Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1836

Lee Hyun-soo stared blankly out the window.

The overall view of the General Assembly felt somewhat unfamiliar to him.

Normally, Lee Hyun-soo would have quickly looked away and focused on his work, but today, his gaze was fixed on the scene before him.

“Hmph.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s head snapped around.

Kang Jin-ho had approached his desk and was standing there.

“Oh, when did you get here?”

“A little while ago?”

“I’m sorry. I was out of it.”

“It’s okay.”

Kang Jin-ho waved his hand dismissively and sat down on the sofa in front of him.

Lee Hyun-soo got up from his seat and went to the opposite side of Kang Jin-ho.

“You should have said something.”

“You looked deep in thought.”

Lee Hyun-soo let out a soft sigh.

“It’s not that I’m deep in thought, it’s that I can’t think at all.”

“Huh?”

Without a word, Lee Hyun-soo took out a cigarette from his pocket and offered it to Kang Jin-ho. Kang Jin-ho took the cigarette and put it in his mouth, and Lee Hyun-soo lit it for him.

“First of all…”

Lee Hyun-soo opened his mouth with a slightly somber expression.

“No one was seriously injured. Baek Yeon-hong, that crazy bastard, didn’t use lethal moves on the members.”

“And…”

Lee Hyun-soo scratched his head.

“We’ve finished dealing with the deaths of the Demonic Cult members. Most of them didn’t have any family, so no follow-up measures are needed, and those who do have families will receive large compensation.”

“What about the bodies?”

“Wouldn’t it be right to send them to China?”

“Discuss that with Jang Min.”

“Yes.”

If possible, he wanted to send them back to the land where they were born and bury them in their hometowns, but he didn’t know if they considered that place their hometown or if they considered this place their hometown.

This was something he needed to discuss with Jang Min and the other Demonic Cult members.

“Other than that, there aren’t any particular problems. He did cause a mess, but it wasn’t for very long… Well, it’s just a matter of rebuilding the collapsed walls and broken buildings.”

“I see.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded and stared intently at Lee Hyun-soo.

“So…”

“Yes?”

“What do you mean by saying you can’t think?”

As if he knew Kang Jin-ho would ask that, Lee Hyun-soo made a resigned face.

“I’m just feeling a bit of a reality check.”

“Reality check?”

“It’s like a ‘post-nut clarity’ kind of thing… I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s just a feeling of emptiness.”

Lee Hyun-soo turned his head slightly to look out the window before opening his mouth.

He could have just glossed over it, but he didn’t want to do that with Kang Jin-ho.

“As you know, I’ve dedicated my life to making the General Assembly stronger, right?”

“…What, you’ve only been doing it for a few years.”

“Hey, does the duration matter? It’s the passion that matters.”

“Let’s say that’s true.”

Lee Hyun-soo, looking disgruntled, looked at Kang Jin-ho and said,

“But seeing that guy, Baek Yeon-hong or whatever his name is, just waltz into the General Assembly and cause chaos…”

“It just makes me wonder if everything I’ve done so far was for nothing… Yeah, that’s just how it is.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

‘That’s understandable.’

Anyone who practices martial arts goes through such moments. I train like crazy every day, pushing myself to the point of breaking bones, but someone else seems to fly over my head with ease.

When you see a master of a different dimension that you can’t even dream of catching up to, you feel not just frustration but even a sense of deprivation.

The reason people make an effort is for better results. No one enjoys the effort itself. They only look forward to the results that can be obtained through that effort.

Therefore, those who realize that their efforts are not rewarded will naturally feel skeptical about the effort itself.

“It seems seeing Baek Yeon-hong was a shock.”

“Actually, there’s something I don’t quite understand…”

Lee Hyun-soo sighed deeply.

He had already experienced Hong Wang and Chang Wang. Their abilities couldn’t possibly be inferior to that Baek Yeon-hong.

However, the current Lee Hyun-soo was feeling a sense of vastness from Baek Yeon-hong that he had not felt from Hong Wang and Chang Wang.

“This is really strange. That…” Lee Hyun-soo scratched his head vigorously.

“It doesn’t seem like the despair I’m feeling is because I know the Black King is behind Baek Yeon-hong, but I can’t really pinpoint my exact state.”

However, unlike Lee Hyun-soo, Kang Jin-ho seemed to know the nature of the despair Lee Hyun-soo was feeling.

“The world you knew has been shattered.”

“The laws of the world, I mean.”

Lee Hyun-soo nodded.

Those words pierced his heart. So much so that he exclaimed, ‘Ah!’

“I guess so.”

Lee Hyun-soo sighed and looked at Kang Jin-ho.

“Can I have a smoke?”

“As much as you want.”

Lee Hyun-soo put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it.

Lee Hyun-soo slowly exhaled the cigarette smoke and opened his mouth, tilting his head slightly.

“You are a special person, Guild Leader.”

“And Hong Wang and Chang Wang are also special people. There shouldn’t be too many people like that in the world. There’s this thing, you know. The reason why ordinary people don’t get frustrated when they see geniuses is because there are very few people who will take the place they need to reach in the name of genius.”

“That’s right.”

“At least, that’s what I thought. The Three Kings are special, and those who can reach their positions are already determined. So, other martial artists can still have their own value and practice martial arts.”

Lee Hyun-soo shrugged his shoulders.

“But look at this mess.”

“I don’t know what value the General Assembly has in a world where there are twelve more martial artists at the level of the Three Kings. I’m not whining, I’m genuinely wondering.”

The balance of the martial world has been maintained because the Three Kings are at odds with each other.

But it turned out that the balance of the martial world had already collapsed a long time ago.

The Twelve Evils.

‘Twelve, huh…’

There were eleven more people equal to that Baek Yeon-hong.

And if you add the Black King, that meant there were a total of thirteen supreme masters.

This was a force that was not only absurd but also dumbfounding.

‘Can the General Assembly stand against them?’

It was impossible.

If Kang Jin-ho and the Black King were excluded, it meant that the General Assembly had to deal with twelve masters at the level of the Three Kings.

How could that be possible?

Even when all the directors stepped up, they couldn’t handle even one Baek Yeon-hong. Even if you looked at the situation in the best possible light, assuming four directors could somehow hold off two of them, that still left ten masters at the level of the Three Kings.

‘Even if we mobilized all the remaining forces of the General Assembly, could we handle even two of them?’

Frankly, he was skeptical.

Lee Hyun-soo had to realize once again how absurd and irrational the world he was standing in was.

“Honestly, I think the General Assembly has made remarkable progress. Most of the credit goes to you, Guild Leader, but I also had some pride in my own contributions.”

“But now, I don’t know where to use that pride.”

Lee Hyun-soo sighed.

If he had more time, his thoughts might have changed. If he could grow the General Assembly to the end and face them at the moment he desired, he would try to surpass them by any means possible.

However, there was no way they would give the General Assembly that much time.

Kang Jin-ho, who had been listening to Lee Hyun-soo’s words quietly, chuckled softly as he exhaled cigarette smoke.

“…Why are you laughing?”

“It’s funny to hear someone who didn’t even fight be more discouraged than those who did.”

“…It’s not that I’m discouraged because I didn’t fight, it’s that I’m discouraged because I can’t fight. Others have the option of trying to face them with sheer grit, but that’s not an option for me.”

“That’s just an excuse.”

Lee Hyun-soo sighed at Kang Jin-ho’s indifferent reply.

“Yeah, yeah. It’s an excuse. This probably isn’t even a big deal for you, Guild Leader.”

“It’s not like that.”

“…Huh?”

“I know the situation is bleak. Especially for me. If I just bowed my head a little to what that guy wants, I might be able to live without any problems.”

“…Are you worried about that?”

“No.”

“What’s with this guy?”

Lee Hyun-soo blurted out harsh words in a fit of anger, but Kang Jin-ho accepted those harsh words with a smile.

“I was like that until recently. But now, I’m sure of it.”

“…Why all of a sudden?”

“There’s no way the things that guy is doing won’t shake the world.”

Lee Hyun-soo nodded as if he agreed. If it was something he had been waiting and preparing for with that much power, then something unbelievable would definitely happen.

“When I think about it, that’s what I do. I dig bunkers, replenish food supplies, and if I don’t care about what’s happening outside, I can stay alive with the people I want to live with for decades or even hundreds of years.”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

“That’s not living. Just because you’re breathing doesn’t mean you’re living.”

“…That’s right.”

Lee Hyun-soo sighed and looked at Kang Jin-ho.

“So, what are you going to do? Honestly, we don’t have the power to stop them.”

“Lee Hyun-soo.”

“Yes?”

Kang Jin-ho grinned.

It was strange. Even in this situation, seeing that smiling face made him feel like anything was possible.

“We still have to do it, don’t we?”

“There’s no answer, and it’s utterly bleak. No matter how hard we try, it might just be like throwing eggs at a rock.”

“…You know it well.”

“But I’d rather die screaming and spitting blood than just sit back and do nothing.”

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled in disbelief.

‘He’s amazing, really.’

Kang Jin-ho always moved with conviction. What supported his endless recklessness and tenacity was ultimately his confidence that he could do it and his belief in himself.

That’s why he was curious.

What would Kang Jin-ho look like if he lost that confidence and conviction?

But…

‘Nothing’s changed.’

It was absurd and ridiculous.

In the end, that’s how the world is. Those who run without stopping eventually forget how to stop. Now, even if Kang Jin-ho lost his conviction and confidence, he wouldn’t stop running.

“Guild Leader.”

“Yeah?”

“Honestly, I’m really not confident this time.”

“So, don’t blame me if I mess it up.”

“It’s okay.”

“Really?”

“It’s okay.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled and said,

“Either way, it’ll be ruined without you.”

More than any long-winded words, that one sentence gave Lee Hyun-soo strength.

“That’s why I…”

Lee Hyun-soo, who seemed about to say something, shook his head and laughed.

“You’re really hopeless.”

“I always have been.”

Kang Jin-ho looked out the window and said,

“I’ve never come up with an answer myself. I didn’t have that in me. It was always you guys who created the answers.”

“So, this time will be no different.”

Kang Jin-ho looked directly at Lee Hyun-soo.

“You make the plan, and I’ll execute it.”

“That’s all we need.”

Lee Hyun-soo looked directly at Kang Jin-ho and nodded.

“Then, let’s go to hell. Even a worm squirms when you step on it, so we should at least put up a fight before we die.”

“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.”

Kang Jin-ho, who had put out his cigarette, extended his hand forward.

Lee Hyun-soo gripped Kang Jin-ho’s outstretched hand with all his might.