Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 263

“Where did Oppa [older brother] go?”

“I don’t know?”

Kang Eun-young tilted her head, and Baek Hyun-jung asked back as if she didn’t know either.

“He said he’d be right back, why isn’t he here yet?”

“Should I call him?”

“No, leave him be. He’s a grown man, it’s not good to call him just because he’s out at night. If there’s someone across the street, he’ll be called a mama’s boy.”

“Mom, you make a fuss when I don’t come home at the time I promised!”

“Are you the same? Jin-ho doesn’t come home late once or twice a year, but you come home on time once or twice a year! If you acted like Jin-ho, I wouldn’t have a worry in the world!”

“I’m sorry.”

Kang Eun-young, who had opened her mouth for nothing and got nothing in return, sat on the sofa, dejected.

“It’s because Oppa keeps going out these days.”

“How old is he that you want him to stay home? It was weirder before.”

“Oppa was always like that.”

Kang Eun-young pouted.

Unlike other guys his age, Kang Jin-ho wasn’t very interested in drinking or hanging out with friends. Moreover, he always preferred to come home early, so he was always home when Kang Eun-young returned.

But recently, he seemed to be coming home late more often.

Kang Eun-young, who hadn’t fully recovered from the kidnapping incident, felt anxious when Kang Jin-ho wasn’t around after dark.

“He can’t keep doing that. And you’re the one who made a fuss about Jin-ho and got him on that drama, right? If you like your brother being home so much, why did you do that?”

“How was I supposed to know this would happen?”

Kang Eun-young already knew that her brother was handsome and had a top-notch physique, but the reactions of others were beyond her expectations.

It was said that a filter works between siblings, reducing the handsomeness or prettiness by half, but it turned out that Kang Eun-young had also been nerfing her brother.

“Mom, if Oppa keeps going out like this, he might not come home at all in the future, you know?”

“I wish he would. A man should have some outgoing side to him.”

“Oppa is introverted?”

“Look at your brother. Does he go out drinking with friends, or does he wander around? A man should have some of that. He’s always cooped up at home, doing computer stuff or playing games. Is that what a man should be doing?”

‘That’s not true…’

Kang Eun-young looked at her mother with a sulky face.

Her mother didn’t seem to understand how authoritarian Kang Jin-ho was.

Having been caught by Kang Jin-ho several times, she couldn’t understand her mother’s words at all.

‘Well, Mom has never seen Oppa get angry.’

Kang Jin-ho also had a mama’s boy side, so he never tried to do anything that his mother would dislike. He often smiled and listened to his mother’s unreasonable requests, so from Baek Hyun-jung’s point of view, Kang Jin-ho might have seemed weak.

“Mom, Oppa is such a ruthless person.”

“Your brother? Where do you see that?”

“Haa.”

Kang Eun-young shook her head.

“Mom, you should be glad. You should have been born as Oppa’s sibling. You should have experienced what I go through, not being able to say a word.”

“That’s because you’re always doing something wrong.”

“Whatever!”

Kang Eun-young stuck out her tongue.

“Still, I’m family, so it ends like this. If a stranger messes with Oppa, they’ll be dead that day. Mom, do you really not know your son?”

“Stop talking nonsense and go to sleep, you brat.”

“I’ll sleep when Oppa comes!”

Kang Eun-young yelled, and a cushion flew through the air.

“Why are you yelling and making a fuss!” Kang Eun-young, hit by the cushion, slammed the floor in frustration.

Weak? If Mom had half of her personality, she’d be a walking bomb, a bomb!

“I, I…”

Chun Tae-hoon realized for the first time that he was such a foolish human being. Where had the man who prided himself on never losing his composure gone? He couldn’t come to his senses.

Only then did Chun Tae-hoon realize.

The reason why people do foolish things is not because they are foolish, but because they cannot think properly under pressure that they cannot handle.

He wondered why politicians and businessmen, who were known to be cunning, all turned into fools when reporters swarmed them and pointed cameras at them.

But now he knew exactly why.

When excessive pressure comes, you cannot think as usual, reason as usual, or have the same composure as usual.

Therefore, even to a very simple question like, ‘What will you give me?’ he could only stammer and not answer.

This was because the pressure that Kang Jin-ho was putting on him was beyond his ability to handle, not because he was a foolish person.

“The answer?”

Chun Tae-hoon looked at Kang Jin-ho with a startled face.

His thoughts were still not organized in his head. But the ruthless killer who had just cut off a person’s head for raising his voice at him was not likely to be a nice person who would smile and wait for him, considering his situation.

The thought that he had to say something urged him on.

“I am not in a position to make such decisions.”

And the words that came out of his mouth were the worst.

Chun Tae-hoon’s face began to turn pale as he thought about what he had just said, still dazed.

“Ah, no, that’s…”

Kang Jin-ho’s cold gaze reached him.

Chun Tae-hoon, who had just said with his own mouth that he was a useless person in this place, was half out of his mind.

“But I can contact the person who has the authority. The person who can grant what you want.”

Chun Tae-hoon desperately tried to make excuses, but Kang Jin-ho’s calm eyes did not soften.

Chun Tae-hoon’s mind began to work. The extreme situation was stimulating his survival instincts. He desperately wracked his brain and found the most appropriate words to say at this moment.

“Killing me is a loss for you!”

At that moment, Chun Tae-hoon saw it.

Kang Jin-ho’s hand twitched.

Surprised?

No way!

If he hadn’t said those words, Kang Jin-ho’s hand would have pulled out the sword he had stuck into the floor and cut off Chun Tae-hoon’s head. It was a near certainty.

Realizing that the one word he had managed to squeeze out had saved his life, Chun Tae-hoon felt all the strength drain from his body.

The relief of being alive and the fear of Kang Jin-ho, who had tried to eliminate him just for being useless, were sapping his strength.

“Explain.”

And the supreme command was given.

His life depended on what he said from now on. Even if he had to stand in court for murder and fabricate evidence, his heart wouldn’t be pounding like this. At least they wouldn’t cut off his head right there if he was sentenced to death in court.

“F, first…”

Chun Tae-hoon opened his mouth with difficulty.

“I can connect you with the person who orchestrated this situation.”

Kang Jin-ho stared at him silently.

“He has already taken over half of the General Assembly. Even if you rescue the Head of the Assembly here, you will have to fight for control of the Assembly.

But if you can negotiate with him, you might be able to avoid that situation.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“Continue.”

“And the Head of the Assembly has already lost his credibility. Even if you force the situation back, the members’ backlash will not subside. He is not a king. Even if he survives here, there will be limits to what he can do in the future. The infinite support of the General Assembly that the person mentioned earlier is impossible.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes turned to Lee Joong-gul.

Lee Joong-gul’s face turned red, but he didn’t particularly object to Chun Tae-hoon’s words.

Kang Jin-ho nodded, confirming that Chun Tae-hoon’s words were true.

“And?”

Chun Tae-hoon’s face went blank.

What else was he supposed to say?

“…If you rescue the Head of the Assembly here, you will eventually become an enemy of the Yeongnam Assembly.”

Kang Jin-ho laughed lightly.

It was a sneer that implied disbelief.

“I’ve already killed twenty people, is there even a way not to become an enemy?”

“Of course.”

It was a very confident statement. Intrigued, Kang Jin-ho stared at him and asked.

“How?”

“There’s no real method. It’s enough to say that I had a good talk with you. The Head of the Yeongnam Assembly is not someone who cares about such things. Rather, he would be happier to make friends with you in exchange for twenty insignificant martial artists.”

“A piece of trash.”

“That’s right.”

“So. Is that all you have to say?”

“And…”

Chun Tae-hoon tried to find another reason to say, but his mind wasn’t working well, and he couldn’t find any more reasons. A low voice was heard in his ears as he struggled.

“You’re just spouting useless words.”

Chun Tae-hoon’s face turned pale.

“It doesn’t matter what’s going on inside the General Assembly. If I make a promise, I will make sure it’s kept. If I can’t, I’ll just kill that old man.”

“B, but Bang Jin-hoon…”

“Even if it’s not you, if that Head of the Assembly knows who ordered this, it won’t be difficult to meet him and talk. But you know…”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

“Why should I talk to him?”

“Didn’t I say? I said I don’t want anything.”

“Y, Yeongnam Assembly…”

“Don’t worry.”

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

Eerie and grotesque.

A smile that made you shiver just by looking at it.

“I’ll go to the Yeongnam Assembly, so it doesn’t matter if they antagonize me.”

Kang Jin-ho had no intention of forgiving them. So why should he care if they antagonized him?

They won’t antagonize him?

That won’t happen. He’ll make them antagonize him.

“Then tell me.”

“…Tell you what?”

“Tell me why I should let you live.”

Chun Tae-hoon’s body began to tremble. If he didn’t give the right answer here, he would die. But no matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t find the answer that Kang Jin-ho wanted.

He tore at his hair, but he couldn’t find it.

Then, Kang Jin-ho opened his mouth quietly.

“Go.”

He thought it was a hallucination.

A hallucination created by his desperate desire.

“Go and tell the guy who planned this. I’ll give him two days to come find me.”

Chun Tae-hoon nodded vigorously. But unlike his will, his head moved up and down slowly, as if in slow motion.

“If that guy doesn’t show up in front of me in two days, I’ll come find you. Try to run if you can.”

“…That won’t happen.”

“Get lost.”

Chun Tae-hoon looked at Kang Jin-ho several times. He wondered if he could really go. He was afraid that his mind might change if he moved like this.

When there was no other reaction from Kang Jin-ho, Chun Tae-hoon cautiously began to move his feet.