Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 2066

It wasn’t that the question particularly touched something within Kang Jin-ho.

It was simply a novel question.

‘Is that something that even requires resolve?’

If someone else had said those words, he would have simply laughed it off.

He was the Demonic Lord of the Heavens.

A being who had stained his hands with the blood of countless people, engraving an eternally indelible scent of blood. Adding one more life to that deep, deep sin wouldn’t change anything.

But the reason Kang Jin-ho couldn’t ignore these words was simple.

The one who asked him this question was none other than Jang Min. Jang Min was someone who understood him all too well. In some ways, even more than Lee Hyun-soo, Choi Yeon-ha, or even his own family.

There must be a reason why such a person would ask such a sudden question.

Thinking that, an answer didn’t come easily.

And seeing that reaction, Jang Min let out a deep breath.

“Demonic Lord…”

Jang Min, biting his lip, spoke as if pleading, yet also advising.

“You must steel your resolve.”

But Kang Jin-ho couldn’t understand that aimless earnestness.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Kang Jin-ho replied nonchalantly.

“If I didn’t intend to, I wouldn’t have come here.”

It was a perplexing question.

Not whether he was confident in winning, but whether he was confident in killing.

Kang Jin-ho chuckled and said,

“If I don’t kill him, I’ll be killed. And it’s not like he’d stop if I asked him to, right? I don’t have any loyalty to die by his hand.”

It was more than enough of an answer, but Jang Min didn’t seem satisfied with it.

“That’s not enough.”

Jang Min looked at Kang Jin-ho with eyes that seemed ready to ignite.

“If the moment to kill comes, you’ll kill him out of necessity. With that kind of resolve, you will lose.”

Kang Jin-ho slightly frowned.

“Jang Min, I know you’re worried, but… I’m not the kind of person you think I am.”

“That is not true, Demonic Lord.”

“Hmm?”

“If there is one person in this world who knows the least about the Demonic Lord, it is none other than the Demonic Lord himself.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes narrowed.

Seeing the look that seemed to demand an explanation, Jang Min bit his lip slightly and began to answer. Why he was saying all this now.

“Everyone you have fought until now, Demonic Lord, has been your enemy.”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“It is obvious, but it is also not obvious. For you, an enemy means someone whose life you can take without hesitation.”

Kang Jin-ho closed his mouth.

“Be merciless to enemies, show no leniency. That is the Demonic Lord’s rule. But…”

Jang Min looked at Kang Jin-ho with wavering eyes.

“To those who are not clearly enemies, those on the border, you have always shown leniency. Hongwang is like that, and the Master was the same. You have never taken the life of someone who has bowed their head to you.”

It wasn’t Kang Jin-ho who flinched at those words, but Lee Hyun-soo.

Lee Hyun-soo’s face, which had been bewildered by what Jang Min was saying, hardened.

‘Come to think of it…’

It was an unexpected point.

But that didn’t mean Lee Hyun-soo had been negligent. From the start, wasn’t Kang Jin-ho someone who had no qualms about killing? Hadn’t Lee Hyun-soo seen with his own eyes how he had cut down the lives of a thousand Japanese warriors?

‘But what Elder Jang is saying is also definitely right.’

He never shows mercy to enemies. But what about those who aren’t clear enemies?

For example, the Master.

The punishment he gave the Master might be more cruel than death. But at this moment, Lee Hyun-soo understood.

‘If it had been someone else who had done that, not the Master?’

If it had been someone Kang Jin-ho didn’t feel any connection to, would it really have been possible for him to come out alive in this match?

Only then did Lee Hyun-soo seem to understand why Jang Min was so worried about Kang Jin-ho. And he seemed to understand why Wiggins had made that request to Kang Jin-ho at the last moment.

No.

Hadn’t Lee Hyun-soo already known?

Kang Jin-ho was surprisingly soft-hearted. Of course, neither Lee Hyun-soo nor Jang Min thought that Kang Jin-ho would enter the match with the intention of losing to the Black King. That would be nothing short of an insult to Kang Jin-ho.

But….

‘At the very last moment.’

When that moment comes, when he can kill the Black King with a desperate blow and achieve victory, could Kang Jin-ho really cut off the Black King’s head without any hesitation?

Perhaps he might hesitate.

Even if it’s just for a fleeting moment.

And….

The match between Kang Jin-ho and the Black King that was about to unfold would surely be a fierce battle where the outcome could be reversed by that fleeting hesitation alone.

“Guild Leader.”

Lee Hyun-soo, his anxiety rising, called out to Kang Jin-ho without realizing it.

But Kang Jin-ho’s reaction was more composed than expected.

Click.

Kang Jin-ho took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and lit it. Then, he slowly exhaled the smoke.

“I was wondering what you were going to say…”

Kang Jin-ho, who had chuckled, continued with a smiling face.

“That won’t happen.”

“…Demonic Lord.”

“You seem to have forgotten, Jang Min.”

Kang Jin-ho’s head turned slightly towards the Black King. Kang Jin-ho, who had his eyes on him as he walked towards the center, spoke in a monotone voice.

“I’ve already killed that guy once.”

“There’s no reason why I can’t do something I’ve done once, twice.”

Kang Jin-ho reached out and lightly patted Jang Min’s shoulder.

“So, there’s no need for useless worry. I’m not stupid enough not to understand what’s more important. And…”

Kang Jin-ho smiled faintly.

Perhaps his smile might seem a bit eerie to others right now.

‘They don’t know.’

No one understands.

His relationship with the Azure Horse isn’t as soft as they think.

At that moment, Bang Jin-hoon, who had been silently listening to everyone’s conversation, opened his mouth.

“Guild Leader.”

“Hmm?”

“The General Assembly still needs you.”

Bang Jin-hoon’s eyes twitched.

“The others are acting like you’re going to retire after this war is over, but frankly, I think that’s utter nonsense. Then who will run the General Assembly?”

“Well…”

“I can’t.”

Bang Jin-hoon’s face contorted.

“Don’t decide other people’s lives so easily. I don’t have the ability or the will to do that. I couldn’t handle it normally, so how am I supposed to lead the General Assembly in this world? After this war is over, the Guild Leader of the General Assembly will become the king of the martial world.”

Bang Jin-hoon shuddered as if he didn’t even want to imagine it.

“So, don’t think about throwing it away so easily, and make sure you win. That’s your responsibility. Whether you grab his leg or bite him, you must win no matter what.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled lowly.

There couldn’t be a more uninspiring cheer, but for Bang Jin-hoon, this was probably the best he could do.

“I’m starting to feel a little bad.” Kang Jin-ho exhaled the cigarette smoke a bit roughly.

“When have I ever lost?”

“Well…”

“Nothing will be different.”

Kang Jin-ho threw the cigarette he was holding onto the floor.

“This time too.”

There was no need for persuasion. There was no need to insist.

Kang Jin-ho had already proven himself through his life. At least in terms of combat, there was nothing more meaningless than doubting him.

“I don’t even know if there’s any kind of bond between me and that guy, but even if there is, there’s no reason for me to hesitate to kill him. I don’t like the world that guy is trying to create.”

Lee Hyun-soo nodded.

That was the reason this fight had started. After going around in circles, it was starting again from there.

“I don’t want my people to live in such a world.”

Jang Min bit his lip.

Then, he slowly nodded.

“I will trust and wait, Demonic Lord.”

“Okay.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

Kang Jin-ho, looking at each of the people in front of him, slowly turned his body.

At that moment.

“Gu, Guild Leader!”

Lee Hyun-soo’s urgent shout burst out.

Kang Jin-ho only turned his head to look at Lee Hyun-soo.

“Please…”

Lee Hyun-soo bit his lip until it bled.

“Please, win and come back.”

Kang Jin-ho, who had been staring intently at Lee Hyun-soo, slightly twisted the corner of his mouth.

Kang Jin-ho, revealing his white teeth and smiling, slowly nodded and walked forward.

Lee Hyun-soo clenched his fist and watched Kang Jin-ho’s back.

It was a contradictory feeling.

He trusted Kang Jin-ho more than anyone else in the world. He couldn’t even imagine Kang Jin-ho’s defeat. He believed that he would definitely win and return.

But….

Even so, what filled him was an unprecedented level of anxiety.

‘Please…’

He couldn’t fight together.

But he could stand one step behind.

‘Please.’

Lee Hyun-soo looked at Kang Jin-ho’s back with the utmost earnestness. And Kang Jin-ho walked forward, vividly feeling the gazes piercing his back.

‘It’s a strange feeling.’

It felt as if emotions were surging and swirling behind his back.

No, that wasn’t it.

The emotions swirling weren’t in them, but in Kang Jin-ho himself. In Kang Jin-ho’s heart, as he walked towards the Black King, all sorts of emotions were mixing and swirling wildly.

Hate, joy, sadness, welcome, regret, pity.

It probably wasn’t just that.

It was amazing that so many different emotions had survived within him.

‘How is it?’

Kang Jin-ho twisted the corner of his mouth as he looked at the Black King walking towards him.

‘Are you feeling the same way as me?’

He probably was.

No, perhaps the Azure Horse was feeling an emotional upheaval that couldn’t even be compared to his own. He had only met someone he thought was dead again, but the Azure Horse had been waiting for him for a hundred years.

All of that was….

Perhaps it was for this very moment.

Step, step.

The two slowly walked towards each other.

Three meters.

A distance sufficient to kill a person with their aura. But the two didn’t stop walking.

One meter.

A close distance even for ordinary people.

But even after reaching that point, Kang Jin-ho and the Black King took another step towards each other.

Thud.

Finally, when their feet stopped. The two were standing face to face within arm’s reach.

Like long-lost friends who had met again after a long time.