Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 738

“Huuuuh…”

His jaw was opening on its own.

The body is controlled by the mind. But sometimes, the body escapes the control of the mind. This was one of those times.

‘Please, please just move!’

It wouldn’t move.

His legs were no longer listening to him. They were spasming on their own, dragging themselves.

‘Please… please!’

He begged and begged again. But his legs, which had given out, showed no sign of regaining strength.

Then what?

“Kuh, kuuuuh…”

He reached his hand forward.

He dug his fingers into the cement floor and pulled himself forward. If his legs wouldn’t listen, he had to use his still-moving arms.

Pull, and pull again….

He felt his fingernails break against the cement floor, but he couldn’t even feel the pain. In this situation, pain was too much of a luxury.

“Huu…”

He had to run.

Even a little bit more.

Away from that monster.

He reached out again and again. He forced his limp legs to move, pushing off the ground. His stomach was scraping against the floor, but he couldn’t even feel it properly.

His pants had been soaked for a while now, but he didn’t have the energy to care about that.

Shame?

In this situation?

He realized.

That when humans are pushed to their limits, they become different people than they usually are. Things like shame or pride are just cumbersome garbage. Why would you need such things to survive?

He wanted to live.

Even one more second, even a little bit more.

“Huuuuh…”

Tears and snot streamed down his face. Saliva dripped from his open mouth, but he couldn’t even think about wiping it away.

He had to run.

Right now, from here….

Thud.

At that moment, his body shuddered.

Footsteps.

Footsteps coming from around his waist.

He slowly raised his head. He saw people running away with all their might in front of him. There was no one behind him, no one.

The only thing behind him was….

He slowly raised his head.

His head turned with a clunk, like a rusty machine.

He didn’t want to see.

He knew it would be better to close his eyes. Even so, he turned his head.

Because he was stupid?

Because he was foolish?

No.

Because the unseen fear was more terrifying than the seen fear. Because he couldn’t ignore the fact that he knew who was behind him.

In his teary gaze, he saw ‘him’.

He wanted to close his eyes.

Because it was so terrible.

It was as if the world was raining red. The one who was soaked in that rain, his whole body dyed red, was quietly looking down at him.

Red blood, dripping from his hair, fell to the floor.

Drop.

A sound that should never be heard.

The sound of blood dripping from his hair and falling to the floor was piercing his ears so clearly. Not just his hair.

Blood droplets were falling like rain from the ends of his clothes, the tip of his hanging sword, and along his sharp jawline.

Yes, that was blood.

The blood that flowed from the bodies of the countless corpses behind the man. A man so red that it was as if he had bathed in blood.

What did his face look like at first?

He couldn’t remember.

All he could see was a face painted red like a savage in the jungle. Even if he had clearly remembered him before, seeing him now would erase his past image from his mind in an instant.

“Ah, ah…”

Behind his twitching back, absolute death stood.

Death was staring at him with strange eyes.

Even though it felt like there was no moisture left in his body, he felt like something was constantly leaking out.

A pure white line appeared between the red face.

When he realized that the line was a smile, the white teeth of the smiling demon, he couldn’t hold on any longer.

“S, save me…”

He knew that his plea wouldn’t reach the one he was begging to.

Because demons do not pity humans.

To a demon, humans are just objects of ridicule, something to play with easily and then kill.

These beings do not pity their opponents.

They do not consider the circumstances of their opponents.

Even knowing all of that, he couldn’t help but beg. Because that was all he could do.

A human who has witnessed absolute death that cannot be resisted can only put their hands together in front of their chest and pray. What difference was there between praying to an absolute being and begging to the absolute being in front of him?

Isn’t it human nature to not give up on the last shred of hope, even when there is no chance of it changing anything?

“Save me… please save me, save…”

The demon’s head tilted slightly to the side. The demon, who had been looking down at him as if amused, slowly opened his mouth.

“You want me to save you?”

A sharp voice like scraping metal. But it was not high, it was a low metallic sound that pressed down on the man.

“S, save…”

“Let me think about it.”

The demon’s voice was too calm.

That fact was making it even harder for the man to endure.

Even after seeing this much blood.

Even though he was mad with blood, stabbing those who were running away in the back, and cutting off their limbs, this demon was not excited at all.

Even the gaze that looked at him did not waver at all.

Unlike his red, burning appearance, his inside was as cold as ice. That fact was even more terrifying.

“Let’s think about it from a different perspective. If I had fallen to your combined attack, would you have tried to save me?”

“Wouldn’t you have been eager to cut off my head to gain merit?”

He couldn’t answer.

Because that was the truth.

“Then why should I save you? Humans are equal beings. So why should I show you the mercy that you wouldn’t have shown me?”

“Th…”

“Answer me.”

Kang Jin-ho’s lips curled up.

“If you can convince me, I’ll save you.”

That was impossible.

Every excuse the man could make had already been blocked by Kang Jin-ho’s logic. Because he was right.

If the situation had been reversed, he would have rejoiced at the fact that he could kill Kang Jin-ho. Even if Kang Jin-ho had cried and begged for his life, he would have laughed at him.

So why should Kang Jin-ho save him?

There was no reason for that. This was a battlefield.

The only rule of the battlefield was this: the weak die, and the strong live.

So what else could he say?

“Tell me.”

Scratch, scratch, scratch.

Jeokru, held in Kang Jin-ho’s hand, scraped the floor and came right next to the man’s neck.

“Tell me the reason why I should save you.”

“I, I…”

The man looked at Kang Jin-ho with a blank face.

The blade of the grim reaper touched his neck. And then, it offered a rotten rope.

If he grabbed it, he would fall to his death, and if he didn’t grab it, his neck would be cut off. It was a choice that only a demon could offer, and a deal that only a demon could make.

“Huu…”

Kang Jin-ho’s teeth were bared.

“There isn’t one.”

“No, no! There is! Th… there is!”

A trembling voice came out.

But the man was desperately shouting. He had never been this desperate in his life.

“Spit it out.”

“I, I have….”

Kang Jin-ho’s gaze met the man’s.

“Family… I have a family.”

He didn’t move.

Kang Jin-ho’s pupils were sunken and did not move.

“So?”

“…I have a family… a family that is waiting for me to return. Please save… save…”

The last voice was muffled by sobs. Kang Jin-ho looked down at the man without changing his expression.

“Is there anyone here who doesn’t have a family?”

“A warrior who wants pity is no longer a warrior. You are already dead.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled lightly and swung Jeokru.

Swoosh.

With the sound of flesh being cut, blood spurted into the air.

The man’s body slumped.

Kang Jin-ho quietly looked down at the man and said.

“If you are not a warrior, there is no need to die.”

Kang Jin-ho, having retrieved Jeokru, left the man behind and moved his feet. He had cut his tendons, so he would never be able to use martial arts again.

‘It must be a whim.’

He knew he had to kill him. He never let his enemies live. That was Kang Jin-ho’s rule.

Even so, Kang Jin-ho did not kill the man.

Why?

He didn’t know either.

It was literally a whim. He just did it because he wanted to.

Perhaps this was a whim, and also a resistance.

Against himself, who was boiling up.

Even though he was proud of having changed, he was resisting himself, who was going crazy and returning to the past Demonic Heavenly Sovereign [a title for a powerful demon lord] the moment he saw blood.

He had to package it that way.

Because it was a stupid and foolish act.

Kang Jin-ho quietly licked his lips. He could taste the bitter taste of blood.

A taste, a smell, and a sight that he was all too familiar with.

Kang Jin-ho, having shaken off Jeokru, moved his feet again.

The night had only just begun.

“Chai Ke-chang!”

“Chai Ke…”

“I know, so shut your trap!”

At the irritable voice, Wu Zhiyuan closed his mouth like a clam.

Chai Ke-chang saw the demons breaking through the defense line and running away.

From the beginning, they must have intended to do that. But the scene looked a little different from before.

‘It’s like they’re running away.’

It was as if everyone here was running away from Kang Jin-ho. It was like a tiger had jumped into a flock of sheep that had been fighting over territory. All the sheep could do was run away.

‘It’s impossible.’

It was a failure of strategy and a failure of tactics.

Strategically, they had failed to gather enough troops to control Kang Jin-ho. Even though they had gathered nearly a thousand warriors, they were being pushed back helplessly. No matter how many dogs you gather, they are still dogs. They can never face a tiger.

At least they should have gathered this much. It was a mistake made by Chai Ke-chang, who had underestimated Kang Jin-ho’s abilities.

And tactically, they had also failed.

Before the people gathered here were intimidated by Kang Jin-ho’s divine power, they should have attacked him relentlessly. If they had launched a full-scale attack without giving them time to be afraid, they wouldn’t be in this state now.

Everything was Chai Ke-chang’s fault.

He didn’t know his opponent properly, and when he did, he didn’t take appropriate action. Now, the flow of the battle had slipped out of his hands. All he could do was watch.

Crack.

His teeth dug into his lip, and bright red blood flowed down his chin.

‘How am I supposed to report this situation?’

It was not something that could be resolved even if he cut off his own head and presented it neatly. The situation had become too big to be contained by one life.

If he couldn’t control the situation that was spiraling out of control, he would not be able to atone for it even if he died a hundred times.

‘I have to stop it somehow, somehow…’

But how?

Kang Jin-ho was literally going crazy. How could he stop that guy? All the forces he had were busy running away in fear.

That was when it happened.

Chai Ke-chang’s eyes widened as he looked at the battlefield.

“H, how?”

A brilliant light began to shine from one of the piers where the demons were running.