Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 5

As Detective Lee Jong-in tried to rush towards the man, the criminal brandished his knife.

‘Don’t come any closer, you bastard!’

Detective Lee Jong-in froze in his tracks.

He needed to get that guy away from there, but any move could provoke the criminal.

Detective Lee Jong-in was stuck, not knowing what to do.

‘This is driving me crazy! Hey! Aren’t you coming out?’

The man was, of course, Kang Jin-ho.

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t understand what the detectives were thinking.

If they let that criminal go, nothing might happen here.

But did they really think that the criminal, after escaping the hospital, would let the hostage go unharmed?

There was no reason for a man, shot and struggling to move, to drag around a hostage who would only be a burden.

If things went south, he could just grab another hostage. It would be a blessing if he let her go, but that was unlikely.

Considering the bloodlust flickering in that criminal’s eyes, he wasn’t the type to let anyone in his grasp go unharmed. Kang Jin-ho had seen enough murderers to be sick of them.

Kang Jin-ho had lived in the Demonic Cult, a place where the most insane murderers gathered. [Demonic Cult: A fictional organization often depicted in martial arts novels, known for its ruthless and violent members.]

Therefore, he was certain that the criminal would never let the hostage go.

Of course, whether he did or not was none of Kang Jin-ho’s business. Whether the criminal killed a person or a dog, it had nothing to do with Kang Jin-ho.

If only the person being held wasn’t that child.

‘Was her name Ji-eun?’

Kang Jin-ho quietly looked at the child.

The child was trembling, her face pale.

The child who had bought him a cola and called him an alien.

Kang Jin-ho owed that child a debt. So, he couldn’t allow her to die before he had a chance to repay it.

If that happened, he would never be able to repay the debt.

‘Who are you!’

The criminal threatened Kang Jin-ho with his knife.

Kang Jin-ho and the criminal’s eyes met. The criminal flinched.

The criminal’s body visibly shrank back.

‘What, what is this guy?’

Like recognizes like.

Those who had enjoyed killing, not just committed it impulsively, could smell their own kind better than anyone.

The criminal stared at the man in front of him.

A young punk who didn’t even look twenty yet.

But that punk’s eyes were making his heart tremble.

A murderer.

And the eyes of a beast who had committed countless murders were there.

This wasn’t the first time he had seen another murderer.

He had seen people with the same scent on the street, and he had also seen murder scenes by chance. The eyes of those people were clearly different from those who had never experienced murder. There was something that only those of the same kind could recognize, something that couldn’t be put into words.

But…

Even their eyes seemed innocent compared to this man’s eyes.

Kang Jin-ho’s mouth slowly opened.

‘Let her go.’

‘…’

What was he supposed to let go?

The hostage?

Did he think he would let the hostage go just because of that one sentence?

The criminal tried to sneer at Kang Jin-ho. But he couldn’t. No matter how hard he tried to raise the corners of his mouth, his face remained as stiff as a stone, only showing a slight tremor.

‘Who are you!’

‘…’

‘I don’t repeat myself. I’ve already spoken.’

The criminal’s eyes trembled.

He knew instinctively. Even if the detectives all backed away, this monster would never let him go. Even if others were harmed in the process, this man wouldn’t care as long as he could cut off his head.

Detective Lee, who was watching the situation, shouted anxiously.

‘Hey, you crazy bastard! Back off! I said back off!’

Where did that crazy bastard suddenly come from?

There were many crazy people in the world, but why did that crazy bastard have to appear here, and right now?

Detective Lee Jong-in was burning up inside, unable to pull the criminal away and forced to just watch.

The criminal’s foot turned slightly outward.

Then, Kang Jin-ho naturally moved to block the criminal’s escape route.

‘You…’

The criminal’s face contorted.

‘You, you bastard! Do you want to see this kid die?’

The criminal raised his knife to the child’s neck.

The child trembled and opened her mouth in a voice as small as a mosquito.

‘A, alien oppa… [Oppa: A Korean term used by females to address an older brother or male friend.]’

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes narrowed.

‘Don’t.’

‘…’

‘If you cause even the smallest scratch, you won’t die peacefully.’

The criminal’s hand trembled.

‘Ha…’

The criminal swallowed a dry breath.

Why was he doing this?

Because of that bastard?

Why was he being swayed by the words of a mere child?

‘Am I crazy?’

Eyes?

What did that matter?

Was he really trembling because of that ridiculous thing, because of what that kid was saying?

‘You pathetic…’

At that moment, Kang Jin-ho’s body shot forward.

‘Ah!’

‘That crazy!’

Urgent shouts of alarm erupted.

Seeing Kang Jin-ho rushing towards him, the criminal reflexively swung his knife.

Thwack!

But Kang Jin-ho’s right hand rose, blocking the criminal’s arm with his wrist, and then his left fist flew in, striking the criminal’s jaw.

‘Guh!’

The criminal groaned in pain, but he didn’t let go of the child in his left hand.

The child and the criminal fell to the floor together.

Kang Jin-ho grabbed the wrist of the criminal holding the knife and pounced on him.

Crack!

‘Aaaaaaah!’

Kang Jin-ho’s knee slammed into the criminal’s injured side.

The criminal screamed and struggled.

‘Charge!’

At that moment, Detective Lee shouted, and the detectives around him rushed in and grabbed the criminal.

‘You bastard!’

‘What kind of guy is this!’

Kang Jin-ho left the criminal to the detectives and picked up the child.

Then, he walked out and put the child down.

‘Are you okay?’

The child was too shocked to cry.

A doctor nearby rushed to the child.

‘Ji-eun! Ji-eun, are you okay?’

‘Yes.’

‘Does your chest hurt?’

‘It hurts a little.’

The doctor shouted to a nurse.

‘Quickly, move her to a room! Prepare a cardiac ultrasound!’

One of the detectives who had approached grabbed the doctor.

‘We need to check something now, can it wait a bit?’

But the doctor yelled at the detective.

‘She has a heart condition! We need to examine her right now, and if we delay and her condition worsens, will you take responsibility?’

‘…Is that so?’

‘What are you doing! Take her to the room quickly!’

‘Yes, doctor.’

The child slowly approached and grabbed Kang Jin-ho’s hand tightly.

‘…Alien oppa.’

Kang Jin-ho quietly looked at the child.

‘Thank you.’

‘Ji-eun, this isn’t the time. Let’s go to the room with the doctor. Okay?’

‘Yes.’

The nurse picked up the child and hurried towards the room.

Kang Jin-ho quietly watched the scene and then looked at his hand.

A warm sensation.

It wasn’t a bad feeling.

‘Huh?’

Then, he saw a trickle of blood flowing down his wrist. It seemed he had been cut on the wrist while blocking the knife.

Kang Jin-ho frowned.

‘By such trash…’

In the martial world, he would be considered third-rate?

No, he was worse than a commoner on the street.

Even those who hadn’t learned martial arts had far superior athletic abilities in the martial world.

And yet, he had been injured by such a person?

It was impossible.

‘It doesn’t add up.’

If it had been Kang Jin-ho’s body from the past, even without inner energy, he wouldn’t have been scratched by someone like that. But Kang Jin-ho’s current body was different from the one he had trained in the past, from the length of his arms to the range of his joints.

His body had changed, but his mind was still in the past, so he couldn’t move exactly as he wanted.

He would adapt over time. If he couldn’t adapt, he could just force his body to adapt.

The fact that he had been injured by someone who wasn’t even third-rate was starting to prick his pride, but in this world, taking pride in his strength was meaningless.

Because this wasn’t a world ruled by violence.

‘Hey! You there!’

At that moment, Detective Lee Jong-in approached Kang Jin-ho and shouted.

Kang Jin-ho stared at the detective approaching him.

‘What did you do? What if you got hurt? Who would take responsibility? It’s a good thing it turned out well, but are you living with your life on the line? Do you think anyone will praise you if you die like that? Kids these days watch too much TV!’

He had caught the criminal, but instead of thanking him, he was being yelled at. But Kang Jin-ho understood the detective. Not with his head, but he could feel the worry in the detective’s voice.

‘I’m sorry.’

So, Kang Jin-ho apologized willingly.

Even in the past, he wasn’t the type to hesitate to apologize because of unnecessary pride.

Rather, he thought it was more shameful to not apologize when he should because of pride.

‘Next time…’ Ah, damn it. There shouldn’t be a next time! There can’t be! Anyway, you shouldn’t do that! What will you do if you die like that? The people who praise you are just going to leave comments on news articles and pretend to be sad. They’ll forget about it in a day. But your family will have to live with that for the rest of their lives. Do you understand?’

It felt like something from experience, a kind of resentment.

‘Yes.’

‘It’s a good thing the hostage was safe, but if there was an accident, I would have to take all the blame…’

The detective’s face contorted when he saw the blood flowing from Kang Jin-ho’s hand.

‘You’re hurt? Ah, really, this is why… What am I supposed to report? This is driving me crazy, really.’

‘It’s nothing.’

‘Nothing? Blood is gushing out.’

‘Don’t worry about it.’

‘That’s for me to decide. It’s a good thing this is the emergency room. Get treated quickly. We’ll take care of the bill.’

‘It’s okay.’

‘Is it your money?’

‘…’

‘You’re just a kid living off your parents’ money, why are you acting like it’s your money and saying it’s okay? You can do that after you start earning your own money.’

He was right.

Of course, what Kang Jin-ho meant was that he didn’t need treatment, but thinking about it, there was no way they would leave a patient bleeding in the hospital.

Kang Jin-ho was dragged away by the detective and ended up being pulled into the emergency room again.

A young doctor who looked like an intern approached and began wiping the blood from his arm.

‘You were amazing.’

The doctor, looking excited, spoke to Kang Jin-ho, clearly impressed.

‘How could you rush in like that? Amazing.’

‘I just did.’

‘I was watching the situation, ready to rush in from behind, but you rushed in first. If you had been a little slower, I would have caught him.’

Kang Jin-ho smiled slightly.