Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1809

“Even I can see that Guild Master isn’t that kind of person.”

Ugh…

Mmm…

It could be seen as an insult, but it was an accurate assessment.

“The Guild Master I know is that kind of person.”

“Huh?”

“He gets angry when things don’t go his way, acts like an old geezer saying everything is possible with effort, ruins things by being stubborn over trivial matters, and insists on fighting at the front even when told to be patient, almost causing the entire Guild to collapse…”

“And he’s so hypocritical that it’s annoying to watch, he’ll obsess over things he likes while pushing off things he’s not interested in onto others.”

What the hell is this guy?

Kang Jin-ho, who was suddenly bombarded with a barrage of criticism, stared at Lee Hyun-soo with a dumbfounded expression.

“Do you understand what I mean?”

“Do you want to die?”

“No, that’s not it…”

“Sounds about right?”

Lee Hyun-soo, feeling the murderous aura emanating from Kang Jin-ho, awkwardly smiled and continued.

“That’s not it, what I’m trying to say is…”

Lee Hyun-soo grinned.

“The Guild Master is someone who can’t become an adult.”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Lee Hyun-soo with a sullen face. But even seeing that expression, Lee Hyun-soo didn’t change his tone.

“Of course, I know. The recent Guild Master has been truly excellent. He realized that he can’t live only as a martial artist anymore and has been trying to become a better person.”

Kang Jin-ho silently nodded.

The series of things he did might have been a way to become an adult.

Because he can’t live as a child forever.

“I understand the effort, the effort. But can the Guild Master really do it? The Guild Master of all people? Huh? The Guild Master?”

It was quite something that a person could be so distrustful of another person. But Lee Hyun-soo, as if the sky would fall, confidently continued his tirade.

“That’s something that someone who has diligently lived within the standards of society can try, but how dare someone like the Guild Master try to catch up with the lives that others have built up so diligently? You have no shame.”

Is today the day?

Kang Jin-ho, unable to come to his senses from the barrage of facts, couldn’t even utter a word before Lee Hyun-soo launched another attack.

“It seems like you’ve forgotten who you are, but the Guild Master is the most reckless martial artist since the founding of South Korea. You torture people when you’re upset, throw the Prime Minister of a country in jail, and drag soldiers into other countries when you’re angry.”

“Please think about yourself objectively. Even the North Korean dictator, who is called a dictator, doesn’t live this recklessly. And what are you going to do?”

I want to refute it.

But I can’t refute it.

“It’s a little different from that.”

It was a lame excuse, even Kang Jin-ho thought it was a poor excuse.

“It’s not much different. That’s why I asked you, can the Guild Master endure it?”

Lee Hyun-soo said, looking directly into Kang Jin-ho’s eyes.

“Let’s say someone maliciously interferes with what the Guild Master is trying to do. For example, they target the orphanage site and attack the children, or they set fire to the orphanage.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyebrows twitched.

“Then what would you do?”

“…It’s obvious. I’d catch them and punish them. But I wouldn’t kill them.”

In the past, he would have killed them without hesitation, but now Kang Jin-ho knows that living that way isn’t necessarily the right answer.

But Lee Hyun-soo’s answer was a little different from what he expected.

“Guild Master.”

“Huh?”

“…The answer is ‘report it to the police.’ Even elementary school students know this, Guild Master. Huh? Even elementary school students.”

Kang Jin-ho was speechless.

“So what I’m saying is…”

Lee Hyun-soo wore a subtle smile. It wasn’t a sneer, but rather a smile that meant he couldn’t help but find Kang Jin-ho amusing.

“The Guild Master’s patience, law-abiding spirit, and efforts to follow the rules of society are only something you can barely imitate when you’re not too heated and maintain perfect composure. You’re just that kind of person from the start.”

“You’re pathetic, childish, make other people tired, and sometimes I wonder if you even think before you act.”

“No…”

“So!”

Lee Hyun-soo’s voice rose. Lee Hyun-soo, who had glared at Kang Jin-ho once, spoke in a resolute voice.

“Be stubborn.”

Kang Jin-ho closed his mouth.

But Lee Hyun-soo had no intention of ending the conversation here.

“The reason why the Guild Master is hesitating is obvious. It’s because there’s no reason to fight.”

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled.

“Actually, you want to crush that Black King or whatever his name is right now, but the problem is that it’s an impulse driven solely by your emotions and greed, unlike before.”

“You don’t want to drag everyone into a war caused by that greed, right?”

Kang Jin-ho let out a low sigh.

He took out a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth. Seeing this, Lee Hyun-soo pulled the ashtray that was pushed into the corner and pushed it in front of Kang Jin-ho.

Click.

Kang Jin-ho lit the cigarette and slowly exhaled the smoke.

‘Greed, huh…’

Yes, Lee Hyun-soo is right.

If you consider the situation, there’s no reason for him to hesitate. He can completely protect his current life just by acknowledging the existence of the Azure Horse [a powerful, mythical being] and distancing himself from it.

But Kang Jin-ho couldn’t do that.

The reason he couldn’t find a reason was obvious. Greed doesn’t have a reason in the first place.

It’s just something you want.

“So…”

Kang Jin-ho said, exhaling cigarette smoke.

“You’re telling me to be stubborn?”

“Yes.”

Lee Hyun-soo answered as if it was obvious.

“I don’t see any reason why the Guild Master should endure it.”

“That’s what martial artists are like in the first place. Martial artists don’t need a reason to fight another martial artist. They just don’t want to see that bastard above them, and they fight to the death just because they don’t like that bastard, isn’t that what martial artists are?”

“That’s…”

That sounds like a very harsh criticism?

“Guild Master.”

Lee Hyun-soo said, staring at Kang Jin-ho.

“Didn’t he promise not to touch the Guild Master’s surroundings anyway?”

“…That’s right.”

“Then why are you hesitating? Even if you get hurt, the worst that can happen is the Guild collapsing.”

“That’s the problem.”

“It’s not a big deal. The Guild would have collapsed a long time ago if it weren’t for the Guild Master. If it weren’t for the Guild Master, the Yeongnam Guild would have destroyed the Guild, or they would have been annihilated when Japan invaded. These guys are living with the extra lives the Guild Master gave them.”

And that goes for Lee Hyun-soo as well.

“If you ask them to risk the lives the Guild Master gave them for the Guild Master, no one will hesitate. That’s what the Guild Master has done so far.”

Kang Jin-ho took a deep drag of his cigarette.

“As I said…”

Kang Jin-ho, slowly exhaling cigarette smoke, continued.

“I’m the kind of guy who can’t endure things.”

This was undeniable. He had tried so hard to change himself, but in the end, he fell for that small provocation.

This isn’t because Kang Jin-ho is inherently impatient. From the beginning, Kang Jin-ho had never lived while enduring someone suppressing him.

If he could endure that, he could become an adult.

But…

From that point on, Kang Jin-ho would no longer be Kang Jin-ho.

“However, Lee Hyun-soo.”

“Yes, please speak.”

“This is my personal matter.”

“I don’t like dragging the Guild into my personal matters. As you said, if I order the Guild, they might fight for me without question. But I don’t want that.”

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled at Kang Jin-ho’s words.

“Is that the problem?”

“Of course, you might think differently, but…”

“Hey, Guild Master.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes widened slightly at Lee Hyun-soo’s suddenly sulky voice.

“Huh?”

“This isn’t the Guild Master’s problem. This is the Guild’s problem.”

“No. As I said, this is my personal…”

“That’s the problem. The Guild Master is making a huge mistake right now.”

“A mistake?”

Kang Jin-ho, not understanding what Lee Hyun-soo was saying, tilted his head.

“What do you mean by a mistake?”

“The Guild Master believes that if you don’t move, that Azure Horse won’t touch the Guild, right?”

“That’s right. That’s the kind of guy he is.”

“Then is the Guild supposed to believe the Guild Master’s words and just sit back and watch until it’s too late to do anything?”

Lee Hyun-soo’s face contorted.

“I know you’re very confident, but honestly, from the perspective of managing the Guild, I don’t really trust the Guild Master’s judgment of people.”

“Huh…?”

“What if you get backstabbed after trusting that and doing nothing? Are you going to brush it off by saying ‘I misjudged him’ or ‘I’m sorry’?”

“Even if I don’t know, now that I do, I can’t just sit back and watch. If I investigate what that bastard is trying to do and determine that it’s a threat to the Guild’s future, I’ll do whatever it takes to eliminate him. Whether he’s the Guild Master’s old friend or whatever.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s eyes shone blue.

Seeing those murderous eyes, Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

‘He’s better than me.’

Lee Hyun-soo is definitely reliable at times like this.

“Are you confident you can eliminate him? He’s really dangerous.”

“If I were going to back down because he’s dangerous, I would have run overseas without looking back when I first fought the Guild Master. I’m not good at running away.”

“Yeah, you were.”

Lee Hyun-soo criticizes Kang Jin-ho for being reckless, but from Kang Jin-ho’s perspective, Lee Hyun-soo is just as reckless.

“So…”

Lee Hyun-soo picked up a beer and slid it forward.

“Let’s put aside the complicated stuff for now and find out what they’re planning. That way, we can decide what to do for sure.”

“…Okay.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly nodded.

“But do you have any guesses? In the current situation, the person who knows the most about him is the Guild Master.”

“Guesses…”

Kang Jin-ho thought for a moment and shook his head.

“I don’t know. He’s always been someone I couldn’t figure out.”

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M…•

“But one thing.”

“Yes?”

Kang Jin-ho pressed the almost burnt cigarette into the ashtray.

“If he’s been preparing something for decades…”

“…Yes.”

“The moment he starts moving, the world will turn upside down.”

Kang Jin-ho silently turned his head and looked out the window.

‘It’s chilling.’

The thought of having to fight that Azure Horse made him feel a cold chill in his spine.

But…

It’s strange.

Something has been boiling inside him since a little while ago.

It’s something different from the unpleasant feeling he felt before coming here.

Seeing Kang Jin-ho’s lips curling up, Lee Hyun-soo lightly shook his head.

‘He’s really something else.’

I want to show that face to the Azure Horse.

That incredibly eerie and reliable face.