Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 218

“Why are you home?” Kang Jin-ho asked, looking at Kang Eun-young sitting on the sofa.

“Is it weird that I’m home?”

“A little.”

“…It’s my house, you know?”

“That’s why it’s weird.”

Kang Eun-young’s face brightened at Kang Jin-ho’s reaction, and she jumped up from her seat and rushed towards him.

“Oppa, are you in a better mood?”

“…In a better mood?” Kang Jin-ho frowned, pushing away Kang Eun-young, who was clinging to his arm.

“You’ve been like this all this time. Anyone could tell you were saying, ‘I’m not in a good mood,’ right?”

Kang Jin-ho sighed, watching Kang Eun-young squeeze her forehead with both hands. He didn’t particularly think so himself, but if Kang Eun-young said so, it must be true.

“I need to rest a bit.”

“Okay, okay. Oppa, rest quickly. You must be tired, right?” Kang Eun-young was very excited, as if she was also in a good mood, now that she was sure Kang Jin-ho’s mood had improved.

“How’s filming the drama going?”

“It’s fun. Singing is also fun, but as Oppa knows, I’m not that great at singing.”

“You’re good at singing.”

“Among idols?” Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

Originally, Kang Eun-young was chosen for her singing ability, despite her looks. Kang Jin-ho had altered her bone structure, giving her a makeover that wasn’t plastic surgery, making her a complete package.

So, her singing skills were quite outstanding among idols. But it was only at the idol level. There were many monster vocalists in the music industry, so she wasn’t good enough to survive on her skills alone.

“Anyway, I think acting suits me.”

“…It must suit you.”

It had to suit her.

She was a fox by nature.

Considering she was still getting along well with her fellow celebrities without any trouble, it was hard to imagine how much she was faking it.

“Acting is manageable. It was a bit awkward at first, but I’m getting used to it. The director even said I’m good at acting.”

“You must be good…”

Of course.

If she just acted like she usually did, it wouldn’t be strange if she won the Best New Actress award right away.

Kang Jin-ho patted Kang Eun-young’s back, who was purring as if she was in a good mood, and then headed to the bathroom.

“But, Oppa.”

“Yeah?”

“I have something to tell you…”

“Let’s do it later. I’m a bit tired now.”

“…Aww.”

Kang Eun-young sighed in disappointment as she watched Kang Jin-ho enter the bathroom.

‘Today’s not the right timing.’

But since her brother was in a better mood, there would be other opportunities in the future. Kang Eun-young was burning with the determination to make Kang Jin-ho debut in a movie.

After showering, Kang Jin-ho went into his room and lay down.

‘It’s a bit confusing.’

Recently, things felt like they were exploding all at once. And no matter how he looked at it, he thought the trip to China was the catalyst.

Was it a mistake?

Kang Jin-ho shook his head. It was bound to happen sooner or later anyway.

Considering they had approached him even when he was in the military, they would have come to him again eventually, even if Kang Jin-ho hadn’t made a move. It was just that the timing was a bit earlier.

The reason Kang Jin-ho was worried was not that this incident had occurred, but rather how he should deal with it in the future.

The General Assembly, the Yeongnam Association, the Murim Alliance [a martial arts alliance], and… the Returnees.

Numerous forces and words were intricately intertwined and rushing into his life.

In the end, there had been actual damage.

It wasn’t something that could be resolved by simply sitting back and passively pushing away those who approached him, as he had been doing.

Kang Jin-ho closed his eyes.

The image of Lee Jae-in, limp and lifeless, was still vivid in his mind.

The DSLR [digital single-lens reflex camera] that had been lying there, and her unfocused, vacant eyes were still so clearly etched in his memory.

They were already involved in his life.

He had just watched quietly in the military, and he was attacked at the department store. And now, people around him were being killed.

Would the outcome have been different if Kang Jin-ho had been a bit more proactive?

It was an unsolvable dilemma.

The tangled thoughts in his head wouldn’t organize themselves and tormented Kang Jin-ho. The fact that he had been so harsh with Lee Hyun-joo and Lee Sung-hui could have been a reaction to these worries.

“Nothing in this world is easy. How could living be easy?”

At times like this, his teacher’s words came to mind.

Kang Jin-ho was living a new life with conditions that were incomparable to his previous two lives, but life was never easy. When one problem was solved, new problems always appeared.

But every problem had an end. At least, Kang Jin-ho believed so.

Kang Jin-ho closed his eyes quietly. It had been a strangely tiring day.

Kang Jin-ho, who usually didn’t sleep more than four hours a day, felt like he wanted to sleep in today for some reason.

‘Tomorrow’s work is for tomorrow.’

Kang Jin-ho slowly drifted off to sleep, chanting the lazy person’s mantra.

In that instant.

Kang Jin-ho suddenly opened his eyes wide from where he was lying and shot up from his spot like a thunderbolt. His face was grotesquely distorted as he rose.

‘Could it be?’

Kang Jin-ho rushed to the window and threw it open. Then, he jumped out of the window. There was no time to put on shoes. Kang Jin-ho leaped onto the roof in one go and began running at full speed in one direction.

‘I don’t know yet.’

It wasn’t certain. To confirm, he had to get closer. Kang Jin-ho ran from roof to roof, quietly and nimbly like a cat, sprinting in one direction.

‘I see it.’

The shadow of a black figure began to appear in the distance.

Kang Jin-ho’s face was still distorted as he ran after the shadow.

To dare to provoke him by extending their energy was something he could never forgive. And to dare to approach his house was also unforgivable.

His family was sleeping at home. If Kang Jin-ho had been away, who knew what might have happened. The thought of that made his chest feel like it was burning.

Enmity, and rage.

Kang Jin-ho’s legs pushed off the ground with force, emitting energy.

Bang!

The concrete rooftop cracked and crumbled. With that recoil, Kang Jin-ho shot towards the shadow at the speed of light.

The shadow turned around.

They must have seen the distance between them and Kang Jin-ho closing rapidly.

“Heh heh.”

The shadow let out a low laugh and changed direction, running towards the mountains.

It was clearly an invitation to follow.

Normally, Kang Jin-ho would have accepted the provocation with ease.

After all, there was no chance that the monster could escape Kang Jin-ho’s grasp.

But there was no trace of composure on Kang Jin-ho’s face now. Instead, he was speeding up towards the monster with a look of being chased.

“Damn it.”

Kang Jin-ho gritted his teeth.

If this wasn’t the middle of the city, he would have caught them already. But Kang Jin-ho’s light footwork was that of the Demonic Path. The Demonic Path was synonymous with dominance. He could push his speed to the limit, but it was accompanied by noise and impact.

If he used his full power of light footwork in the middle of the night, it would cause a commotion. The noise he had made a moment ago and the broken rooftop were already enough to cause problems.

“Hoo…”

Kang Jin-ho took a deep breath and calmed his mind.

The distance wasn’t increasing. So, there was no need to get excited now. Once he was out of the city, he could run as much as he wanted.

As if knowing Kang Jin-ho’s thoughts, the monster was heading towards a place with fewer people.

And finally…

The place the monster arrived at was an empty lot with no people around. The monster stood boldly in the middle of the empty lot and waited for Kang Jin-ho.

Kang Jin-ho landed in the empty lot and quietly stared at the monster.

A bizarre appearance.

The clothes they wore were closer to rags than actual clothes, and their hair was disheveled and hung down, making it impossible to see their face.

And… the smell of blood.

The thick smell of blood was so strong it made his nose feel blocked.

How much blood did they have to be covered in to smell this strongly of blood?

The monster’s appearance alone was enough to make him feel strange. But Kang Jin-ho didn’t even notice the monster’s appearance.

What excited him was the energy, the thick energy that covered the monster’s body.

And it was very familiar!

“A Demonic Being…”

The monster reacted to Kang Jin-ho’s words.

“A Demonic Being? Heh heh heh.”

The monster’s head slowly tilted to the side. The monster, with its head completely tilted to the side, looked at Kang Jin-ho and said,

“A Demonic Being? A Demonic Being, you say? What’s a Demonic Being? A Demonic Being? Heh heh, I’m not a Demonic Being. I am… me? Who am I?”

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t control his constantly distorting face.

A Demonic Being.

A Demonic Being completely soaked in blood and demonic energy was in front of him.

‘Has the Demonic Path fallen this far?’

It was true that the Demonic Path stimulated the urge to kill. But the urge to kill was also a part of human nature. Even humans who hadn’t learned the Demonic Path often went on a rampage, hungry for blood.

But the Demonic Being in front of him was not just at that level. It seemed that they had been completely consumed by the Demonic Path and had no reason left.

If an incomplete Demonic Path was passed down to the modern era, the side effects of that Demonic Path would be unimaginable. He had heard that such things were commonplace before the Demonic Path was re-established under the name of the Demonic Cult.

“Are you an Outer Path?”

The Demonic Being looked at Kang Jin-ho with surprised eyes.

“An Outer Path? Yes, I’m an Outer Path. No, I’m not an Outer Path. An Outer Path?”

They were insane.

That was the only explanation.

The demonic energy had filled their bone marrow, and they had reached a point where they could no longer be turned back.

Even if they could be turned back, he had no intention of doing so.

Kang Jin-ho quietly stared at the Demonic Being and clenched his fist.

This guy was an Outer Path.

He could tell instinctively.

A Demonic Being who couldn’t control their instincts and committed murder.

“It doesn’t matter.”

It didn’t matter whether the person in front of him was an Outer Path or not. What was certain was that if he let this guy go, other victims would be created.

The method of dealing with a Demonic Being who had given themselves over to demonic energy had been the same since ancient times.

Crack.

Kang Jin-ho clenched his fist tightly. The Asura energy that surged up from his dantian [an energy center in the body] circulated through his fist.

“Let me ask you one thing.”

He knew they wouldn’t understand, but he couldn’t help but ask.

“Have you killed any women recently?”

“…Women?”

The Outer Path chuckled.

“What kind of women? Young women, or old women? Beautiful women? No.”

The Outer Path’s laughter spread through the empty lot.

“There’s no need to choose. I killed them all. All of them. Every woman I saw, every woman I liked! All of them!”

“I see.”

Kang Jin-ho curled up the corners of his mouth.

His white teeth were revealed through his slightly parted lips.

“That’s enough.”

That removed any hesitation he had.

Black energy began to pour out of Kang Jin-ho’s body like a phantom.

Was it a sense of kinship as a fellow Demonic Being?

Or sympathy for someone who had become like this because they hadn’t learned the Demonic Path properly?

There was no way.

No one would have forced them to learn the Demonic Path. So, everything was their own responsibility. If they wouldn’t take responsibility themselves, he would force them to take responsibility.

“I’ll show you.”

A storm of demonic energy began to pour out of Kang Jin-ho’s body.

“What a real Demonic Being is.”