Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 689

“Demon Lord, huh….”

Ju Gang couldn’t help but tilt his head.

‘Those old geezers, I can never understand what they’re up to.’

Demon Lord, indeed.

Leaving aside whether that arrogant title was appropriate or not, Ju Gang couldn’t even grasp what the name ‘Demon Lord’ meant. The things they were saying made no sense at all.

The source of all demons?

A leader who descended from a bygone era?

What kind of nonsense was that?

Even though he was considered a low-level demon in the martial world, he wasn’t stupid. He had enough sense to distinguish between reality and myth.

‘What the hell is this nonsense?’

It was no different from the ramblings of old men who gathered in the park to practice Tai Chi or play Go, talking about how things were different when Mao was alive, or how a new era would come someday.

Isn’t it stranger to believe that seriously?

He knew one thing.

That this so-called Demon Lord was a returnee [someone who has returned from another world or time].

That returnees could come back to the modern world with some knowledge of past demonic arts.

Some of his colleagues were extremely excited about this fact. Some even believed that the Demon Lord’s existence would change their miserable reality.

But….

‘Bunch of morons.’

Change? Transform?

What a joke.

This is the modern era. In the past, those stuck in the mountains could somehow learn martial arts and turn the tables while eating only roots. But this is not that kind of era. Everything requires money.

If the other three kings found out that they were growing stronger, would they just stand by?

Although the three kings had different tendencies and different martial arts, their hatred for demons was identical. They always persecuted demons and considered them pests that needed to be eliminated someday.

And now, the demons were growing stronger with new demonic arts?

It was like stirring up a snake in the grass. It was obvious that the lineage of demonic arts, which was barely surviving, would be cut off.

Even if they didn’t recognize the existence of the new demonic arts until the very end, it wouldn’t make a difference. Even if they couldn’t match the other three kings’ factions, they would need at least twenty years to gain the strength to overcome their persecution.

During those twenty years, all those martial artists would have to focus solely on training without worrying about making a living. But how could that be possible?

‘It’s a pipe dream.’

No matter what the old fools who didn’t know reality or the idiots who chased after empty dreams did, Ju Gang had no intention of agreeing with them.

He was more desperate for a single coin to live for tomorrow than for some Demon Lord or whatever.

But….

‘Damn it, why did it have to be here of all places?’

It turned out that the guy was in Sichuan. And Ju Gang was assigned the task of escorting him to Beijing.

He wasn’t just playing around in Sichuan. But he couldn’t refuse.

Although demons were looked down upon in other places, their network was quite extensive. Rather, because they were persecuted elsewhere, they were tightly united among themselves.

If he ignored the orders from above, his already tough life would become even tougher.

“I’m gonna die, seriously.”

Ju Gang’s face contorted as he drove.

‘Damn it, then I should just take that car.’

They said that they had a separate car. So, Ju Gang had to leave his car in Sichuan, drive someone else’s car to Beijing, and then come back to find his own car. It was a double burden.

Ju Gang stepped on the accelerator irritably, thinking that nothing was going smoothly.

“They said it was around here….”

Ju Gang looked around, searching for the car.

‘A black van, they said it was a black van.’

The place where they were supposed to meet was a rest stop. To be precise, they had told him to find them since they would be parked at the rest stop.

‘The more I think about it, the more annoyed I get.’

In this day and age, is it even reasonable to ask someone to drive and pick up people? They have their own cars, and in a world where you can find your way even to the ends of the earth with a navigation system, why use such a cumbersome method?

To use such a troublesome method meant that they were too lazy to even drive themselves.

“Tsk.”

Knowing one thing meant knowing ten. Just from this fact alone, he could guess what kind of personality the Demon Lord had. He must be extremely authoritarian.

It was something he could somewhat guess.

He had already met some of those who were called returnees. Some were unique, and some were so natural that he wouldn’t have noticed they were returnees if he hadn’t been told.

But there was one thing they all had in common.

A sense of incongruity.

There was definitely a sense of incongruity, as if their appearance and age didn’t match. It wasn’t that they were like old souls. Their way of thinking was different from those who were born and lived only in the modern era. Sometimes, it was even eerie.

Moreover, perhaps because they had lived in such an authoritarian era, they didn’t like the free atmosphere of the modern world.

This guy probably wouldn’t be any different.

Since he was a leader in the past, how high would his authority have been?

He would probably expect to be treated the same way now.

‘I’m tired.’

Ju Gang sighed deeply.

Once he got to Beijing, he wouldn’t have much to do with him, but just thinking about how tiring the journey would be made his head ache.

That’s when it happened.

“Are you a demon?”

Ju Gang’s body stiffened slightly.

‘Are you a demon?’

It was a phrase he had never heard in his life. Demons never dared to utter the word ‘demon’ in such public places, and those who knew of the existence of demons but weren’t demons themselves wouldn’t treat a demon with respect.

Then what was it?

Ju Gang slowly turned his body and looked behind him. There stood a man in a neat black suit.

“Are you the one?”

The answer didn’t come right away. Was it because he was flustered?

No.

He wasn’t a fool either. Since he had come to find the Demon Lord, he had the brains to deduce that someone might be looking for him in return. Just because the word ‘demon’ came out, it didn’t mean he would freeze up like an idiot and stammer.

What made him speechless was the man in front of him, his very existence.

It was the Demon Lord.

He didn’t acknowledge it, but if a man deserved that arrogant title, he would naturally have some attendants. The problem was that the attendant’s level was too low.

‘Damn it, I could beat him in ten seconds if I wanted to.’

There’s a saying that you should look at the owner before hitting the dog. Conversely, you can guess the owner’s ability by looking at the dog. How great could a person be if he had such a pathetic guy as an attendant?

Even the lowest members of the Three Kings’ factions wouldn’t have such a guy as an attendant.

“Hey?”

“Ah… yes.”

But he had no choice but to bow his head for now. It wasn’t because of the Demon Lord’s existence.

It was because he was afraid of the old men who would surely go crazy and try to cut off his head if they heard that Ju Gang had been rude to this group.

Whether he acknowledged it or not, the elders recognized this man’s master as the Demon Lord. That meant that those nasty monsters acknowledged the Demon Lord’s authority. No matter what he thought inside, Ju Gang had to acknowledge that authority on the outside.

“I’ve come to escort you. Where is the Demon Lord?”

“Come this way.”

The man in the black suit turned and walked forward.

‘This bastard.’

Ju Gang slightly gritted his teeth.

In the moment he turned, he hadn’t missed the look of contempt in the man’s eyes. It was a look he had seen many times. Those who had learned martial arts looked down on demons. And then they looked at them as if they were something dirty.

Even though racial discrimination was being abolished, in the modern Chinese martial world, demons were treated worse than black people in the past.

It was a familiar look, but the reason he was getting angry again was because the person showing that look was the Demon Lord’s attendant. To think that someone he thought was an ally would despise demons.

‘Damn it, that Demon Lord is probably the same.’

If he had such a person as an attendant, it meant that he had no eye for people. And it meant that he couldn’t even control his surroundings properly. Even though he hadn’t met him yet, Ju Gang was only accumulating disappointment in the so-called Demon Lord.

“He’s over there.”

Ju Gang raised his head.

And then he saw them.

Two men standing in front of a black van, drinking coffee.

The first thing that caught his eye was a huge man.

‘Is that a human?’

He was a human. He must be a human.

He had human features, two arms, and two legs.

But could a human of that size be called a human? Even with animals, small cats are called cats, and big cats are called lions. Should that thing be called a human?

Anyone who saw that man would have no choice but to think the same thing as Ju Gang.

‘Is that man the Demon Lord?’

No, no.

That man was not the Demon Lord. If the Demon Lord was such a huge man, there would have been some mention of it. But before he came here, he had even received orders to be careful not to be rude because the Demon Lord had a surprisingly youthful face.

That face was definitely not youthful.

Then it must be the small man next to him….

He wouldn’t have been that small originally, but he looked very small next to that huge man. Everything in the world is relative.

Was that why?

First, disappointment came.

Size wasn’t everything, but it wasn’t something that could be completely ignored. He had expected a slightly more dignified appearance, but he even felt a bit slender, which made his disappointment even greater.

And….

Didn’t he just look like an ordinary person?

‘Is that the Demon Lord?’

He hadn’t expected anything. Yet, he couldn’t help but be disappointed. He had tried not to have any expectations, but it seemed that there was still some expectation in his heart.

Even that expectation was now collapsing.

‘What were you expecting, you idiot?’

Reality doesn’t change so easily. Hadn’t he learned that enough already? Through harshness and misery!

Ju Gang, who had given up all expectations, stared at the Demon Lord with cold eyes. He just had to take that man to Beijing. He would be polite, but he wouldn’t obey. A poorly used medicine is more dangerous than poison.

At that moment, he saw the Demon Lord’s gaze turn towards him.

Ju Gang and the Demon Lord’s eyes met in the air.

And at the same time….

Ju Gang froze.

A gaze that was nothing.

No hostility, no anger, just a transparent gaze.

No one could know.

No one could understand.

But he could know.

No, if you were a demon, you could know.

The enormous demon power hidden behind that transparent gaze.

A demon power that made your soul freeze just by looking at it, and made you feel like you were falling into an endless abyss of despair.

An overwhelming evil that was so pure and endlessly deep that you didn’t even dare to look at it.

Thud.

Ju Gang collapsed on the spot. No, to be precise, he knelt down.

And then he banged his head on the ground and shouted.

A piercing cry he had never made in his entire life, an explosion of emotions mixed with tears and joy.

“Demon Lord has descended, all demons bow down!”

A huge vortex of emotions that even Ju Gang couldn’t understand was contained in his voice and echoed in all directions.