Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 2092

The slight tremor on his shoulder pulled Kang Jin-ho back from watching the departing figures. Choi Yeon-ha’s hand, gripping his shoulder, was trembling.

Kang Jin-ho reached out and took her hand.

“Now…”

Emotions and lingering feelings, even ones he couldn’t control, still swirled within him.

But he had to acknowledge them.

Life would begin again, and he might have to carry even more burdens… but if he didn’t bring things to a clear end, his steps forward would lack strength.

Kang Jin-ho quietly closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, he slowly turned to face Choi Yeon-ha.

“…It’s okay now.”

Choi Yeon-ha’s rain-soaked face was pale. Kang Jin-ho channeled the energy that was barely beginning to rise within him into her hand that he was holding.

“…What is?”

Choi Yeon-ha’s blue lips parted sullenly.

“What’s okay?”

“Your face is a mess… and you’re someone who has nothing to show but your face.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled gently at Choi Yeon-ha.

“You said you’d come back… but you made me come to you.”

“But I came anyway.”

“…Really.”

Choi Yeon-ha clenched her fist tightly.

She was angry. Irritation surged within her.

But she couldn’t say anything more.

What could she possibly say when she was standing in front of someone who was smiling like that, even with his disheveled appearance?

“Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

“…Really?”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“Now…”

Kang Jin-ho hesitated slightly before parting his lips, which seemed reluctant to move.

“It’s all over.”

It was a difficult thing to say.

More than relief, an unknown lingering feeling was felt more deeply.

Nevertheless, Kang Jin-ho spoke of the end.

Because nothing lasts forever. And without bringing things to an end, no one can move forward again.

The connection with Cheongma [a mythical celestial horse].

His long past.

And perhaps even the fate that had been binding him.

All of it came to an end here.

Choi Yeon-ha gripped Kang Jin-ho’s hand tightly.

“Then…”

“Then what are you going to do now?”

“I don’t know.”

Kang Jin-ho raised his head and looked at the sky.

The rain that had been falling had stopped. The dark clouds that filled the sky were gradually receding. The night sky was looking down at him.

“Just…”

A faint smile appeared on Kang Jin-ho’s lips.

This wasn’t a smile to reassure Choi Yeon-ha.

“Just lazing around on the sofa…”

A calm voice flowed out.

“Watching movies, playing games, just… yeah. If I have time, I’ll take a walk.”

It might be the right time to tease him.

But Choi Yeon-ha couldn’t calmly accept those words. The fact that those ordinary daily routines, which meant nothing to someone else, were so special to this person was deeply felt, and that’s why she couldn’t smile.

“It would be nice to go on a trip too. Just aimlessly to a place where people who don’t speak the same language live.”

“Jin-ho…”

“But for now, just…”

Kang Jin-ho smiled awkwardly.

“I just want to lie down in bed.”

“…A hospital bed, I guess.”

“…That’s not bad either.”

Choi Yeon-ha took a step towards Kang Jin-ho. Then, she pressed her forehead against his chest.

“Does it hurt?”

“No.”

“…Then just for a moment, just for a moment, let’s stay like this.”

After resting her head there for a moment, Choi Yeon-ha grabbed Kang Jin-ho’s shoulders and raised her head.

“I think I’ll be hated if I do this any longer.”

“Huh?”

Choi Yeon-ha grabbed Kang Jin-ho and spun him around. In Kang Jin-ho’s eyes, he saw his family watching him.

The figures of Baek Hyun-jung holding Kang Eun-young’s hand and Kang Yu-hwan.

Kang Jin-ho stared blankly at the scene.

It felt strangely new.

“Hey!”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled as he saw Kang Eun-young approaching with an angry face.

“You crazy bastard!”

Kang Eun-young raised her hand as if to hit Kang Jin-ho. But her hand only trembled, unable to strike Kang Jin-ho’s chest.

“I’m sorry.”

“Is that all you can say…”

A deep sigh escaped from Kang Eun-young’s lips, which were tightly clenched.

“…Oppa [older brother], are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

“You bad guy.”

Kang Eun-young burst into tears and hugged Kang Jin-ho. Kang Jin-ho hugged her silently.

Then, Baek Hyun-jung and Kang Yu-hwan approached him. Seeing Baek Hyun-jung, who looked like she was about to cry, and Kang Yu-hwan, who kept averting his gaze as if his nose was tingling, Kang Jin-ho realized anew.

Yes.

It was because of them that he was able to avoid becoming the Black King.

If he didn’t have a family, perhaps Cheongma and his fate might have been reversed.

“Jin-ho.”

Kang Yu-hwan, watching Kang Jin-ho pat Baek Hyun-jung’s shoulder, coughed loudly as if he was at a loss for words.

“…Father.”

“You rascal, you…”

Kang Jin-ho smiled and nodded.

“I’ll tell you.”

Kang Jin-ho said calmly.

“What happened, what I’ve been through… I’ll tell you everything, without leaving anything out.”

Kang Yu-hwan stared intently at Kang Jin-ho without a word. His eyes, red with bloodshot, were filled with a faint moisture.

“We don’t need to hear stories like that.”

Kang Yu-hwan reached out and lightly patted Kang Jin-ho’s shoulder.

“You can tell us that later. Let’s go back. You need to rest now.”

“…Yes.”

“You’ve been through a lot. You’ve been through so much.”

Kang Yu-hwan’s hand, which was holding his shoulder, tightened.

Kang Jin-ho also nodded silently.

That was true.

‘It’s hard.’

Kang Jin-ho knew.

He had too many things to do right now.

He had only just settled things with Cheongma.

To sort out the numerous things he had started, and all the things Kang Jin-ho had done to fix them, there wouldn’t be any time to rest.

But…

‘I’m tired.’

Perhaps it was because the tension had been released, but his body felt as heavy as lead.

It was the moment when Kang Jin-ho’s body, which had slightly pushed Kang Eun-young away from his embrace, staggered.

“Oops.”

Someone grabbed his arm and draped it around their neck.

“…What is it?”

“Lean on me.”

Lee Hyun-soo was supporting him with a determined look on his face.

“It’s okay. I was just watching. Everyone else is exhausted.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

It was hard to take the words that he was just watching at face value, given Lee Hyun-soo’s appearance. In some ways, he looked like he had suffered even more than Kang Jin-ho.

“It’s okay.”

“Just lean on me.”

“It’s okay…”

“Ah, I said lean!”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Lee Hyun-soo with a bewildered expression. Then, Lee Hyun-soo let out a deep sigh.

“That’s enough, Lord Guild Master.”

“…What?”

“Rest now. We’ll take care of the rest.”

“I…”

“I know. I know there are things that can’t be solved without you, Lord Guild Master.”

“So, go to sleep. If it’s not something that only you can solve, I’ll take care of everything.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s hand, which was holding Kang Jin-ho’s arm, tightened.

“Don’t act like you’re so great.”

“You’re just a human being, Lord Guild Master. No matter how strong you are, you’re just a human.”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Lee Hyun-soo with a puzzled expression.

“So, what you can do, we can do too. You don’t have to do it all alone, so you can rest now. You’ve done enough. Just leave the rest to us.”

Kang Jin-ho raised his head and looked ahead.

Jang Min, Bator, Lee Myung-han… and even the Ma Yeoms [a group of people] in the distance were approaching him.

“…When did they get here?”

“I told them to stand by, and they all came running when they heard there was something to do. Those damn bastards never listen.”

“But aren’t they reliable?”

“Huh?”

Lee Hyun-soo smiled silently.

Kang Jin-ho, who had been looking at the Ma Yeoms, also smiled and nodded.

“Yeah… they’re reliable.”

“So, just relax now. I’m here, the elders are here, and even those bastards are here, so what could possibly go wrong?”

“What we do is the same as what you do, Lord Guild Master. We’ve all come this far because of you.”

Lee Hyun-soo turned his gaze to the opposite side of Kang Jin-ho as if he was feeling a bit emotional. Then, he said in a slightly trembling voice.

“You’ve worked hard, Lord Guild Master.”

“Really… yes. You’ve really worked hard.”

A smile appeared on Kang Jin-ho’s lips.

‘That’s right.’

He realized it anew.

That there were so many people who were worried about him.

Lee Hyun-soo pulled Kang Jin-ho closer and supported him.

“Just hold on a little longer. The gate isn’t far away, so we’ll be able to return to Korea soon. First, to the hospital… go…”

Lee Hyun-soo’s voice gradually faded.

It became smaller and farther away.

The strength was also leaving Kang Jin-ho’s body.

His eyelids closed on their own, and his consciousness began to sink deeper and deeper.

An irresistible heaviness.

Even though he tried to resist, a sleepiness that he couldn’t do anything about began to come over him.

A sleepiness as deep as death.

‘It’s similar.’

The deaths he had experienced before came to mind.

Was it similar to this back then?

‘No… it must be different…’

It was a little colder back then. And a little lonelier.

He tried to act like it was nothing, but he couldn’t do anything about the sadness that was welling up in a corner of his heart. Muhak had made him strong, but there was no Muhak that could train his heart.

Perhaps…

The person inside him might not have changed at all from his first life. Just like how Cheongma couldn’t escape his first life.

‘But… it’s different.’

Now, he had someone to lean on.

There were people who looked at him with worried eyes, and there were people who crossed borders to come to him.

So it was different.

So…

Kang Jin-ho’s consciousness sank deeper and deeper.

Somehow, he felt a little warm.

“Jin-ho?”

Choi Yeon-ha, seeing Kang Jin-ho’s slumped head, flinched and reached out her hand.

“He’s fallen asleep.”

“Ah…”

“No, it’s more like he’s fainted than fallen asleep, but anyway.”

Lee Hyun-soo looked at Kang Jin-ho’s face, which was bowed. Kang Jin-ho’s sleeping face looked just like any other man his age. There was nothing particularly special or different about it.

Lee Hyun-soo bit his lip slightly and opened his mouth again.

“We should let him rest. He’s been through too long a fight. No, maybe even before that… This might be the first time he’s been able to break free from everything and rest.”

Choi Yeon-ha’s hand stroked Kang Jin-ho’s sleeping face.

Her fingertips, which had been caressing his eyes, moved to his cheek and then gently touched the corner of his lips. Choi Yeon-ha felt with her fingertips that his lips were forming a small smile, and a smile like Kang Jin-ho’s appeared on her lips.

“…Sleep well, Jin-ho.”

The long rain had stopped.

From the eastern sky where the dark clouds had receded, the dawn was shining.

Even though the sun had not yet shown its face, the world was becoming bright.

Even if it wasn’t perfect light, it was bright enough…

And it was warm enough.