Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1728

Smoke from the cigarette drifted away in the wind.

Kang Jin-ho stared blankly at the dissipating smoke before lowering his gaze to take in the view of the General Assembly.

“Do you think you’d die if you jumped from up there?”

Kang Jin-ho turned his head.

Lee Hyun-soo was approaching with a smile on his face.

“What change of heart brought you all the way up to the rooftop?”

“Just because.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen the General Assembly from up here before.”

“You’ve become a poet. It doesn’t suit you.” Kang Jin-ho’s eyes twitched.

‘I need to set aside a day to deal with him…’

“So… what do you think of the General Assembly from up here?”

“It’s nothing special.”

Lee Hyun-soo looked at Kang Jin-ho with a sulky expression.

“That’s what’s important.”

That it’s nothing special, that is.

That it’s not different means it’s being maintained, and being maintained means it’s peaceful.

‘Something I once desperately wished for.’

“I don’t think this is the time to be sentimental.”

“It’s not that.”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

It wasn’t something that warranted such a grand word as sentimentality. He just wanted to confirm. The position he was in right now.

“What I’m fighting for.”

“Because they’re coming at you.”

Kang Jin-ho turned to Lee Hyun-soo with a disgruntled look.

“Isn’t that right?”

Well… yeah, that’s right.

“Does the reason matter when you’re fighting? If someone hits you, then one of you dies.”

Simple enough.

Kang Jin-ho sometimes wondered what kind of martial artist Lee Hyun-soo would have become if he had a talent for martial arts.

‘At the very least, he would have founded a sect [a school or faction of martial arts].’

No, maybe it wouldn’t have been just that.

But it seems even the heavens have a conscience, as they didn’t give that man power as well.

“Looking for a reason is a sign of weakness.”

“…Huh?”

“The conquering kings who left their names in history didn’t look for reasons to invade. They just invaded, looted, plundered, and set fire to other people’s lands.”

What does this guy think I am?

“Of course, I’m not asking you to do that, Guild Leader. That’s something only emotionless psychopaths would do… wait a minute. Isn’t that what you used to do?”

The air between them became awkward.

Lee Hyun-soo, who had been scratching the back of his head with a slightly embarrassed look, smiled brightly and said,

“I take back the word psychopath.”

“Too late.”

“Come on, people make mistakes when they live.”

“Can I make one mistake too?”

“…Then I’ll die.”

Kang Jin-ho sighed deeply.

He knew what he was trying to say, but this guy’s means and methods for reaching his goals were excessively wrong.

This was Lee Hyun-soo’s way of comforting him.

“The preparations are mostly done.”

“Really?”

Lee Hyun-soo nodded quietly.

“The support aspects have been sorted out, and the positions with other countries have been roughly coordinated. It should take about five days at most until everything is completely finished.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

Kang Jin-ho slowly took another drag of his cigarette.

Five days…

It was a long time if you thought it was long, and a short time if you thought it was short.

“Director Bang will handle the conclusion of the General Assembly.”

“I guess so.”

“It seems you’ve mostly dealt with the demonic flames, and Director Wiggins will handle the Round Table. As for the Demonic Cult, Elder Jang Min will naturally take care of it.”

Lee Hyun-soo grinned.

“Once Bator takes care of the Mongolian side, there’s nothing left. I’ll handle the national aspects.”

“So?”

“In other words, the most useless person here right now is you, Guild Leader.”

“…If you came here to pick a fight, I’d like to tell you that you’re doing a really good job.”

“Please go out.”

“Huh?”

Lee Hyun-soo shrugged his shoulders.

“You have nothing to do, yet you’re sticking around the General Assembly, so you end up coming to the rooftop to smoke, don’t you?”

“Go have some fun. I’ll take care of the aftermath.”

“It’s okay.”

“To be honest, you’re a bit of a hindrance.”

“…Huh?”

Lee Hyun-soo frowned and said,

“If the highest authority is just wandering around with nothing to do, the people working below keep getting distracted. How many times have you been to the cafe today?”

“Three times, maybe?”

“Then why did you bring the drip coffee maker to the office?”

“Enough, go have some fun. No, if possible, don’t come back.”

Lee Hyun-soo took the car keys out of his pocket and threw them to Kang Jin-ho.

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes narrowed even more as he caught the keys.

“…These are my keys, aren’t they?”

“They were on your desk, Guild Leader?” Kang Jin-ho was speechless.

Should I start by teaching him not to touch things on other people’s desks?

That’s going too far.

“Well, anyway…”

That was the moment.

Kang Jin-ho’s gaze suddenly snapped to the side.

The movement was so abrupt that Lee Hyun-soo, who was about to speak, flinched.

“Guild Leader?”

In that instant, Kang Jin-ho’s body shot towards one side with the speed of a ray of light.

*Whoosh!*

The rooftop of the building where he had stepped caved in, cracking like a spiderweb.

The impact sent Lee Hyun-soo tumbling backward.

“Wh-what was that?”

His eyes frantically followed Kang Jin-ho’s figure, which had already become a dot in the distance.

*Bang!*

The doors everywhere burst open as if they were about to break.

The directors, startled by the energy Kang Jin-ho had created as he took off, stopped what they were doing and rushed outside.

Then, without a word, they began to fly at full speed after Kang Jin-ho.

“Demon Lord!”

“Master!”

Jang Min and Bator, who arrived first, stared at Kang Jin-ho with surprised eyes. He was standing on the edge of the General Assembly, gazing into the distance.

“What happened all of a sudden?”

“…Demon Lord?”

It was only when Wiggins and Bang Jin-hoon, who had rushed over in surprise, arrived that Kang Jin-ho turned his gaze from where he had been looking and stared at the directors.

“What is it?”

“He was here.”

“Huh?”

“The bastard who was watching me.”

Upon hearing those words, Bator chuckled.

“It seems the King of Creation sent a spy. So, did you kill him?”

“I missed him.”

“Right. That’s… what?”

Bator widened his already large eyes twice as much, looking at Kang Jin-ho as if he couldn’t believe it.

“You missed him? Master?”

“Yeah.”

Bator was speechless.

Kang Jin-ho was a powerful being.

He was a powerful being who had far surpassed the level of a human. There were those among the directors of the General Assembly, like Bator, who lacked speed compared to their physical strength, but Kang Jin-ho was not that type.

There was no one among the directors of the General Assembly who could escape Kang Jin-ho’s grasp. But for Kang Jin-ho to have missed a spy?

“…Did the King of Creation come himself?”

“It wasn’t the King of Creation.”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

He had already felt his energy once. If the person here had been the King of Creation, there was no way he wouldn’t have recognized him. Even if he wasn’t moving, he couldn’t have fooled Kang Jin-ho’s senses when he was releasing his energy to escape from his grasp.

“Then who is it?”

The directors’ faces hardened.

Someone who could escape Kang Jin-ho’s eyes among those they had never seen before.

“Logically, it would be one of the King of Creation’s subordinates, but…”

Wiggins glanced at Kang Jin-ho’s expression and said,

“You don’t think so, Lord.”

“I’m not going to make a conclusion.”

But Wiggins’ words were not wrong.

The energy he had just felt was slightly different from the energy he had felt from the King of Creation’s side until now.

Of course, it wasn’t like everyone on the King of Creation’s side practiced the same martial arts, nor did they all emit the same energy. Moreover, it was unlikely that all the martial artists from the King of Creation’s side had come to that place, so this might be a hasty conclusion.

But…

‘Something feels off.’

Kang Jin-ho’s senses were definitely saying that something was different.

After staring into the distance for a long time, Kang Jin-ho slightly curled up the corners of his mouth.

“It seems…”

“…Yes?”

“I was getting a little bored.”

Kang Jin-ho covered his face with one hand.

He didn’t want to show others the expression he was making right now.

‘I’m a complete psycho.’

Scared and trembling?

Afraid of losing everything?

That wasn’t a lie. Kang Jin-ho was actually feeling that way.

But on the other hand, it seemed he had been resisting the idea of ending everything with the war against the King of Creation.

Otherwise, his blood wouldn’t be boiling like this at the appearance of a new enemy.

‘Who is it?’

Is it from the side of the King of Calamity?

Or…

Kang Jin-ho curled up the corners of his mouth.

It didn’t matter, it didn’t matter at all.

Either way, the fact that they sent someone like that to watch him meant they had the intention to confront him.

It was ridiculous.

He desperately wanted peace, yet he couldn’t be satisfied with just peace.

“I should get some psychiatric counseling.”

“Yes?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Kang Jin-ho waved his hand.

Wiggins asked Kang Jin-ho with a slightly stiff face.

“What should we do, Lord?”

“Hmm.”

In any case, the fact that an enemy had infiltrated right up to the vicinity of the General Assembly was no small matter. This meant that the General Assembly’s defenses had been breached.

But…

“Leave it alone.”

“Are you sure that’s okay?”

“There’s no way to stop someone like that if they’re determined to cause trouble.”

“That’s true, but…”

“Instead…”

“Understood. I will strengthen the protection of your family and key personnel.” Kang Jin-ho nodded slightly. That was enough, for now.

But the moment Wiggins stepped back, Jang Min opened his mouth.

“Demon Lord.”

“Are you alright?”

“Why?”

“No, it’s just that you seem a bit…”

“It’s nothing. I just got a little excited because the enemy came close.” Kang Jin-ho waved his hand, and Jang Min nodded and stepped back.

‘He seems excited?’

It was a feeling a little different from elation or a sense of crisis. Jang Min had never felt this from Kang Jin-ho before.

But Kang Jin-ho was just as puzzled by the answer.

‘Strange.’

His heart kept beating.

It was a change happening in his own body, yet even Kang Jin-ho couldn’t find the reason. He just had a feeling that something was wrong.

“Let’s go back.”

“Yes, Demon Lord.”

Kang Jin-ho glanced back and then turned his gaze back to the General Assembly.

An alien substance had entered the flow that had been going as planned.

Thinking that this might become a bigger deal than he had thought, Kang Jin-ho walked towards the General Assembly.

* * *

“I didn’t catch him, but I almost lost my life. He’s terrifying.”

[I guess so.]

“I will continue to monitor him.”

[That’s enough. Return.]

“But…”

[It’s impossible for you to monitor him at your level now that he’s become wary. Don’t lose your life for nothing and come back.]

“Yes.”

[But one thing.]

“Yes?”

There was no sound from the other end of the receiver for a while.

But the person holding the phone didn’t even dare to urge him, waiting endlessly in a fixed position for the next words.

[Did he look happy?]

“…Yes?”

The person on the phone stared at the phone with a blank face. He couldn’t think of how to answer this question.

[No, I asked something unnecessary. Return.]

“Ah, understood.”

As soon as the call ended, the man stared silently at the phone he had taken away from his ear.

Don’t think.

Just answer when asked and act when ordered.

Because that is the duty that those who listen to the orders of the great one must naturally uphold.