Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 446

“……Are you upset?”

“No, I’m not.”

“You seem like you are?”

“I’m not.”

“Come on, you seem upset?”

“I told you I’m not……” Bang Jin-hoon chuckled.

‘Ah, this is killing me.’

This was a privilege only he could enjoy. Nowhere else in the world could you find someone as strong and yet as naive as Kang Jin-ho.

It had become Bang Jin-hoon’s sole pleasure to poke at him and watch his reactions.

“Well, it’s not something to get so upset about. It just means there are many people who want to learn from you so badly, they’d risk their lives for it.”

“Risk their lives?”

Kang Jin-ho’s expression became subtle.

Did these people even know what it meant to risk their lives?

Perhaps this was Kang Jin-ho’s mistake. They were people from different worlds. A situation where you die if you don’t kill. For those who haven’t been in a situation where they must become strong to survive, the phrase ‘risk their lives’ would just sound like empty words.

Even so…….

‘Was it difficult to understand what I said?’

The fact that so many people gathered even after hearing that half of them would die was quite puzzling.

“Well, isn’t this something we don’t need to worry about?”

“Huh?”

“We can just call the people involved and ask them.”

Bang Jin-hoon grinned.

“……Why me again.”

Lee Myung-hwan felt like jumping out of the window.

Of course, he knew it in his head.

The higher-ups, and older people, tend to pick on the one they’ve got their eye on. Lee Myung-hwan had already been branded by Bang Jin-hoon as ‘the most reasonable one among the young guys,’ so he was being called every time something related came up.

He knew, he knew all of that.

“Why me!”

It was all because of that damn Young-gil.

If that guy hadn’t acted up when Kang Jin-ho first arrived, he wouldn’t have had to step forward, and he wouldn’t have been marked by Bang Jin-hoon.

“Huu……”

But what was the point of regretting it now?

Lee Myung-hwan walked down the hallway nervously. Seeing the meeting room in the distance made him feel suffocated.

‘Kang Jin-ho must be in there?’

The thought made his body tremble.

‘But, why is that guy… suddenly so pissed off?’

He couldn’t figure out the reason at all.

Usually, wouldn’t you feel good when so many people gather to learn from you?

But why was he going in the opposite direction?

“Huuu……”

All that was increasing was his sighs and stomach pain.

Feeling a stinging sensation in his stomach, Lee Myung-hwan took a deep breath and stood in front of the meeting room.

‘Who is this guy?’

The guy standing next to him was also sighing deeply. He had been following him from behind for a while, so he was a bit conscious of him, and it seemed like this guy was also called to the meeting room.

‘He looks like someone from the Yeongnam Association……’

Now they should be called the Yeongnam Division.

Feeling a subtle sense of camaraderie, Lee Myung-hwan swallowed hard and knocked on the meeting room door. The two people inside would have noticed their arrival when they entered the hallway, so staying in front of the door like this was also rude.

“Master, it’s Lee Myung-hwan.”

“Come in.”

Lee Myung-hwan opened the door and unknowingly frowned.

‘It’s a den of foxes, a den of foxes.’

The office was hazy from how much they had been smoking. They were creating their own fine dust with just the cigarette smoke.

Of course, these guys were martial artists who had reached too high a level, so smoking like that wouldn’t cause any health problems.

‘But I’m getting problems!’

Lee Myung-hwan, still a weak(?) martial artist, couldn’t help but worry about his health.

He bowed his head and went inside, and the Yeongnam Division guy who was standing with him also came in.

“Sit down.”

Lee Myung-hwan sat on the sofa that Bang Jin-hoon pointed to and tried to take a deep breath, but stopped. Taking a deep breath here would have the same effect as smoking a cigarette.

“The reason I called you here is not for anything else……”

Bang Jin-hoon glanced at Kang Jin-ho and then spoke.

“I wanted to ask what you were thinking when you applied.”

From Bang Jin-hoon and Kang Jin-ho’s perspective, it was a natural question, but from Lee Myung-hwan’s perspective, it was an absurd question.

‘It’s not like they’re joking……’

They told them to apply, and now that they have, they’re asking why they applied. What are they supposed to answer?

“No, it’s not like I’m trying to interrogate you……”

Bang Jin-hoon smiled wryly.

“Let’s be frank. Actually, we thought there would be far fewer applicants than this. But there were more applicants than expected, so we were a bit taken aback. That’s why we want to know why you applied. You must have a solid reason if you applied even after hearing that it could be very dangerous.”

Lee Myung-hwan nodded.

He clearly understood Bang Jin-hoon’s intention. However, the problem was whether he had a solid reason to answer Bang Jin-hoon’s question.

“Honestly, I don’t know what to say.”

Lee Myung-hwan just gave up. If he tried to sugarcoat anything here, he would definitely get tangled up in his words. It seemed right to just say whatever came to mind.

“Actually, um……”

Lee Myung-hwan sighed and answered.

“I didn’t really want to go. To be honest, I just wanted to sleep at home. A story about overcoming death-like adversities and becoming stronger? Ah, that’s great. That’s really great. But…… I don’t really want to be the main character in that. That kind of thing is only fun when you watch it on TV.”

“Right.”

Bang Jin-hoon nodded.

“Honestly, I didn’t want to endure that hardship. No… actually, I still don’t really want to endure it. I want to run away. I don’t want to do it. I didn’t want to do it anyway, but Kang Jin-ho……”

Lee Myung-hwan glanced at Kang Jin-ho. He hesitated for a moment whether to say this or not, then closed his eyes tightly and started running with ‘Oh well, whatever.’

“I don’t know why, but Kang Jin-ho seems a bit upset, so I want to do it even less. I want to quit.”

“Then why don’t you just quit?”

“……Because that’s even scarier.”

Lee Myung-hwan rubbed his face and said.

“Someone will do what I was too scared to do, and it’s too scary to face the difference that will arise from not participating when time passes. Right now… well, to put it bluntly, a nobody like me might become stronger than me later. I’m also worried about what if that guy laughs at me then……”

Lee Myung-hwan sighed loudly and muttered.

“It’s crazy. I know it’s crazy, but if you ask me what’s important in life, I don’t have a good answer… Anyway, that’s how I feel. To put it nicely, my competitive spirit won’t leave me alone, and to take off all the wrapping, I can’t stand seeing other guys doing well.”

Bang Jin-hoon laughed.

‘That’s why I called this guy.’

There were many others who could tell him the reason, but there were few who could express their raw emotions like Lee Myung-hwan. He had already noticed that when they went to Kang Jin-ho and the Yeongnam Association in the past.

“Well, I can understand how you feel. Right, it’s really unbearable when another guy surpasses you.”

“Yes. That’s it.”

Lee Myung-hwan said with a hollow expression.

“I don’t know if it’s a competitive spirit or a dog-in-the-manger attitude, but I can’t stand other guys getting stronger than me.”

Bang Jin-hoon nodded and turned his head to look at the young martial artist from the Yeongnam Division.

“So, your name is?”

“Choi Jin-young.”

“Okay, Choi Jin-young. Do you think differently? I think you might have a different perspective since you’ve experienced something different?”

“Yes. It’s completely different.”

The martial artist from the Yeongnam Division, who introduced himself as Choi Jin-young, spoke without even glancing at Lee Myung-hwan.

“Before I hear your thoughts, can I ask you one thing? What do you think about what Lee Myung-hwan just said?”

“He’s just spouting nonsense.”

“What?”

Lee Myung-hwan glared.

If he hadn’t been aware that this was the meeting room, he wouldn’t have let it slide. He wasn’t the type of person to tolerate being openly ignored by a guy from the Yeongnam Division who seemed to be about the same age as him.

As he was debating whether to curse or not, Bang Jin-hoon opened his mouth.

“Why do you think so?”

Choi Jin-young chuckled and said.

“Maybe a few months ago, but after experiencing that incident, it’s pathetic to be talking about who’s stronger or whatever. He’s still immature.”

“That incident?”

“You know, the incident where the Yeongnam Association collapsed.”

“Hmm……”

Bang Jin-hoon nodded. He still had questions, but he felt like they would be answered if he heard the response.

“Okay, fine. So why did you apply?”

“Because I want to become stronger.”

“That doesn’t seem any different from Lee Myung-hwan’s answer?”

“It’s completely different, completely.”

Choi Jin-young shook his head firmly.

“The reason I want to become stronger is not to feel superior to someone. It’s to survive.”

“……Survive?”

Choi Jin-young glanced at Kang Jin-ho.

“That day, well… the day the General Assembly, the day Kang Jin-ho attacked the Yeongnam Association, I was on the front lines facing Kang Jin-ho. No, it’s a bit much to call it the front lines. To be precise, I was a bit behind, but it became the front lines. Because everyone in front of me died.”

Bang Jin-hoon felt a chill as he was reminded of that day.

“I could have died that day. I was really lucky to survive. Kang Jin-ho’s sword cut my neck halfway, but I survived.”

Choi Jin-young tilted his neck, revealing a long scar.

Looking at the scar that looked like his neck had been deeply cut, it was amazing that Choi Jin-young had survived.

“They said if it had gone 1cm deeper, I would have died instantly.”

“Then it was skill.”

“No, it was luck. I was so nervous that my legs gave out and I fell sideways. If I had tried to resist or fight, I would have died. My head would have flown into the sky.”

Choi Jin-young drew his thumb across his neck.

‘This guy’s got some mental fortitude.’

It was absurd that he was making light of a situation where he almost died, but it was even more absurd that he could talk like that when the person who almost killed him was right in front of him.

“But what does that have to do with becoming stronger?”

“I realized it that day.”

Choi Jin-young said with a stern face.

“As long as I’m in this world, death won’t pass me by just because I’m careful. If a strong person decides to, my head can fly off at any time.”

Choi Jin-young glared at Kang Jin-ho with sharp eyes.

“Even now, if you wanted to, you could kill me without me even knowing, right, Kang Jin-ho?”

Kang Jin-ho met Choi Jin-young’s gaze with a subtle smile.