh.

“Lee Sung-hwi, no, Oppa…” [Oppa is a Korean term used by a younger female to address an older male, usually a brother or close friend.]

Tears streamed endlessly from Lee Hyun-joo’s eyes.

It was a bad relationship, if anything.

Considering that a relationship twisted into a bad one leaves a deeper mark on a person’s heart than one that was bad from the start, no one could even begin to imagine what Lee Hyun-joo was feeling right now.

Blood gushed from Lee Sung-hwi’s mouth as he coughed.

But none of those around him tried to avoid Lee Sung-hwi’s blood.

“Why…”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Lee Sung-hwi, who was slowly dying.

He wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to ask in this situation. But he wanted to ask this one thing.

Why did Lee Sung-hwi try to protect Lee Hyun-joo and Lee Hyun-soo?

“Kuh…”

Lee Sung-hwi let out a low groan.

“I… I don’t regret… it, Kang Jin-ho. I absolutely do not regret… it.”

“Even if I went back to that time… I would… fight you the same way.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly nodded.

To him, Lee Sung-hwi was an enemy. But could he say that Lee Sung-hwi’s choice was wrong?

Kang Jin-ho had no right to judge that.

He was neither good nor justice. He simply couldn’t criticize someone who had chosen a different path.

What was wrong with Lee Sung-hwi was not his choice, but the method he used.

He had no intention of condoning that method, but he had even less intention of questioning a dying man.

“It’s… ridiculous. I…”

The blood flowing from Lee Sung-hwi’s mouth blocked his words. At the same time, Lee Sung-hwi’s eyes gradually lost their light.

“Oppa!”

Lee Hyun-joo grabbed Lee Sung-hwi and wailed.

“…Wiggins.”

“Yes.”

“Help him.”

“Lord, but if we do that…”

“I know. But he’d want that.”

Wiggins quietly nodded.

“I will try.”

Pure white light emanated from Wiggins’ fingertips. At the same time, Kang Jin-ho grabbed Lee Sung-hwi’s pulse and began to push energy into him.

It was just a temporary measure. Perhaps this action would burn through Lee Sung-hwi’s remaining life even faster. But Lee Sung-hwi wouldn’t want to just remain silent and live a little longer like this.

Light returned to Lee Sung-hwi’s eyes.

“…Did I lose consciousness?”

“Yes.”

“It’s the end.”

Lee Sung-hwi seemed to have realized what was happening to his body.

“Should we stop?”

“…I thought it wouldn’t be so bad to die without leaving any proper words, but I guess I still have some regrets.”

As if not wanting to waste the time he had left, Lee Sung-hwi turned his head to look at Lee Hyun-joo.

“Hyun-joo.”

“…Huu…”

“You did nothing wrong.”

“I’ll say it for you. If Master saw you now, he would surely be proud. He always said that you should pave your own path. You paved your own path. Be proud of yourself.”

Lee Hyun-joo nodded silently.

She couldn’t open her mouth to answer because of the tears and overwhelming emotions.

“And Kang Jin-ho.”

Lee Sung-hwi turned his gaze to Kang Jin-ho.

“…It’s not very pleasant to see your face.”

“The reason I helped you…”

Lee Sung-hwi looked at Kang Jin-ho for a moment and then chuckled.

“There’s no such thing.”

“I don’t even think I helped… I just moved on my own. Just because my recklessness happened to help you doesn’t mean you need to thank me.”

Lee Sung-hwi smiled faintly.

That smile strangely left a deep impression on Kang Jin-ho’s eyes.

“Reconciling and forgiving at the end… Don’t spout such bullshit. I am your enemy to the end. I will never acknowledge you, even in death.”

“Okay.”

That was fine.

Changing one’s mind at the moment of death wouldn’t change the evaluation of one’s life. People are judged not by the thoughts they have at the last moment, but by the path they have walked.

Both Kang Jin-ho and Lee Sung-hwi knew that.

“It’s dark.”

Lee Sung-hwi looked at the empty air with a somewhat hollow gaze.

The world was becoming increasingly blurry.

It meant that even with their power, they could no longer hold onto his life.

“Kang Jin-ho.”

“Speak.”

“I won’t die at the hands of the Chinese bastards.”

“The only one who can… kill me is you. You know that too, right?”

“…Yeah.”

“At least if I was of some help to you, don’t make my end pathetic.”

Kang Jin-ho closed his eyes.

Hesitation always comes when making a decision, but at this moment, his hesitation was heavier than any hesitation he had ever felt.

Kang Jin-ho opened his eyes and reached out to lightly grasp Lee Sung-hwi’s neck.

“That…”

Lee Hyun-joo, startled, tried to grab Kang Jin-ho’s arm, but bit her lip until it bled and lowered her hand again. She knew that this was not helping Lee Sung-hwi.

Feeling an unknown heat from the hand touching his neck, Lee Sung-hwi looked at the blurring air.

‘This is absurd.’

Whether it was because his mind was going blank, or because he was originally foolish.

He still couldn’t understand why he risked his life for Lee Hyun-soo, not Lee Hyun-joo.

Well.

How many people in the world can fully explain their actions as they live? Most people just do things because they can’t resist their impulses and then come up with plausible reasons.

‘So, it’s fine.’

He didn’t want to think about it any deeper. No, to be precise, he didn’t have the energy to think any more….

He didn’t regret it.

He didn’t regret it, but….

If there was a next life….

Lee Sung-hwi’s lips twisted.

“Kang Jin… ho.”

“I… I… to you…”

Lee Sung-hwi couldn’t continue his words.

But Kang Jin-ho knew what Lee Sung-hwi was asking.

“Yeah.”

Kang Jin-ho’s hand, which was holding Lee Sung-hwi’s neck, tightened.

“You were a bastard of an enemy.”

The corners of Lee Sung-hwi’s mouth curled up slightly.

At the same time, the light in his eyes began to fade rapidly.

Crack.

Kang Jin-ho’s hand broke his neck bone.

At the same time, the light of life completely disappeared from Lee Sung-hwi’s eyes.

“Oppa!”

Lee Hyun-joo hugged Lee Sung-hwi and wailed.

Kang Jin-ho closed his eyes and stood up. Kang Jin-ho, who had stepped back a couple of steps, took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and lit it.

‘What a shitty feeling.’

The death of someone always brings great emotions to others. But he never imagined that Lee Sung-hwi’s death would shake him like this.

That’s why the world is unpredictable.

“Hoo.”

Kang Jin-ho, who had exhaled a short puff of cigarette smoke, saw the dead Lee Sung-hwi and Lee Hyun-joo, who was holding him and wailing.

And Lee Hyun-soo, who had been silently watching the scene, sighed and slowly approached Kang Jin-ho.

“Give me one.”

Kang Jin-ho silently took out a cigarette, handed it to Lee Hyun-soo, and lit it for him.

Kang Jin-ho’s feelings were complicated right now, but how could they compare to Lee Hyun-soo’s feelings? The one who was experiencing the most complicated emotions here was definitely Lee Hyun-soo.

“…Thanks to you, I lived.”

“No. I’m sorry I was late. I should have come a little earlier.”

“How did you know to come? It seems like you left before I contacted you.”

“The Prime Minister contacted me. He said your phone was off.”

Lee Hyun-soo closed his eyes tightly.

‘No.’

Even if he had known, nothing would have changed. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise. It was clear that he had been under their surveillance since before he entered Jeju Island.

If he had shown even a little bit of urgency after receiving the Prime Minister’s call, they would have tried to kill Lee Hyun-soo at that moment, even if it meant taking some damage themselves.

It was only by a series of coincidences that he managed to survive.

Instead, someone else had died.

“…Lord.”

“Hmm?”

“…It’s thanks to a sloppy oversight, but that guy… is still on the General Assembly’s member list.”

Kang Jin-ho exhaled a long puff of cigarette smoke.

“I know it doesn’t look good, but since he’s someone with no connections…”

“I know.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded as if there was no need to say more.

“The General Assembly will take care of it.”

“…Thank you.”

Lee Hyun-soo bowed his head.

“People are…”

“So unpredictable.”

“I think so too.”

There was much to do.

They had to check the defense system that had been breached so easily, and they had to figure out why this had happened. Interrogating those they had captured was also important, and cleaning up this place was also a headache.

But….

Neither Kang Jin-ho nor Lee Hyun-soo wanted to think about such things right now.

There was no loyalty to mourn him, nor was there a relationship to express gratitude. That was why an unavoidable bitterness was lingering in their hearts.

“Let’s go back to the General Assembly.”

“He’d want that too.”

“Yes, Lord.”

A cold murderous intent surged in Kang Jin-ho’s eyes for a moment.

‘Chang Wang.’

He had never held any personal grudges.

They became enemies because they had to be enemies, and they fought because they had to fight. They had only evaluated each other while exchanging blows. In a relationship where they had to kill and be killed, grudges were rather ridiculous.

But….

‘This has gone too far.’

He had touched the one thing he shouldn’t have touched.

If he had attacked him, no matter how fierce the attack was, he wouldn’t have held any anger towards Chang Wang.

But attacking Lee Hyun-soo was like touching a taboo for Kang Jin-ho.

“Lee Hyun-soo.”

“Yes, Lord.”

“That’s enough of standing idly by.”

“I will kill Chang Wang.”

Lee Hyun-soo bit his lip tightly and nodded his head vigorously.

“I will prepare, as you command.”

Kang Jin-ho, who had been silently looking at Lee Sung-hwi’s corpse for a long time, closed his eyes and turned his body.