Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 259

Whoosh.

Lee Hyun-joo drove the car with a tense expression.

‘Faster.’

The car was already speeding at nearly 200 kilometers per hour, but it wasn’t going as fast as she wanted. Even as she was doing this, her grandfather might be suffering.

Lee Hyun-joo bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, thinking that in the worst case, her grandfather might already be gone.

‘That can’t be.’

Even if they were instigated by the Yeongnam Assembly [a regional martial arts organization], they wouldn’t hand over the entire General Assembly to the Yeongnam Assembly without gaining anything.

People don’t move unless their own interests are guaranteed. They would also try to seize control of the General Assembly, and to do that, they needed to extract information known only by her grandfather, the head of the General Assembly.

Even if her grandfather was subdued without even putting up a fight in the worst-case scenario, her tight-lipped grandfather wouldn’t have spilled all the information yet.

He would still be alive because he was valuable.

Lee Hyun-joo stepped hard on the accelerator, believing that.

Whoooosh!

The engine roared harshly.

However, contrary to her urgent heart, there was still a long way to go.

‘Was this the right thing to do?’

In the midst of all this urgency, she couldn’t help but wonder if it was the right thing to come all this way and ask this man for help.

Lee Hyun-joo glanced at Kang Jin-ho, who was sitting in the passenger seat.

Even though the car was traveling at 200 kilometers per hour, Kang Jin-ho had his eyes closed with a relaxed expression, as if he were taking a stroll.

‘I have to trust him.’

Lee Hyun-joo calmed herself.

If she had had a little more time, she might have been able to find a better alternative than Kang Jin-ho. If she had had time to gather the people of the Chairman’s faction, she could have found a solution that was several times more realistic and constructive than rushing at them with only Kang Jin-ho.

But she didn’t have time now.

In a situation where every second was precious, it was impossible to contact so many people one by one, decide on a gathering place, and come up with a way to save the chairman.

It wasn’t impossible for someone in the world to do that, but at least she didn’t think she was the right person to do it.

So…

Lee Hyun-joo gripped the steering wheel tightly.

‘There’s nothing more fickle than people…’

Just thirty minutes ago, she was worried about what to do if Kang Jin-ho refused to help her. She even knelt before him.

But as soon as she thought things were going well, she was already worrying about the usefulness of Kang Jin-ho.

Even though the matter was serious, Lee Hyun-joo was disgusted by the fickleness hidden within herself.

‘But what is that?’

Two long swords rising and falling along Kang Jin-ho’s chest as he breathed softly, as if he were sleeping.

No matter how many times she looked, they were definitely swords.

‘He didn’t have swords last time?’

Kang Jin-ho had handled Lee Sung-hwi like a three-year-old child with his bare hands. So, she naturally thought he was a Gwon master [a martial artist specializing in unarmed combat], but seeing those two swords, she couldn’t help but be suspicious.

However, her suspicions had to be put aside for now because of Kang Jin-ho’s voice.

“How long will it take?”

“We’ll arrive within thirty minutes.”

“I see.”

Kang Jin-ho said that and closed his eyes again.

Was it relaxed, or was it nonchalant?

Either way, Lee Hyun-joo couldn’t help but feel anxious as she looked at Kang Jin-ho, who seemed comfortable, unlike her.

Her anxiety made her unable to stay silent.

“Um…”

As Lee Hyun-joo carefully opened her mouth, Kang Jin-ho quietly opened his eyes.

“It might be a little strange to say this now, but…”

“Yes.”

“Why are you helping me?”

Kang Jin-ho quietly looked at Lee Hyun-joo. She knew what the emotion in his eyes meant.

Because Lee Hyun-joo herself thought it was ridiculous.

She asked for help, but now that he was helping, she was asking why. It was obvious that it was absurd and ridiculous.

“I really thought there was less than a 10% chance that you would help me. Even if you did, I thought it would take more time and a greater price. But you agreed so readily…”

“It’s strange?”

“…In a way, yes.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly nodded.

“There’s no need to think it’s strange.”

“Why is that?”

“The price hasn’t been decided yet.”

Lee Hyun-joo shut her mouth tightly.

Right now, she had no choice but to agree to whatever Kang Jin-ho demanded.

Kang Jin-ho glanced at Lee Hyun-joo, who had turned slightly pale, then turned his head and closed his eyes.

‘The reason…’

Perhaps Kang Jin-ho was more curious about the reason than Lee Hyun-joo. He was sitting quietly in the passenger seat, but Kang Jin-ho still didn’t know exactly why he was doing this.

There was no reason to hold the hands of everyone who reached out. Head Nun wouldn’t have wanted that either. What Head Nun wanted from him in the first place was to reach out a little more, not to become a saint who could embrace the whole world.

Objectively speaking, these people weren’t even weak.

Lee Hyun-joo’s grandfather and Lee Hyun-joo, who were said to be in danger, were also powerful people by the world’s standards, overwhelmingly so. Even if someone was in a relatively weaker position in a fight between the strong, why should Kang Jin-ho help them?

‘Maybe it’s self-satisfaction.’

Kang Jin-ho smiled bitterly.

He had to admit what he had to admit.

As soon as the name Yeongnam Assembly came up, his insides began to boil.

The emotions he had been trying to suppress were running wild as if they had been released as soon as he got Red Dew and Blue Dew [likely referring to his swords]. He felt like someone was constantly whispering in his ear.

That he had endured enough, that there was no need to leave them alone any longer.

What Hwang Jung-hoo had said was something Kang Jin-ho had already been thinking about.

Could he maintain his current life even after throwing himself into a battle with them?

Could he live his life enjoying the small pleasures without living in constant tension, as he was now?

There is an absolute law in the world.

You can’t have everything. If you gain something, you must lose something.

Fighting the Yeongnam Assembly might satisfy his sense of exhilaration, revenge, and the instincts within him, but as a reaction, he would also lose something in his current life.

Ironically…

What made Kang Jin-ho, who had never yielded to powerful enemies or ruthless fate, hesitate was the fear of losing that small everyday life.

His current life was something Kang Jin-ho had built up through constant effort since returning to this world. The unease that all of it might collapse like a sandcastle in an instant.

That unease was preventing Kang Jin-ho from moving.

‘That’s perfect.’

And then, Lee Hyun-joo appeared before him. Mentioning the name Yeongnam Assembly.

Why was he helping her?

Kang Jin-ho chuckled quietly.

Who was helping whom?

This wasn’t Kang Jin-ho helping Lee Hyun-joo. Lee Hyun-joo was instigating Kang Jin-ho.

—So, are you enjoying this?

“Shut up.”

“Pardon?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Lee Hyun-joo, startled by his sudden muttering, turned to look at him, but Kang Jin-ho coldly shook his head.

‘There’s no need to be so impatient.’

This side was already at its limit. He would let it run wild as much as it wanted soon enough, so it shouldn’t act like a dog in heat already.

Kang Jin-ho clenched his teeth.

‘It might be a kind of demonic possession.’

It had happened often, the other voice he heard inside him.

In the past, he thought it was a reaction from having to suppress his impulses while living in the current world. He thought it was like an auditory hallucination caused by his suppressed nature screaming in protest, unable to bear not clashing with the world.

But recently, he had been feeling something strange.

The voice he heard inside him was becoming more and more vivid. And sometimes, he often felt a strange sensation as if something else was alive and breathing inside him.

It was as if he and the Heavenly Demon Lord were two personalities coexisting in one body.

Whether this was really a problem or just a mental issue was something he would have to wait and see. If this was a side effect of Kang Jin-ho adapting to the Central Plains [a region often associated with martial arts and cultivation] while suppressing his nature…

Lee Hyun-joo trembled all over.

The corners of Kang Jin-ho’s mouth, who was sitting in the passenger seat with his eyes closed, slowly curled up.

That smile.

That smile, where only his mouth moved slightly without any movement in his eyes, was so eerie. It was an ordinary smile, yet it was a strange smile that made people’s hearts pound just by looking at it.

‘Is this the right thing to do?’

Perhaps she was bringing a tiger into her house to drive away a pack of wolves?

Lee Hyun-joo wiped the sweat from her face.

Perhaps she would regret the decision she made today.

But it was already too late to turn back. The time she had wasted bringing Kang Jin-ho had taken away her other options.

And decisively, they were already almost at their destination.

Lee Hyun-joo quietly turned off the headlights and slowed down.

Kang Jin-ho quietly opened his eyes, sensing that the car’s speed was decreasing.

“It’s just ahead.”

“The General Assembly?”

“No. That’s my grandfather’s house.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly nodded.

The car stopped by the side of the road. As Lee Hyun-joo opened the door, Kang Jin-ho also opened the car door and got out without a word.

Lee Hyun-joo had a slightly dazed look on her face.

“T-there were about ten people in the house, including my grandfather, the employees, and the guards. Now, they’re probably all subdued or…”

Dead.

Kang Jin-ho quietly looked at Lee Hyun-joo and asked.

“How did you get out?”

“I wasn’t there from the beginning. I had told my grandfather about the suspicious movements recently, and I just received a call that someone seemed to have broken in. And I checked the CCTV from outside.”

“And then?”

“There are no CCTVs installed where my grandfather is. So, I don’t know what happened to my grandfather right now. But if you don’t believe me, I can show you the CCTV right now…”

“No.”

Kang Jin-ho cut off Lee Hyun-joo’s words.

“That’s enough.”

Kang Jin-ho turned his body. Then, he looked at the building visible on the mountain and smiled lightly.

“So, everything standing there is the enemy.”

A subtle smile.

Lee Hyun-joo’s legs began to give way as she heard his voice, which was filled with a feeling that he was so happy that he couldn’t contain himself.

Swoosh.

Kang Jin-ho, with Blue Dew at his waist, drew Red Dew.

Then, without looking back, he walked forward and said quietly.

“Stay here. It won’t be pleasant to watch.”