Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1994

“Seriously…”

Cheon Tae-hoon looked at Bang Jin-hoon with an utterly dumbfounded expression.

“Are you coming out?”

“…Master.”

“What is it?”

“Do you think you can actually hide?”

From the start…

Kang Jin-ho could sense a person’s location by their energy. So, there was no way Kang Jin-ho wouldn’t find him just because he was hiding in that cramped space that barely qualified as a closet.

Yet, Bang Jin-hoon was squeezing himself into that narrow space, trying his best to avoid Kang Jin-ho’s gaze.

“Come out! I’m dying of embarrassment!”

“Who’s going to see us to be embarrassed!”

“I’m still alive because no one has seen us yet. If someone had seen us, I’d be dead!”

Cheon Tae-hoon’s face contorted in frustration.

“Why is there even a space like that in the office in the first place?”

“You don’t seem to know, but the old General Assembly was brutal. If you wanted to capture and confine people, you needed a space like this.”

When Cheon Tae-hoon looked at him with eyes that seemed to say, ‘That’s not what I’m asking about,’ Bang Jin-hoon sighed and trudged out.

“…Tae-hoon.”

“Yes.”

“Why am I so unlucky?”

“Just when I think things are getting better, something happens, and just when I think things are really getting better, something even bigger happens.”

“The Japanese, the Hong Kong, Europe. I risked my life to deal with them one by one, and now what? Nukes? Nukes are going off? Ugh, damn it. I’m so fed up, I might as well retire.”

“Master.”

“What?”

“If the Lord hadn’t helped us, we’d already be buried underground, with concrete lids on our coffins. Or we’d be at the bottom of the Incheon sea, making friends with starfish.”

“What do you mean unlucky? Meeting the Lord is luck itself.”

Bang Jin-hoon sighed deeply. It wasn’t that he didn’t know that.

He knew it all too well.

As Cheon Tae-hoon said, Bang Jin-hoon had his life saved by meeting Kang Jin-ho. Bang Jin-hoon, who never imagined that the double-crossers would even bring in the Japanese, had no chance of winning from the start.

And even if he had overcome that crisis, he wouldn’t have been able to win the war against the Yeongnam Association.

“I should have just run away and hid in the mountains back then! Back then!”

“…Stop whining! It’s pathetic.”

“You little punk, it’s a matter of life and death, what do you mean pathetic! Is there a need to look cool in hell!”

Bang Jin-hoon vigorously rubbed his face.

Since the Lord had declared war, it was clear that a small group would infiltrate the nuclear missile base.

“If I think about it calmly, it wouldn’t be me, right?”

“No, let’s think about it. The people who will go are obvious. First, Bator, then Elder Jang Min, Director Wiggins! And…”

“Master, you.”

“I’m on a different level, you punk! A different level!”

“Ah, is that something a martial artist should say? Don’t you have any pride?”

“Does pride feed you! What can I do when I’m on a different level!”

Bang Jin-hoon looked at Cheon Tae-hoon with an anxious face.

“If the Lord has any sense, wouldn’t he think the same? That I’m useless to take along, so he should just leave me behind, and instead pick some of the Demonic Cult elders?”

“No, this is realistic, you know? Think about it…”

At that moment, Bang Jin-hoon’s head snapped sharply towards the door.

Even if he tried to deny it, the sharp senses of a martial artist did not miss the presence approaching the door.

“Oh, no…”

Creak.

The old door slowly opened, revealing the figure of a man standing behind it.

Kang Jin-ho was looking at Bang Jin-hoon with an uncharacteristically bright smile.

Bang Jin-hoon, who was looking at Kang Jin-ho with a very displeased face, parted his lips with difficulty.

“…Did you come to say hello?”

“You think?”

Bang Jin-hoon’s face trembled.

“Me?”

“Of course.”

“Why me, specifically?”

“What’s there to say?”

Bang Jin-hoon looked at the ceiling without a word.

How should he explain this feeling?

It was like finally seeing the results of a failed exam.

“No matter how I think about it, I think you’re making a mistake…”

“It’s okay. Even if I make a mistake, it’s me doing it.”

“But I think I’m the one who’s going to suffer the consequences…”

“You have to endure it.”

“That…”

At that moment, Cheon Tae-hoon placed his hand on Bang Jin-hoon’s shoulder.

“Master.”

“Don’t resist unnecessarily, and go with dignity, upholding the honor of a Korean martial artist.”

“What do you mean go, you punk! You should be saying, ‘Come back safely!’”

“No, I don’t think you might be able to come back.”

When Bang Jin-hoon looked at him with eyes that seemed to say, ‘What kind of punk is this?’, Cheon Tae-hoon smiled awkwardly.

“I’m just kidding.”

“Oh, okay. A joke. I like jokes too. I especially like jokes that involve breaking people’s bones, what do you think?”

Bang Jin-hoon, who was glaring at Cheon Tae-hoon with burning eyes, sighed deeply and got up. Then, like a cow being dragged to the slaughterhouse, he trudged towards Kang Jin-ho.

Standing right in front of Kang Jin-ho, Bang Jin-hoon blinked.

“I really think you’re making a mistake…”

“You think?”

“Oh, geez…”

Bang Jin-hoon shook his head.

Kang Jin-ho smiled and glanced at Bang Jin-hoon’s hand. There were small wounds on his fist.

Bang Jin-hoon was already a martial artist who had entered the realm of a superhuman. His physical strength and recovery were incomparable to ordinary martial artists. The fact that there were still wounds on his hand meant a lot.

‘He must have prepared terribly.’

Bang Jin-hoon was originally that kind of person.

He always said he was going to die, but he always prepared for any situation. So that he could exert his full power.

“Let’s go.”

“You’re making a mistake…”

“I said it’s okay.”

“I’m not okay.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

“Haa…”

Cheon Tae-hoon waved his hand towards Bang Jin-hoon’s back as he followed Kang Jin-ho with slumped shoulders.

“Be careful, Master!”

“…I’ll see you when I get back.”

It was a slightly different kind of joining.

“Okay, then…”

Lee Hyun-soo looked at the people gathered.

“…If this is how it’s going to be, wouldn’t it have been easier to just call a board meeting? Why did you have to go around and gather everyone one by one?”

When Kang Jin-ho became speechless and closed his mouth, Wiggins clicked his tongue.

“You don’t understand aesthetics. Even if the result is the same, the evaluation is different depending on the process.”

“What about the Hong Kong faction?”

“The Hong Kong will send support.”

“The Hong Kong… what about the others?”

“According to Chai Ke-chang, they would only be a hindrance.”

Wiggins stroked his chin.

‘It’s a cold judgment, but that Chai Ke-chang is quite a remarkable man. It’s not easy to admit that so honestly.’

There were elders in the Hong Kong faction as well. No, if you only counted the number of elders, the General Assembly couldn’t even compare. Among those elders, there would be some who were close to superhuman…

“The screening is too strict.”

“It’s reality. If they have a characteristic that makes them useful even if they lack martial power, I’ll try to include them, but it seems that’s not the case.”

“Hmm.”

Wiggins nodded.

“So, with the Hong Kong here… it feels a bit lacking.”

“There’s one more.”

“Yes?”

Kang Jin-ho pointed to a corner of the room with his chin. Then, the Blood Demon, who was covered in a black cloak, revealed himself.

“There will be a use for him.”

“Hmm, definitely.”

The Blood Demon was lacking in martial power because he couldn’t keep up with the growth rate of the General Assembly directors, but… his bizarreness and secrecy more than made up for his lack of power.

‘He’s the perfect wild card.’

Wiggins nodded.

“So, Lord. That makes you, Bator, Elder Jang Min, Director Bang, the Blood Demon, and the Hong Kong, for a total of seven.”

“No. I’m taking one more.”

“Yes?”

When Wiggins looked at him with questioning eyes, Kang Jin-ho grinned.

“We have to use all the forces we have.”

“No way…”

Wiggins stared at Kang Jin-ho with a blank look.

Clang.

The tightly closed door opens.

Thud, thud, thud.

Kang Jin-ho walks into the perfectly sealed space. The dampness unique to the underground wasn’t particularly noticeable, but even so, it was underground. It was enough to feel an unknown sense of stuffiness.

Thud, thud.

Kang Jin-ho, who walked at a pace that was neither fast nor slow, stopped in front of a huge window.

The man trapped inside the large reinforced acrylic window raised his head and looked at Kang Jin-ho.

“…It seems like it’s been a while, Lord.”

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

“Did you get rusty?”

“I’ve already brushed off the rust. At this age, I’m just barely getting by with oiling myself.”

The Master smiled and said.

“However, since I’ve been moving in a limited space, my mind seems to be working a little more smoothly than before. I’ve been having a not-so-bad time.”

“Then that’s good.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“Come out. It’s the final battle. If you achieve results, I’ll release you.”

“…You seem to be mistaken, but I don’t have any complaints about this life. There’s no reason for me to try to get released.”

Kang Jin-ho waited silently for the Master’s next words.

“But… if you wish it, Lord, I should risk my life. That’s how I can repay the debt I owe you.”

“That’s enough.”

Kang Jin-ho waved his hand, and the reinforced acrylic wall that was confining the Master shattered at once.

Stepping on the acrylic that had been finely broken and fallen to the floor like stone fragments, the Master took one step, then another.

“What about the seal?”

“I’ve already released it.”

The Master nodded and looked down at his hands. The magic power that had disappeared began to fill him again.

“It seems that there are things you only know after you’ve lost them. It seems that I finally understand how to use this power.”

The Master raised his head and looked at Kang Jin-ho.

“But are you sure? Once trust is lost, it can never be recovered, right?”

“I still don’t trust you.”

“But I understand that fighting with someone you trust doesn’t always lead to good results. Then the opposite must also be true.”

The Master smiled as if he liked that answer.

“Then, please take care of me for a while.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled.

“I heard that we were called the villains?”

“Of course, I haven’t changed my mind about that. However…”

The Master twisted his lips.

“I’ve also been living my whole life deluding myself that I was a hero. That’s why I could say that. Now that we’ve come this far, wouldn’t it be okay to play the villain properly for the last time in my life?”

“I like that.”

Kang Jin-ho reached out his hand. Then, the Master firmly grasped his hand.

“We leave tomorrow morning. Prepare.”

“As you command.”

The final confirmed number was eight.

It was too small a number to bear the weight of the world.