Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 335

[Isn’t this too much from the start? There’s no need to be so harsh, not between us.]

“What kind of relationship do we have? A relationship where we can’t wait to tear each other apart? You, you son of a bitch. Just wait right there. I’m coming to rip your throat out.”

[Calm down. Kang Jin-ho is already like dried squid, do you think you can handle me?]

“…Yeah, you son of a bitch. I knew it was you,” Bang Jin-hoon said, grinding his teeth.

“Even if we’re at each other’s throats, there are things we should and shouldn’t do. You, you bastard. You’ve crossed the line this time.”

[You’re the one who crossed the line.]

“What?”

[Why did you drag that guy in and expect us to do something about it? Are we supposed to just hand over our necks and die at his hands?]

“You bastard! You guys were involved before I even got tangled up in this! Don’t play dumb.”

[That’s a bit of a different opinion. Whatever. I don’t have a hobby of arguing over dead people. A dead man is just a dead man.]

“Ah…”

Bang Jin-hoon, who was about to shout that he wasn’t dead, couldn’t bring himself to say it and shut his mouth tightly.

If he carelessly said that Kang Jin-ho was still alive here, those bastards would definitely try to cause a second collapse. It was better if they thought Kang Jin-ho was dead.

[You seem a bit agitated, you need to calm down. You’re the head of an organization now, even if it’s a half-baked one.]

“Just get to the point.”

[The point? It’s simple. You know the Japanese are reaching out, right? That they’re aiming for the General Assembly. Even if you’re an idiot, you should have that much information.]

“…Where are you?”

[This is a warning, and also a negotiation offer. Listen carefully. Hand over the General Assembly to us. We’ll guarantee your position.]

“Don’t play games.”

[If we keep fighting like this, we’ll be swept away by the Japanese. Think about how history will judge you. If you bow your head to me now, you can prevent that.]

Bang Jin-hoon chuckled and said,

“Hey, Kim Seok-il.”

[……]

“You seem to think I’m a joke… You’ve got the wrong person, you bastard.

Just wait. I’m coming to rip your throat out.”

Click.

Bang Jin-hoon hung up without waiting for a reply. He had no intention of talking things out with Kim Seok-il. Now, he and Kim Seok-il were enemies who had to kill each other. What was there to talk about?

After hanging up, Bang Jin-hoon chuckled and opened his mouth.

“This makes it clear.”

“It does.”

The last, faint hope that the person trapped inside might not be Kang Jin-ho had vanished. Whoever was trapped, they had to be rescued. But Jo Gyu-min wasn’t that much of a humanitarian.

He wasn’t a saint who treated his acquaintances and complete strangers equally, nor did he want to be.

“This is driving me crazy, really.”

Jo Gyu-min turned and headed for the rooftop. Bang Jin-hoon silently followed Jo Gyu-min to the rooftop and lit the cigarette in Jo Gyu-min’s mouth.

Jo Gyu-min stood there without a word, smoking two cigarettes in a row before squatting down.

‘What should I do?’

No matter how much he thought, asked, or researched, he couldn’t find an answer. All he could do was carefully dig a tunnel in a way that would minimize the chance of a collapse, hoping that Kang Jin-ho could hold out inside.

“How long can a martial artist survive without water?”

“…I’d have to experience it to know. I’d guess they could last about twice as long as a normal person. Honestly, I don’t really know.”

“What about Kang Jin-ho?”

“I’d like to say a year, but realistically, ten days.”

“Ten days.” It was cutting it close.

But if they started right now, there might be a chance.

“…But, you know.”

“Yes?”

“There are two people inside.”

“Two?”

Jo Gyu-min’s eyes widened.

Why two?

That meant Kang Jin-ho was with someone, but who would Kang Jin-ho, who had gone home after parting with his friends, have met?

“One of them is very strong, but the other is quite weak. I think he’s with a normal person…”

Bang Jin-hoon said, lighting a cigarette.

“The Kang Jin-ho I know doesn’t even see those he considers enemies as people. He kills them like they’re bugs.”

“…That’s right.”

“But the funny thing is, he’s overly concerned about people he considers close. To the point where you wonder why he has to go that far.”

Jo Gyu-min quietly looked at Bang Jin-hoon.

He looked like a bear, but he was surprisingly good at understanding people.

‘This guy isn’t ordinary either.’

Every time, he was reminded that Bang Jin-hoon was one of the people who moved Korea. In terms of overall influence, he might even be more powerful than Hwang Jung-hoo.

“So?”

Bang Jin-hoon sighed and said,

“If the person Kang Jin-ho is with is someone he knows, he would never let that person die.”

“Ah!”

It wasn’t hard to understand what Bang Jin-hoon was saying. Kang Jin-ho would definitely do that.

“Maybe Kang Jin-ho can hold out for more than a month. But considering his personality, he will definitely try to escape before the other person dies. Even if it’s reckless.”

Jo Gyu-min took out another cigarette with trembling hands.

“…Three days.”

“That’s probably about it.”

Jo Gyu-min let out a hollow laugh.

What was he supposed to do? The situation was getting worse by the minute, but there was nothing he could do. If he could, he would run to the site right now and dig through the rubble with his bare hands, but he knew better than anyone that it would be futile.

“So, I was thinking…”

“Yes?”

Bang Jin-hoon said with a stern face.

“There’s a crazy idea, would you like to try it?”

Jo Gyu-min looked up at Bang Jin-hoon with a blank face.

His throat was parched.

Just opening his mouth felt like his lips would crack and bleed. His body felt completely dried out. Even his eyes were dry, and tears wouldn’t come out.

He was running a high fever all over his body.

Choi Yeon-ha couldn’t even tell if she was awake or not. Her consciousness was half-closed, and she felt like she was floating through the world.

Whether she was alive or already dead.

The fear of death had long been forgotten. Like a person slowly losing blood, her consciousness became more and more hazy, and eventually, she was dying as if in a dream.

Drop.

What woke her was the moisture falling into her mouth.

Choi Yeon-ha’s subconscious, sensing the moisture entering her mouth, began to desperately seek it.

The water entering her mouth felt like ambrosia from heaven. She could feel the flow of water going down her throat. After a long time of mindlessly taking in the water, Choi Yeon-ha slowly opened her eyes.

‘Water?’

Water, really?

How could she get water in this place?

It was a miracle that even air was getting in. As her mind began to clear, questions arose.

Water?

Choi Yeon-ha’s eyes moved erratically. But no matter how much she opened her eyes, she couldn’t see anything. Realizing where she was, Choi Yeon-ha closed her eyes again.

Her weakened body had even weakened her eyesight, and even the outlines that had been blurry at first were now invisible. Instead, her nose and sense of touch became more sensitive.

A slight stickiness and a fishy, faint metallic taste in her mouth. Only then did Choi Yeon-ha realize what the liquid that had flowed into her mouth was, and she opened her eyes wide again.

She tried to speak, but her lips were cracked, and her voice was hoarse. She couldn’t even speak properly.

“Stay still.”

Choi Yeon-ha clenched her teeth at Kang Jin-ho’s blunt voice. Her face contorted, and her eyes stung, but no tears came out.

‘Blood…’

Choi Yeon-ha, realizing that the liquid she had drunk was Kang Jin-ho’s blood, didn’t know how to react. She felt sorry, grateful, bewildered, and angry. And…

‘How foolish.’

It was unlikely that his wound had reopened. That meant Kang Jin-ho had deliberately made a wound and let his blood flow into her mouth. Thanks to that, she might have gained a little more strength, but Kang Jin-ho would have lost that much stamina.

In a situation where they didn’t know when the rescue team would arrive, losing stamina meant getting closer to death. Who would give their blood for someone else in this situation?

‘It’s because of me…’

If Choi Yeon-ha hadn’t suddenly gone to see Kang Jin-ho that day, they wouldn’t have been trapped here. And even if she had gone, if she had just seen his face and returned, this wouldn’t have happened.

Choi Yeon-ha felt guilty, as if it was all her fault, and couldn’t look at Kang Jin-ho’s face. It was fortunate that the darkness hid his face, otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to open her eyes.

“I’m…sorry…”

A small voice. A cracked voice that couldn’t even be called pleasant as a lie came out. Kang Jin-ho gently touched her forehead.

“Don’t talk, breathe slowly, and sleep more if you can.”

“I can’t…”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

Well, she had no idea how long she had already slept, so there was no way she could sleep more. Her body, sensing the danger, had put itself into a semi-comatose state, but there was a limit to that.

Fortunately, the temperature wasn’t low, so she wasn’t losing body heat, but she hadn’t eaten or drunk anything.

‘I should start preparing.’

Kang Jin-ho slowly clenched and unclenched his fist.

After diligently circulating his energy, the broken bones in his left arm seemed to have fused. The pain was gone. The pain in his arm had subsided as the bones fused, but the feeling in his leg was returning, causing excruciating pain.

But that was a good thing. It meant his leg was still attached.

‘There’s no time.’

Choi Yeon-ha’s condition was getting worse and worse. There was no day or night in this place. The concept of time was vague.

When he watched a documentary about the Sampoong Department Store collapse, he learned that those trapped in the dark perceived time slowly. That meant Choi Yeon-ha’s condition could be worse than he thought.

Kang Jin-ho took a deep breath.

‘Opportunities don’t come often.’

Before Choi Yeon-ha’s stamina reached its limit, he had to recover his internal energy as much as possible and get his body into the best possible condition. And he had to escape this place in one try.

It was a reckless act that even Kang Jin-ho couldn’t guarantee success, but if he didn’t do this, he couldn’t guarantee Choi Yeon-ha’s survival.

And then.

Kang Jin-ho’s head was lifted up.

Krrrrrr.

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes widened as he heard a sound that seemed to shake the entire world.