Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 295

The Great Theft (3)

“I don’t think age makes one’s thoughts any shorter. I simply cannot understand what made you so afraid that you’ve become like this, Chairman.”

“Are you trying to insult me?”

“Chairman.”

Bang Jin-hoon spoke softly.

“Do you think the position of Chairman has any meaning in this situation?”

“Me sitting in the Chairman’s seat is just a formality. You know very well that we can no longer refuse that man’s orders.”

“That’s right. It must be hard for you too…”

Seeing Lee Jung-geol’s powerless reaction, Bang Jin-hoon chuckled.

“You’ve really become a politician.”

“What did you say?”

“The Chairman I knew seems to be gone.”

Lee Jung-geol frowned.

He couldn’t understand what Bang Jin-hoon was trying to say.

“What are you trying to say?”

“What do you think when you see him? When you see that man who has half of the General Assembly in his hands?”

“Are you afraid? Scared?”

Bang Jin-hoon glared at Lee Jung-geol, his face contorted as if he wanted to unleash a torrent of curses. Bang Jin-hoon, who had always shown hostility but never contempt, now displayed genuine disappointment.

“If it were the Chairman I knew when I was young, he would probably be thrilled.”

‘Thrilled?’

Lee Jung-geol looked at Bang Jin-hoon, his expression showing complete bewilderment.

“Because that’s what a martial artist is!”

Bang Jin-hoon shouted, frustration evident in his voice.

“We are not politicians. We are not merchants who have to struggle to earn a penny. We are martial artists. Since when did martial artists cling to positions! Since when did they act like that! At least, the Chairman I knew wasn’t like this. You were in the Chairman’s seat to develop the Korean martial arts world, not to enjoy power. The reason I was able to rebel against you in the first place was because you weakened the authority of the Chairman, wasn’t it!”

Bang Jin-hoon’s voice was sharp, like he was spitting out blood.

“The world is changing. That man is someone who brings conflict. So, now I will have endless conflicts in front of me.”

“Isn’t that something a martial artist should welcome with a smile? Yes, I’m thrilled. I’m excited to see how far that man will take me. But now, you, Chairman, look like you’ve lost your soul just because you’ve been deprived of that measly Chairman’s seat.”

Bang Jin-hoon took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.

“The position of Chairman of the Korean Martial Arts General Assembly does not define you. Your essence is not the Chairman, but the martial artist Lee Jung-geol, isn’t it? If you have the awareness of being a martial artist representing Korea, then don’t show such a pathetic side.”

Lee Jung-geol silently stared at Bang Jin-hoon.

“I will leave the advisor position open. A standing director would also be good. What does a position matter? I still need you, Chairman. I hope you don’t think it’s all over just because you’ve stepped down from the Chairman’s seat. We still have a lot to do in the Korean martial arts world.”

Bang Jin-hoon bowed deeply and left.

Lee Jung-geol, who had been silently staring at the place where Bang Jin-hoon had left, spoke in a hollow voice.

“A martial artist…”

“Yes, I was a martial artist.”

“When did I forget that?”

“Grandfather.”

Lee Hyun-joo entered with a stiff face from the direction Bang Jin-hoon had left.

“…Hyun-joo.”

“It’s all over, Grandfather.”

“Yes, it’s over.”

Lee Jung-geol chuckled.

“But it’s not the end.”

“Grandfather!”

“It’s not that I won’t give up. In-seok, your grandfather has eyes and a mind. I know that refusing here means I’m just asking to be stabbed to death.”

Lee Jung-geol was talking while laughing heartily.

Lee Hyun-joo felt that Lee Jung-geol had changed a little. No, to be precise, it wasn’t that he had changed, but that the kind Lee Jung-geol of the past had returned.

“Grandfather.”

“Yes.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

“Hmm.”

“Even if others don’t know, I know. I know how hard you’ve worked for the General Assembly.”

“Yes, I did.”

A slightly bitter voice.

“But I was wrong.”

“Pardon?”

“I thought everyone would acknowledge it. But it wasn’t like that.”

“…Grandfather.”

“I was the one who was wrong. I worked for the General Assembly because I wanted the martial artists to have a better life, but at some point, I forgot that and the General Assembly itself became my goal.”

Bang Jin-hoon’s words kept nagging at him. Where did the martial artist Lee Jung-geol go?

‘I was a martial artist.’

Since when did he become so obsessed with power and possession? He thought he hadn’t changed. He believed he was still pure. But now, there was a mirror in front of him that clearly reflected himself.

What was visible in that mirror was not a martial artist, but an old man trembling with power.

‘Can I go back?’

To that time. To that pure time. Wanting that at this age might be too much. But….

“Grandfather, don’t be too disheartened. Those people will have to realize it now. How difficult it is to lead the General Assembly.”

“Yes, it will be difficult.”

Lee Jung-geol nodded quietly.

“So, I have to help.”

“Yes?”

“Kang Jin-ho is a scary person. And he’s someone without brakes. It’s hard for Bang Jin-hoon alone to assist such a person. He lacks experience, and his personality is fiery, so there’s a risk that he might run wild even more than Kang Jin-ho.”

“So, you’re going to help them?”

“Why? Can’t I?”

Because of Lee Jung-geol’s smiling face, Lee Hyun-joo was speechless.

‘Can’t you?’

They are enemies.

They are the people who will take everything Lee Jung-geol has. But how can he help them?

“Grandfather…”

Lee Jung-geol spoke softly.

“It seems that getting old doesn’t make you wise. I didn’t know until now.”

“Pardon?”

“If you have a lot of baggage on your shoulders and back, you can’t lift your head. You can’t see the sky like that.”

“My vision was narrowed. Now that I think I’m letting go of everything, I can see it.”

“If that’s your choice, Grandfather, I’ll accept it. However…”

Lee Hyun-joo said with a determined expression.

“I’ll help too.”

“Hyun-joo.”

“I’m also a martial artist and Lee Jung-geol’s granddaughter. Don’t stop me.”

Lee Jung-geol smiled bitterly.

‘It’s not an easy path.’

His thoughts were not wrong.

That man named Kang Jin-ho is someone who inevitably brings blood and death. Right now, he has already antagonized the General Assembly, the largest organization in the Korean martial arts world, and the Yeongnam Association, and now he has clashed with Japan.

As the stakes get bigger, the scale of the conflict will also increase. If Kang Jin-ho continues to act as he does now, there is a high probability that unprecedented chaos will occur.

While thinking that he had to stop him, he felt strangely excited, which made him think that the martial spirit hadn’t completely disappeared.

“Let’s see.”

Lee Jung-geol muttered quietly.

“How much will he change things.”

Kang Jin-ho walked out quietly.

No one stopped him. In the first place, Lee Jung-geol had already controlled the people around here, so there was no one to stop him.

He raised his hand and wiped his face.

A thick smell of blood wafted from his fingertips.

‘Is it familiar?’

Or is it unfamiliar?

It was both familiar and unfamiliar. After a bout of chaos, he felt refreshed, but the unpleasantness didn’t go away.

It’s complicated.

That’s how he would define his current mood and situation in one word. Complicated.

Kang Jin-ho could no longer be simple. He couldn’t live with the simple mindset of killing enemies like before. It wasn’t a world where he could do that, and it wasn’t a situation where he could do that.

In the past, even if things went wrong, the only thing he would lose was his life, but now he had more to protect and more to do.

Now, his death would not simply end with his own death.

There were people who would be sad, and there were people whose lives would be twisted by his death.

It wasn’t just his life. It was burdensome, but it also felt warm.

It was contradictory.

That would be the best way to describe Kang Jin-ho’s life right now.

Kang Jin-ho shook his head. He shook off the complicated thoughts in his head. Thinking was a good thing, but he wanted to put his thoughts aside for now.

At times like this….

Beep beep!

Kang Jin-ho turned his head at the sound of a car horn from the side.

Next to the car that Bang Jin-hoon and his men had parked, a familiar sedan turned on its headlights and slid towards them.

“Customer!”

The man who opened the window smiled and said.

“Are you going to Seoul?”

Kang Jin-ho smiled brightly.

“How much?”

“It’s too late, so you’ll have to give me a little more?”

“What more do I have to give you?”

“Some beer would be nice?”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“Deal!”

Cho Gyu-min smiled as he watched Kang Jin-ho head to the passenger seat. It was a night he wanted to get drunk.

“So, is the cleanup on the General Assembly side finished?”

Kang Jin-ho and Cho Gyu-min sat facing each other with light snacks between them. They tried to find a decent bar, but it was an awkward time, so they went to a convenience store, bought snacks and beer, and sat by the river.

“I think so.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

“It’s nothing.”

Kang Jin-ho opened a beer and emptied the can cleanly.

‘He could film a beer commercial.’

The way his Adam’s apple moved was like a scene from a commercial. No matter what he did, he looked cool.

“Now, all that’s left is the final battle with the Yeongnam Association.”

“That’s…”

Cho Gyu-min’s eyes widened as he listened to Kang Jin-ho’s explanation.

“Japan?”

“Yes.”

“No, Japan. Japan…” Cho Gyu-min grabbed his head.

Why does this man always create new problems when he goes to solve one?

He was trying to control the General Assembly to easily deal with the Yeongnam Association, but if he clashes with Japan in the process, wouldn’t the problem get bigger?

“So, now we have to deal with Japan too?”

“…If they attack us, that’s how it will be.”

“How many came?”

“About thirty.”

“How many of them returned alive?”

“…None of them returned.”

There was one person alive, though.

Cho Gyu-min’s eyes trembled at Kang Jin-ho’s awkward voice.

No, this man isn’t a butcher, is he? How can he kill so many people?

Is that how it is in that world?

No, it’s not that world. I’m also a person who belongs to this side now.

“We’ll have to discuss with Bang Jin-hoon how Japan will react.”

“Yes.”

“Ugh…”

Cho Gyu-min grabbed his head at the thought of more work.

“Well, still…”

“It’s fun, so that’s enough.”

Cho Gyu-min opened a can of beer and downed it cleanly.

“Ah!”

Let’s postpone the anxiety and plans until tomorrow.

Now, all we have to do is drink beer coolly.

Cho Gyu-min took a new can from the bag and handed it to Kang Jin-ho.

For a while, only the sound of beer cans opening echoed quietly on the dark riverbank.