Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1765

KWA-AAAAAANG!

The heat surging from behind, along with the scorching flames, made Kang Jin-ho reflexively turn his head.

Kang Jin-ho, who rarely showed his emotions, couldn’t help but widen his eyes at the tremendous flames erupting behind him.

His feet, which no one could stop, halted on their own, and the sword he had been swinging ceaselessly drooped downwards.

A moment of conflict flickered in Kang Jin-ho’s eyes.

He knew.

He knew what he had to do now.

If it had been the old Kang Jin-ho, he would never have looked back, no matter how dire the situation. Even if only a few survived, it would be a hundred times better than everyone dying together.

However…

‘I know.’

Kang Jin-ho gritted his teeth.

The reason he couldn’t make a decision immediately, despite knowing, was because he was different from the past.

In the past, he was someone who could sacrifice anything for his goals. But now, he knew how significant the meaning of ‘sacrifice’ was.

“Master!”

At Bator’s urging, Kang Jin-ho gripped his Red Tear [a sword].

‘Damn it.’

The burning flames were seared into his eyes like a brand.

Even at a glance, those flames were no ordinary flames. The acrid black smoke billowing like clouds resembled the fires of hell burning in the underworld.

And what was burning within those flames were none other than the members of the General Assembly.

“Bator! Wiggins!”

“Yes, Lord!”

“Go and help them!”

“…But, Lord!”

Kang Jin-ho bit his lip.

“I’ll break through the front. I’ll break through no matter what, so go and help! Save even one more person!”

“Understood, Master!”

“Yes, Lord!”

They were two who might have said another word or two under normal circumstances, but Kang Jin-ho’s resolute tone shut their mouths.

“Go!”

As Wiggins and Bator began to run back, Kang Jin-ho stared ahead with bloodshot eyes.

Crack.

Kang Jin-ho’s face, as he gripped the Red Tear as if he would break it, was horribly distorted.

It felt like his chest was burning, not the flames behind him.

‘…It’s been a long time, hasn’t it, you bastard.’

It was rare for him to get this angry.

His cold heart began to beat wildly. Since completely overcoming the side effects of demonic energy, Kang Jin-ho had never lost his reason while fighting an enemy, but at this moment, the impulse he felt was not much different from the madness he had felt in the past.

“Changwaaaaaaang!”

Kang Jin-ho roared fiercely, scattering demonic energy as he charged forward.

Like a burning black meteor.

The warriors of the Changwang faction, seeing his more aggressive momentum than before, did not dare to confront him.

But Kang Jin-ho’s sword showed no mercy even to them.

The burning sword was swung like the scythe of a grim reaper.

And before the first strike was even finished, the second strike landed.

Like a blade cutting through a golden wheat field, Kang Jin-ho’s sword tore through the forest of people. A clear and gruesome red line was drawn in the middle of the blue-filled earth.

Kang Jin-ho, who had instantly beheaded a person screaming in terror, rushed in and severed another’s waist before the head could even reach the sky.

Clearly an emotional, powerful strike.

Kang Jin-ho breathed roughly like a wounded beast.

He had been restraining himself to save his strength to face Changwang, but now there was no more room to spare.

Kang Jin-ho, who had even turned the demonic energy enveloping his body into his sword, fiercely drove back the enemy, his whole body stained with blood.

With every step he took and every strike he made, blood splattered from his entire body like raindrops. The blood that had bounced off the ends of his hair fell, obscuring his vision.

“Ah… Ah…”

Those who were blocked by the wall of people and unable to escape reflexively turned their heads.

Then, they lost their minds at the sight of Kang Jin-ho rushing at them like a beast.

But fortunately, their fear did not last long. Their bodies were torn to pieces before they even had time to fully feel that fear.

“Get out of the way, you bastards!”

“Aaaaaaah!”

Those who were terrified began to use their lightness skills [a martial art technique that allows for quick movement], stepping over the heads of those in front of them. The moment they realized they didn’t have to break through the person in front of them, a big change occurred in the formation.

Everyone was stepping over the person in front of them and leaping away.

As they desperately used their lightness skills, some fell tangled with each other, while others managed to escape quickly. And at that moment, those who were trying to escape sensed that the dense formation behind them had become somewhat looser.

There was no time to think or hesitate.

If there was a place to live, they would just run there. Even if death awaited them there, it would be much better than the certain death they would face here.

The rabbit, seeing the wolf, ran without thinking, and the wolf sank its fangs into the back of the fleeing rabbit’s neck.

Kang Jin-ho, who had cut down those who were running away without hesitation, breathed roughly.

“Hoo.”

How many had he cut down?

How many had he killed?

The smell of blood that rushed to the tip of his nose was no longer even noticeable. His hands, soaked in blood and dyed red, were stuck in his eyes.

It was a funny thing.

To survive, one had to kill. To stop fighting, one had to fight.

When did this absurd irony begin?

Kang Jin-ho had never thought about this even once in the middle of a battle. But now, Kang Jin-ho was feeling considerable fatigue on this endless path of blood.

He realized.

He could no longer be the demon who felt alive on the battlefield.

He could put on the skin of a demon and swing his sword like a demon, but now he no longer felt comfort or pleasure in the hell where blood and death were rampant.

Once, he felt pain in being alive.

But now, he felt pain in dying.

‘It’s ridiculous.’

It was absurd that the emotions he felt in one body had changed so drastically, but the fact that the place where he most clearly realized that change was, in the end, the battlefield, made Kang Jin-ho shudder.

The tip of his sword was heavy.

It wasn’t that he had lost his strength.

The lives he had killed and continued to kill were pressing down on the tip of his sword.

Perhaps those people also had families like Kang Jin-ho.

Perhaps they also had people they wanted to be with, like Kang Jin-ho.

They might have friends who would drink with them,

and colleagues who would silently put their hands on their shoulders.

No.

They must have.

They must.

Crack.

His hand gripped so tightly that all the blood drained from it.

He knew.

He knew now.

The lives of those who died by the sword he wielded were not worthless.

His sword cut off people’s heads,

erased their lives, and severed their relationships.

How many people had died by the tip of this sword?

How many connections, how many hearts had been cut off by the tip of this sword?

Kang Jin-ho reflexively raised his hand and covered his face.

‘Foolish…’

This was not a thought to have in the midst of battle. Thoughts could be had after the fight as well.

Even though he knew, Kang Jin-ho could not shake off the weight pressing down on his head.

He was no longer a demon, but a human.

He was happy about trivial things, and sad about trivial things.

He was afraid of losing connections with people, and he wanted to protect what he cherished. He was just one weak and foolish human being.

He couldn’t go back.

Now, even with his own will, he couldn’t go back to the way he was in the past.

“Ah…”

Kang Jin-ho curled up his body.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Kang Jin-ho, who had released the suffocating pressure inside him with a beast-like roar, stared ahead with bloodshot eyes.

‘Why am I fighting?’

There was no answer.

‘Why am I killing?’

What was the reason he had to be covered in blood and roar here?

‘Why am I dying?’

What was the reason for the screams he heard from behind him?

The corners of Kang Jin-ho’s mouth curled up.

“In the end, it’s all one thing.”

Grrr.

The two swords that had been hanging down scraped the ground.

Soon, Kang Jin-ho’s eyes were fixed on one place.

He could feel it.

Beyond the countless energies and auras, beyond the chaotic, swirling, giant furnace-like energies…

Auras that were so cold that they felt foreign caught his senses.

Kang Jin-ho bared his teeth.

It was more of a distortion than a smile.

More of a madness than laughter.

“Yes. It’s all one thing.”

Kang Jin-ho slightly crouched down.

Crack.

His foot sank halfway into the ground. Kang Jin-ho, who had lowered his stance and pushed his energy to the limit in his legs, bared his teeth, his eyes completely red.

“Changwang!”

KWA-AAAAAANG!

With an explosion like a bomb, the ground where Kang Jin-ho had been standing collapsed, and the soil surged upwards.

With that tremendous recoil, Kang Jin-ho literally shot forward like a beam of light.

‘Get out of the way.’

He cut through the sea of people surging like waves with his sword…

‘Get out of the way!’

He broke through the wall of people blocking him like a cliff with his shoulder…

Like a bloodthirsty beast, Kang Jin-ho charged forward.

“Stop him!”

The warriors of the Changwang faction were not easily defeated either. The closer they got to Changwang, the more elite troops were deployed. They did not lose their minds and run away like those who had been placed in the front, even though they were trembling with fear.

They threw themselves at Kang Jin-ho with the sole intention of somehow grabbing his ankles and holding him back.

But it was a meaningless act.

One strike split the sea, and one strike broke the cliff.

The martial prowess that had descended here was on a different level from anything they had seen before.

And then…

Thud, thud.

The sword that had been swung as if to crush everything stopped moving. There was nothing left to cut down.

Drip.

The sound of blood dripping from the tip of the sword and falling to the ground was clearly audible.

Even though the man who had lowered his sword with both hands was walking away with his back to them, no one who was looking at his back dared to even think of attacking him.

They didn’t even think of filling the path he had broken through.

They just stared blankly at the scene with eyes mixed with shock, respect, fear, and joy.

And then…

Thud.

The man’s footsteps stopped.

Kang Jin-ho, who was covered in blood from head to toe, stuck his sword into the ground and raised his hand to wipe away the blood that was completely covering his face.

Then, he slowly raised his head and looked at one place.

Directly in front of him.

Not too far away.

A place where they could see each other’s eyes and know each other’s expressions.

The eyes of the two men were intertwined across that short distance.

“I…”

Kang Jin-ho muttered softly.

But that small voice was clearly heard by everyone.

“I have cut down countless enemies, killed countless people, and received the resentment of countless people with this body.”

“But…”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes emitted a blood-red glow.

“No one has ever made me this angry before.”