Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 242

“……What the hell is that bastard saying?”

The voice was confident.

But no one could fail to notice the slight tremor at the end.

‘Something’s a bit off here….’

They could instinctively tell that the situation was going wrong. They were the hunters, and they had successfully cornered their prey.

But the prey they thought they had cornered had blocked the entrance and was now smiling at them.

It was as if they were the prey, not him.

Normally, they would have laughed.

They weren’t so easily intimidated by bluster. Unofficially, they had dealt with so many martial artists that they had lost count.

But something felt wrong now. Their chests had been tightening since a while ago.

Everything was normal up until they captured Kang Eun-young. But the moment Kang Jin-ho appeared, kicking down the door, they started to feel like things were going wrong.

But no one voiced that fact.

There were eight of them here. They couldn’t admit that they felt uneasy because of one guy who had suddenly appeared, not with so many people around.

But still….

From the moment Kang Jin-ho blocked the door and smiled, a sense of unease began to bloom in their hearts. More intensely and clearly than before.

Lee Jae-seok clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to calm his trembling heart.

He remembered when he first heard about this mission. When Lee Hyun-soo had said with a serious face that the target was just one guy, he had thought he might have lost his mind.

It was understandable, because they had never gathered this many people for just one person. It was strange enough that nearly ten people had gathered for one guy, but they were even more dumbfounded that they had to lure him out instead of just dealing with him right away.

The only answer they got to their question of what the hell they were doing was:

The Chairman’s orders.

They cursed him for being senile.

If they were thinking straight, they would know how much of a waste of manpower this was, and how pathetic it was.

They should have realized it then.

Neither Lee Hyun-soo nor the Chairman were stupid people. If they had decided that this many people were needed, there was a high chance that it was an accurate prediction.

Then what the hell was that guy?

Before Lee Jae-seok could even make that judgment, Kang Jin-ho began to move slowly.

Kang Jin-ho, who had forcibly jammed the twisted and broken steel door into the entrance, turned his body and was walking towards them. His lips were curled into a smile that felt strangely eerie.

Gulp.

Lee Jae-seok swallowed dryly without realizing it.

“……Shit.”

A low curse came from behind him. But Lee Jae-seok didn’t want to blame the person who cursed. He desperately wanted to curse as well.

‘What the hell is going on?’

Lee Jae-seok had no idea what he was experiencing right now.

The situation was no different.

They had lured out the guy they had to deal with, just like always, and now all that was left was to finish the job. But the feeling was completely different.

He had seen more than a few guys who acted tough while doing this job. Martial artists were all full of pride, and sometimes they even crossed into the realm of arrogance.

In the case of martial artists who only dealt with ordinary people, this tendency was even more severe. They thought of themselves as supermen, believing that they could handle any number of people who came at them.

They were the kind of trash who would beg for their lives, crying and sniveling, only after their limbs were torn off and they were crawling on the floor like insects.

But….

The guy in front of them was fundamentally different from those guys.

How did he know?

He didn’t.

Lee Jae-seok couldn’t explain exactly how Kang Jin-ho’s current appearance was different from those guys.

But he could feel it.

His instincts were screaming.

That Kang Jin-ho, who was approaching them now, was different, fundamentally different from the ones they had seen so far… His heart, his blood, his soul were screaming.

Lee Jae-seok, who had let out a low curse, clenched his teeth.

“What are you doing, you bastards? That bastard…”

At that moment, Kang Jin-ho opened his mouth.

“You’ve done something interesting.”

Lee Jae-seok closed his mouth again.

It was inexplicable.

He had no idea why a simple action, a simple word, made his heart feel like it was being gripped so tightly.

And now that feeling was becoming even more distinct.

“You’ve done something very interesting.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled brightly.

And then his teeth were revealed. Pure white teeth.

Those pure white teeth, visible in the darkness, gave off a very alien feeling.

Lee Jae-seok felt like a beast with bared teeth was growling right next to his neck. A sense of tension that made him feel like the moment he flinched even slightly, fangs would sink into his carotid artery without mercy.

He could feel that pressure from a man standing far away.

It was ridiculous.

This wasn’t a cartoon or a movie.

It was beyond amazing and shocking that a person could feel this way just from someone standing far away. If someone were to tell Lee Jae-seok about this experience, he would have laughed out loud.

Calling them cowards.

Calling them idiots.

But Lee Jae-seok couldn’t laugh. Because the one experiencing it was none other than Lee Jae-seok himself. He was the one who was so intimidated by a man who hadn’t done anything yet that he couldn’t even move a finger.

“I…”

His trembling lips parted with difficulty, letting out a low groan.

He barely managed to open his hand, and his palm was soaked with cold sweat.

The others were probably the same.

Only then did Lee Jae-seok think he understood why Lee Hyun-soo had been so insistent.

“Don’t let your guard down. He’s also been trained. That guy is a monster beyond what you can imagine.”

He had scoffed.

Lee Jae had scoffed at Lee Hyun-soo, saying he was all talk.

But Lee Jae-seok realized that he was the one who deserved that scoff, not Lee Hyun-soo.

Not letting your guard down against anyone was a basic requirement for a martial artist. But he had underestimated his opponent, even though he hadn’t seen him, and believed that he could handle him easily.

That was why they were in this mess.

It was like going into a small cave to hunt a fox, only to find a tiger inside.

As he desperately tried to calm his trembling hands, a low voice reached his ears.

“Don’t tremble.”

The voice was like that of an adult comforting a child.

It wasn’t mocking, but rather filled with a gentleness that seemed to genuinely worry about them.

“The result is going to be the same anyway, so why tremble? Trembling won’t change anything.”

It was strange.

The moment he heard those words, Lee Jae-seok felt himself calm down instantly.

Those words were right.

From the moment they kidnapped Kang Eun-young and lured Kang Jin-ho, they had already crossed the point of no return. Now, all that was left was for one of them to disappear.

So why was he trembling like a fool?

Would trembling change anything?

‘Either die, or kill.’

Once he acknowledged that fact, his vision began to clear.

“Honestly, I think it’s going to sound really stupid to say this, but…”

The others listened to Lee Jae-seok.

“……That bastard, he’s not normal.”

Everyone nodded.

The others seemed to be feeling something similar to Lee Jae-seok. The guys who had been joking around and laughing just a moment ago were now all glaring at Kang Jin-ho with hardened faces and clenched fists.

“There’s no way the Chairman or Lee Hyun-soo would give us an easy job. But I think even those guys probably didn’t know that guy properly. If we’re not careful, all of us…”

Will die.

He didn’t say it out loud.

But everyone knew the words that Lee Jae-seok had swallowed down his throat.

It was ridiculous and absurd to make such a prediction based solely on the opponent’s aura, but no one could laugh at Lee Jae-seok.

“Are you ready?”

The emotion felt in Kang Jin-ho’s expression and tone was very clear.

Joy.

Kang Jin-ho was smiling as if he was so happy with the current situation that he couldn’t help himself. And that fact was tightening Lee Jae-seok’s throat.

‘This guy is a real psycho.’

Kang Jin-ho slowly opened his mouth.

“Then…”

A slight pause.

Everyone waited for the words that would follow. It was just a slight pause, but everything in the factory was focused on Kang Jin-ho.

“Who should I start with?”

Lee Jae-seok let out a hollow laugh.

If there was one phrase that was most appropriate for this situation, it would be that one. It was a phrase that signaled the start of the battle while also instilling a heart-wrenching fear.

“This bastard!”

Someone jumped out from behind Lee Jae-seok.

It was unclear whether it was because they were enraged by Kang Jin-ho’s words, or because they could no longer endure the pressure. But Lee Jae-seok couldn’t stop him.

No, he didn’t stop him.

He was curious too.

Was Kang Jin-ho really that strong?

Was he really strong enough to kill them all in an instant, as much as the pressure he was feeling?

He wanted to see.

With his own two eyes, not anyone else’s.

And….

The result far exceeded Lee Jae-seok’s expectations in many ways.

Kang Jin-ho smiles as he watches the person approaching.

A pure white smile.

A smile that seemed to exclude all other emotions and was only laughing because he was unbearably happy.

Kang Jin-ho’s right hand went out to meet the person rushing towards him.

A hand that was slowly raised.

It was a slow hand movement that seemed like it wouldn’t even be able to catch a passing mosquito. It was a hand movement that felt slow even for an ordinary person.

The result of that hand movement, which made it seem like everything he had shown so far was just a bluff, was too bizarre.

The masked man who had rushed in pushed his own neck into Kang Jin-ho’s right hand as if he was hypnotized.

Lee Jae-seok was so shocked that his heart felt like it was going to jump out of his throat.

How could this happen?

The person who had rushed in was a martial artist. Meaning, he wasn’t an ordinary person. Even an ordinary person wouldn’t entrust their neck to that slow hand, so how could a martial artist….

But Lee Jae-seok’s thoughts couldn’t continue.

No, they couldn’t continue.

Crack.

It was a strange noise.

It sounded like something was being torn, or something was being pulled out. The sound itself wouldn’t be considered strange. But if that sound was coming from a person’s neck, then there was definitely a problem.

And Lee Jae-seok saw it.

Whoosh!

The sound changed in an instant.

A sound like when you forcefully block a furiously running faucet.

In a way, it was nothing special.

But things were different if what was making that sound was blood gushing out of a person’s neck.

A blood storm raged inside the factory.

The head of the person who had rushed in was ripped off, and the blood that gushed out filled the air like a fountain.

Thud.

Thump.

The sound of a body falling and a head dropping were heard at the same time.

And in that surreal scene, a demon drenched in a blood storm slowly opened his mouth.

“Next.”