Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 715

Everyone was lost in their own thoughts, each with their own reasons.

Kang Jin-ho’s declaration had shocked the Demonic Cult.

Initially, some felt betrayed, others were angry, and some were in despair. But as time passed, they began to accept reality.

It made sense when you thought about it.

The appearance of the Demon Lord didn’t mean everything would magically get better. Legends were in the realm of fantasy, but where they stood was reality. Those who lived with their feet on the ground always had to make choices.

That’s what life was.

Life was a series of endless choices. The Demon Lord’s appearance didn’t eliminate choices from their lives. Rather, it forced them to make even bigger ones.

Elders, protectors, demons… no one was free from this choice.

But there was one exception.

In this tense atmosphere, there was only one person who couldn’t blend in and felt out of place.

‘Why are they doing this to me!’

Jang Da-jing stared blankly at the cavern.

While others were lost in their own thoughts, Jang Da-jing had nothing to worry about and nothing to do. Kang Jin-ho and Bator, who had come with him from Korea, were in a meeting to discuss future plans, but Jang Da-jing had no right to participate in that meeting.

In another place, he might have taken this opportunity to rest, but…

‘What is this place?’

Creating a cavern of this size underground was an amazing feat. Thinking about how many people must have been sacrificed to create such a cavern, he felt like applauding.

Creating such a cavern was a great feat, but there was no way they would have had the resources to create amenities. So, he understood this open structure.

The problem was that Jang Da-jing had no choice but to sit and wait in this open cavern.

Other demons shared the same identity, so it wouldn’t be strange for them to ponder together in this open cavern. But Jang Da-jing was different.

He wasn’t a demon.

Like a drop of oil in clear, flowing water, Jang Da-jing was an alien presence. A righteous person was mixed in with thousands of demons.

Well, it should be fine.

That would be the case if Bator or Kang Jin-ho were here. They were powerful enough to overwhelm all the demons here on their own.

But Jang Da-jing was…

‘I’m scared to death!’

Every time the demons glanced at him, his heart seemed to drop.

Jang Da-jing was a gentle man.

Of course, it was unfortunate that his gentleness was involuntary due to his lack of power.

Although demons were weak compared to ordinary martial artists, Jang Da-jing was second to none in that weakness. From the start, Jang Da-jing was sent to Korea as an informant, a wasteland where he couldn’t be used as a proper martial artist.

The Heungwang Group he belonged to.

To be precise, there wasn’t a weaker martial artist than him even in the lower organizations of the Hongwang Group. [Heungwang and Hongwang are likely names of martial arts groups or clans.]

A normal martial artist could ignore the demons, but Jang Da-jing couldn’t guarantee a victory against them… frankly, he was a half-baked martial artist who didn’t have the confidence to fight them.

Was this how a monkey felt when it was dropped alone into a cage with thousands of hungry wolves?

Jang Da-jing was doing his best to suppress his presence using the skills he had acquired as an informant, but there were limits to that in this kind of space.

“Who’s that guy?”

“I’ve never seen that face before?”

Damn it.

How tight-knit was the demons’ community that there was only one unfamiliar face in a place with thousands of people?

Of course, the expression ‘unfamiliar face’ didn’t really mean face. It meant that they couldn’t feel any demonic energy from him.

‘If I had known this would happen, I should have begged the Guild Leader to teach me some demonic arts.’

No matter how early you regret, it’s always too late.

“Why is that guy here?”

“Yeah? And so confidently? What is he?”

That’s how interest works.

Even if there’s a rock on the side of the road, people don’t really pay attention to it. Even if the rock is in the way, people just frown and pass by, not paying much attention to the fact that there’s a rock on the side of the road.

But if someone points out the rock and starts digging next to it, people don’t just pass by. They start to wonder whether they should help dig up the rock or just ignore it and go their own way.

Jang Da-jing’s situation was exactly like that.

Would a drop of oil in a flowing stream be noticeable? But if someone points out that drop of oil, everyone will try to find it.

Murmurs of vigilance were coming from all directions.

Everyone was just saying a word or two, but because there were so many people, the murmurs soon turned into a buzz.

‘This is how it ends.’

Even if everyone around him was an ordinary person, receiving the attention of thousands of people was a burden. No, if they were ordinary people, their legs would be shaking and they wouldn’t be able to stand properly.

But to receive the hostile gaze of thousands of demons at the same time?

‘This is how it ends.’

Jang Da-jing’s past life began to flash before his eyes. This was a life review, a life review.

Jang Da-jing was feeling a strong threat to his life. If even one of them said something hostile, the situation would spiral out of control.

“Hey, what are you?”

And as if it were natural, people began to approach Jang Da-jing.

‘I knew this would happen.’

It was too obvious. The people around him were demons.

Demons were unmatched in their belligerence and aggression compared to their low level of martial arts. They were people who were aware of their position and lived humbly, but they sometimes caused ridiculous accidents.

There was no way they would tolerate Jang Da-jing’s presence.

At this rate, he would be lynched and his bones wouldn’t be collected. Demons hated righteous people more than righteous people looked down on demons.

But Jang Da-jing had a desperate weapon.

“I, I’m the Demon Lord’s attendant.”

Whoosh.

The moment the word ‘Demon Lord’ came out, the pack of wolves that had been slowly approaching him backed away.

“Attendant? Is that true?”

“If, if I wasn’t the Demon Lord’s attendant, what guts would I have to come here? That… that’s right! Ask the people who brought the Demon Lord here. I brought the Demon Lord from Korea to this place.”

“Hmm…”

They had seen the Demon Lord’s divine power with their own eyes. Even if he was a righteous person, they couldn’t touch the Demon Lord’s attendant.

Like hunting dogs that had to back away even with meat in front of them because of their master’s restraint, the demons smacked their lips and backed away.

Cold sweat broke out on Jang Da-jing’s back as he watched the scene.

‘I never thought I’d envy those guys.’

The Gwoerichin who had been brought here were imprisoned somewhere Jang Da-jing didn’t know. At first, he had looked at them with pity as they were captured in the demons’ lair, but when he thought about it, it wasn’t imprisonment, but isolation. [Gwoerichin is likely a name of a group or clan.]

If you thought about which place was safer, a place surrounded by demons or a place isolated from them, the answer was too clear.

‘I should have asked them to lock me up too.’

Jang Da-jing wiped away the cold sweat as he watched the demons glancing at him with regretful eyes.

It was then.

“Jang Da-jing, is Jang Da-jing here?”

Someone called his name. Jang Da-jing jumped up from his seat and raised his hand.

“I’m here!”

“Follow me. Bator is looking for you.”

“Yes! I’m coming right now!”

Jang Da-jing ran towards the person who was desperately looking for him.

‘Bator hasn’t forgotten me.’

There was a reward for his loyalty.

The Guild Leader seemed to have completely forgotten about his existence, but Bator hadn’t forgotten him. He had guessed what kind of situation he was in and was calling him in.

He felt like crying.

He could hear the sound of the wolves smacking their lips behind him.

‘Damn demons!’

He understood why the Guild Leader had come here, but it was an experience he never wanted to have again. It was a fear and sense of crisis that he had never felt even at the headquarters, which was full of Korean martial artists who could be considered enemies.

‘I can’t believe I’m going to miss the headquarters.’

His love for his hometown, no, his love for his company, was growing rapidly. Compared to this place, how cozy and nice was the headquarters? He had been planning to return to China as soon as Bator regained his senses, but now that he realized how good the headquarters was, his thoughts had changed a little.

If he could, it wouldn’t be bad to settle down at the headquarters…

“This is the place.”

“Yes!”

The person who had called him guided him to a large door and then turned and left. Without hesitation, Jang Da-jing opened the door and went inside.

“Bator!”

Bator was sitting with his back to him on a large chair inside the room.

“You called for me!”

“Hmm, Jang Da-jing.”

Bator spoke without turning around.

“There’s something I need you to do.”

“Tell me, Bator.”

Jang Da-jing noticed a bottle of water on the table. His lips were parched and about to crack from how tense he was.

‘It wouldn’t be rude, would it?’

Jang Da-jing reached out, picked up the water, and opened the cap. Then, he began to gulp it down in one go.

“Go outside and buy me some clothes that I can wear. And um…”

Bator turned around.

“…an eye patch too.”

FWOOOOOOOOOOSH!

Jang Da-jing forcefully spat out the water he had been holding in his mouth. Bator silently blocked the water flying towards him with his hand.

“W-what happened to your eye, Bator!”

Jang Da-jing shouted in horror.

Bator’s eye was bruised like a panda’s. What on earth had happened to cause such a bruise on that big eye?

‘Huh?’

Looking closely, Bator’s clothes were also torn to shreds.

“Did you have a sparring match?”

“Did you get a black eye from sparring?”

Bator’s body began to tremble slightly, but unfortunately, Jang Da-jing didn’t notice the signs.

“No, you wouldn’t have fought with the Guild Leader, and surely not… that old man?”

“…Jang Da-jing.”

Jang Da-jing covered his mouth.

He tried to hold it in, but he couldn’t.

His body was shaking uncontrollably.

“N-no… I’m sorry.”

Think about it.

Bator had the largest body in the world. His head alone was as big as a small woman’s torso. And that big eye was blue.

It felt like seeing a giant panda from a movie.

He knew he shouldn’t laugh, but he couldn’t stop laughing.

“I’ll, I’ll go buy an eye patch… *cough*, an eye patch.”

Bator slowly got up as he watched Jang Da-jing, who couldn’t continue speaking.

“The eye patch is fine.”

“Yes? But…”

“No, it’s okay. Instead, I realized something…”

“Yes?”

Jang Da-jing raised his head.

And then he saw it.

The sight of Bator’s face, which was forcing a smile, trembling.

“I didn’t really like the idea of a leader forcefully ruling with an iron fist, but there was a reason for it. So, I’m going to try to benchmark that.”

“…Yes?”

Bator slowly approached Jang Da-jing, rolling up his tattered sleeves.

“Yes? Bator? Yes?”

And that day, Jang Da-jing learned a truth.

It was embarrassing for one person’s eye to be bruised, but it was a little less embarrassing if two people’s eyes were bruised.

It was Jang Da-jing’s misfortune that he learned that with his body.