Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 533

“Are you back?”

“……”

Kang Jin-ho froze, stiff as a board.

‘Wasn’t she sleeping?’

He was sure she was asleep when he sensed movement outside the door. On the sofa. The TV was on, and his mother was definitely in a deep sleep.

What was the problem?

Was it that damn door lock?

Why doesn’t our door lock have a mute function?

He had been so careful coming in, yet his mother woke up!

“……Yes.”

“You’re late?”

“I had some things to take care of.”

“Hmm…”

A subtle discomfort laced his mother’s voice. Kang Jin-ho instinctively assessed the situation.

‘I got rid of all the blood smell.’

He had changed his clothes, so there was nothing dirty. And he had changed the shoes that were smashed. He had stashed Red and Blue [referring to his weapons or tools] in the garage, so there was no problem…

Everything seemed perfect, but he still felt uneasy.

“You never do this, but suddenly you’re coming home at dawn. Were you out with friends?”

“…Yes.”

“Okay, go get some rest.” He was saved.

His mother’s eyes seemed to say, ‘I don’t like that you came home this late, but you’re old enough, and it’s a bit much to nag a grown adult for coming home late, so I’ll suppress my discomfort. So, it would be best if you came home a little earlier next time.’

Cold sweat trickled down Kang Jin-ho’s back as he understood the meaning all too well.

“I, I’ll come home earlier.”

“Okay. My son is so good.”

It sounded like a synonym for ‘If you come home late again, I’m going to shave your head bald.’

“Mother, you should go to sleep too. Even if I’m late next time, don’t worry and don’t sleep on the sofa.”

“Okay, sure. If my son comes home early, that won’t happen. Right?”

“…I’m sorry.”

He wanted to ask someone to save him if he could.

“And those words are very strange, son.”

“Yes?”

“How can a parent not worry about their child?”

“If I suddenly don’t come home until dawn without contacting you, would you be okay?”

“No.”

He wouldn’t be okay.

Kang Jin-ho would probably search all of Seoul.

If the time was delayed more than expected, all the warriors of the General Assembly [likely referring to a group he is affiliated with] would be searching Seoul like a fine-toothed comb.

‘Ah!’

He realized it when he thought about it the other way around.

“From now on, I’ll call you first if I think I’ll be late.”

“It would be nice if you did that. But it’s not easy, is it?”

“I’m just kidding.”

His mother patted Kang Jin-ho’s back.

“It’s ridiculous of me to try to hug my grown son. I know. But it’s just not easy.”

“No, it’s my fault.”

“Okay, okay. I’m just keeping a tired kid here. Go in and rest.”

“Yes.”

“Make sure to shower before you sleep. Don’t just sleep because you’re tired. I don’t know if there are towels inside. If there aren’t any towels…”

“I, I’ll take care of it, Mother.”

“Oh my, I’m being ridiculous again.”

Baek Hyun-jung laughed and headed to her room.

“Go to sleep, son.”

“Yes.”

As Baek Hyun-jung went into her room, Kang Jin-ho smiled a strange smile.

“Isn’t it hard for you?”

Lee Hyun-soo’s words came to mind.

It was a question of whether it was difficult to coexist as Kang Jin-ho, the son and friend, and Kang Jin-ho, the warrior.

What was his answer to that?

“Not really.”

Yes, that’s what it was.

Not really.

But that answer wasn’t honest. He, too, sometimes found these situations difficult and annoying. The correct answer wouldn’t be ‘not really.’

“It’s worth it.”

Yes, that’s the right answer.

Even if he acted like a demon outside, he wanted to remain a proud son at home, someone he didn’t want to let go of. Perhaps it was a selfish desire.

Still, there was no one who realized as much as Kang Jin-ho how much it stabilized a person to have someone look at him with warm eyes when he came home with a mind worn out by killing intent and fighting spirit, and how much happiness that was.

Kang Jin-ho entered the bathroom and turned on the shower, leaning his head against the wall.

“Ugh…”

Blood flowed from his mouth.

He carefully spat out the lump of blood he had swallowed several times, making sure not to make a sound.

“Hoo…”

A low sigh escaped him.

Bator was strong.

No, he was weak.

No, he was strong.

The concept of strength and weakness was mixed.

In the past, when he had reached the pinnacle of martial arts as the Demonic Heavenly Lord [a title indicating a powerful martial artist], he wouldn’t have needed to grapple with Bator. No matter how much Bator had reached the peak of physical strength that could not be achieved in the martial arts of that time, he was no match for Kang Jin-ho, who had reached the limit of demonic arts [a type of martial art].

With a single gesture.

A single gesture with true intent would have shattered Bator’s body. What was so easy for Kang Jin-ho back then had become this difficult for the current Kang Jin-ho.

He couldn’t show weakness.

Not to Lee Hyun-soo, nor to Wiggins.

The situation here was clearly being sustained by his strength. There was a clear difference in their eyes between Kang Jin-ho easily handling Bator and struggling to handle him.

So, even if his insides were broken and his legs were trembling, he had to grit his teeth and endure it in front of them.

“Ugh!”

Kang Jin-ho spat out another lump of blood and calmly observed his insides.

‘There’s no major problem.’

His insides were twisted, but not to the point where recovery was impossible. If he rested for a few days, he would recover quickly.

“Hoo…”

Kang Jin-ho turned the showerhead towards his head and brought his face to the mirror in front of him.

‘It’s not slow.’

The period since he started learning martial arts again was not even ten years.

Compared to the decades it took to reach that level of martial arts in the past, it was an excessively rapid development. Compared to when he was thirty in his second life, he would be several times stronger.

So, it wasn’t slow.

Even so…

‘It’s not enough.’

He felt a thirst.

No matter how much he tried to accept it, it wasn’t enough. If you took the wings off someone who flew in the sky, dropped them to the ground, and then told them that their wings would grow back someday, so they should be satisfied with their strong legs for now, could they be satisfied?

That was impossible.

‘I need to get stronger.’

Kang Jin-ho bit his lip.

Lee Hyun-soo might be right. The Hongwang Group, having lost their means, might not touch him for a while. And perhaps, as Lee Hyun-soo said, they might extend a hand of reconciliation.

But what about after that?

And what if things didn’t go that way?

There was too much on his shoulders to be relieved by a hopeful prediction that things would just work out.

He opened his eyes and looked in the mirror.

Kang Jin-ho was there.

Not the Demonic Heavenly Lord, but Kang Jin-ho.

‘Is it a little hard?’

It might not be a little.

Sometimes he missed it. And he longed for it.

The Demonic Heavenly Lord, not him.

His unbridled spirit and the way he roamed the martial world with unstoppable power.

If it were the Demonic Heavenly Lord, not Kang Jin-ho, who was here, he would have pushed into China by now. He would have crushed everything in his path, ripped it apart, and taken Hongwang’s head.

Yes, he was that strong.

But…

Kang Jin-ho reached out and wiped away his face reflected in the mirror.

‘Victory alone leaves nothing behind.’

People sometimes make mistakes.

Thinking that victory brings everything.

That’s true, but it’s also false.

The important thing wasn’t victory, but what you were victorious over.

The Demonic Heavenly Lord always won. He did lose in the end, but his life was made up only of victories.

Yet, nothing remained.

What meaning was there in a victory that had nothing to gain? Kang Jin-ho admired his power, but he did not admire his life.

‘It doesn’t matter if it’s hard.’

He would carry on.

This weight.

Without avoiding it.

Then, and only then, would this victory have true value.

Kang Jin-ho picked up the showerhead and washed away the blood that had spilled on the floor.

As if washing away the lingering effects of a brutal battle.

“Son, did you sleep well?”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho turned his head and looked at the clock.

‘I saw it right?’

He had overslept a little, which was unlike him. And at this time, his father should have already left for work. But his father was still at home.

“Where’s Mother?”

“She said she had an appointment this morning and left. Without even making breakfast for her son.”

“I can make my own breakfast.”

“I would have scolded you if you hadn’t said that.”

“Haha…”

Kang Jin-ho laughed awkwardly.

His father sometimes set traps like that.

“Are you going to eat breakfast?”

“I don’t really feel like it. I’ll have lunch.”

“Okay? Then get ready. Let’s go to the store with your father for the first time in a while.”

“…Yes?”

“Do you have plans today?”

“Today…”

He didn’t have any plans. Kang Jin-ho’s schedule was always like that. He did things… but there was nothing that he absolutely had to do at this time.

“Yes, let’s go.”

His father smiled gently at Kang Jin-ho’s answer.

“Aren’t you going to take the car?”

“Why would I take the car when it’s so close? It’s a waste of gas.”

“I’ll drive you.”

“Come here, you.”

His father gestured.

Kang Jin-ho stood next to him without a word.

“You know, son.”

“Yes.”

“Sometimes, you need to walk.”

“Yes?”

“You’ve gotten used to the car, and now you have a habit of driving everywhere, right?”

“That’s how people are. Once it’s comfortable, they don’t want to go back to uncomfortable places. But you know, if you go comfortably and quickly, you miss things.”

Kang Yoo-hwan started walking ahead.

Kang Jin-ho followed Kang Yoo-hwan silently.

“It might sound a bit old-fashioned, but…”

“It’s not.”

“There are places you can’t go by car, and there are things you can’t see because you’re in a car. Of course, it’s fast. And it’s comfortable. If you only think about arriving at that place, taking the car is the best choice. But Jin-ho, people don’t live to achieve a goal.”

“We live to be happy, don’t we? So it’s okay to be a little late. Look.”

As they passed the building and entered the downtown park, lush greenery came into view.

Kang Jin-ho was momentarily captivated by the sight.

It was nothing special. You could see these things anywhere if you went a little outside the city.

But the fact that this ordinary sight was in the middle of the city felt a little different.

“It’s a place you can’t come to by car.”

“…That’s true.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded quietly.

They slowly walked in.

The sound of insects, which he couldn’t hear well here, was reaching his ears.

He slowly raised his head.

The hot summer sun was shining through the leaves of the trees that lined the park path, which he couldn’t see when he was in the car.

“Not bad, right?”

Kang Jin-ho curled up the corners of his mouth.

“Yes.”

It’s not bad.

Really…

“It’s not bad.”

A bright smile, as if he had forgotten it for a long time, settled on Kang Jin-ho’s lips.