Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 753

His breath came in ragged gasps.

Pains he hadn’t felt before were now crashing over him all at once. But Hong King couldn’t afford to lose consciousness.

He had to see with his own eyes what had happened to that demon.

The demon was rolling on the ground.
Each time he flipped his body, seawater shot up into the sky as if it had been bombed.

‘Aaaaaaaah!’

Hong King’s feelings were complex as he watched the screaming demon.

The demon.

The being who called himself Kang Jin-ho was, in every sense of the word, a demon. Leaving aside his actions and his inherent nature, wasn’t the title of ‘demon’ perfectly fitting for an absolute evil that no human power could handle?

And that evil was now screaming.

‘Not now! It’s not now! You foolish bastard! Why does it have to be now!’

The demon convulsed as he continued to shout.

‘It’s not like I’m going to take everything! I’m going to fix it now! I’m going to clear everything that stands in your way, you moronic bastard! Then you just have to reap the rewards! So why! Why now! You can’t do it! You can’t protect it! You weakling, you can’t protect it! You son of a bitch!’

His wails were so desperate.

Even Hong King, who was so broken that he could barely react to external stimuli, trembled at the resonance of that emotion.

‘I am! I am Kang Jin-ho! Not you! I am Kang Jin-ho! You can’t define me and suppress me as you please! You have no right to do that, you damn bastard!’

Kang Jin-ho’s voice grew louder and louder.

Eventually, it sounded almost like the cries of a beast.

The sky and the sea echoed his cries in unison.

‘Ugh… Ugh…’

Kang Jin-ho was convulsing.

Kang Jin-ho, who had met Hong King’s all-out attack with a sneer, was now rolling around in the most pathetic state.

‘Now…’

Hong King’s eyes were bloodshot.

This might be the last chance given by the heavens.

He had to kill him now, now!

If not now, he might not get another chance to kill Kang Jin-ho. Hong King knew that fact all too well. Unless the previous Kang Jin-ho completely took over that body by some stroke of luck, if that demon gained ownership of the body, even the entire Hong King clan wouldn’t be able to kill Kang Jin-ho.

So now!

He had to move now! Now!

He knew it.

But knowing it didn’t mean he could do it. Hong King couldn’t move an inch from that spot.

Was it because of the hole in his stomach?

Or was it because of his chest, which was torn open to reveal bone?

No.

Of course, Hong King’s body was in terrible condition. An ordinary person would have died ten times over. It was only because he was Hong King that he could still breathe even with such injuries.

But the reason Hong King couldn’t move now wasn’t because of his deep physical wounds.

The occasional glint in Kang Jin-ho’s eyes as he wailed in agony was preventing him from moving even a little.

He had already unleashed an all-out attack. But that attack was so easily crushed by Kang Jin-ho’s hand. A person can risk their life for a purpose. But the moment when one can risk their life doesn’t come every time.

‘Am I valuing my life right now?’

Hong King gritted his teeth.

He told himself that wasn’t the case several times, but nothing changed. His body still wouldn’t move.

He knew it. Even in the midst of Kang Jin-ho’s agony, killing him would be nothing. Hadn’t he already experienced it enough with his own body?

Sacrifice your life for the world?

That’s easier said than done!

Hong King deserved respect just for attempting to sacrifice himself. Who would criticize him for not being able to do something he had already done once?

Even as Hong King was fighting his inner self, Kang Jin-ho was convulsing. But that violent trembling slowly subsided. Soon, only a faint tremor remained, and Kang Jin-ho’s body floated on the sea.

With empty eyes, Kang Jin-ho looked up at the sky.

‘Damn sky…’

Kang Jin-ho chuckled softly as he looked at the sky where no stars were visible.

‘Alright… I’ll give it to you. I’ll admit that you have this body right now. But… but it won’t be long. A reality that you can never handle will come to you. The moment you hand over your body to me with your own will… you will experience the hell I have experienced. I’ll wait for that time. For that time… inside you.’

Kang Jin-ho’s body slowly sank into the sea.

Bubbles rising, white foam breaking.

In a slightly strange and somewhat fantastical scene, Kang Jin-ho’s body sank lower and lower.

And then, in an instant.

Splash!

Pushing away the seawater that covered him, Kang Jin-ho raised his body.

‘Ugh…’

Staggering and falling once, Kang Jin-ho barely managed to lift his body again, using the ground for support. Anyone watching from the side would have reached out a hand to help, seeing how difficult it was for him to perform even that one movement.

But the only person who could reach out to Kang Jin-ho didn’t. He just glared at Kang Jin-ho with a face full of all the anger in the world.

‘Why…’

Hong King’s distorted face twisted as he slowly spoke.

‘Why did you come back?’

It was as if his head had turned completely white with anger and self-loathing. Hong King couldn’t accept the reality unfolding before his eyes.

It was Kang Jin-ho.

Yes, the ‘previous’ Kang Jin-ho.

The demon who had been tearing him apart just moments ago had vanished into Kang Jin-ho. The one who was forcing himself to stand before him now was Kang Jin-ho, not the demon.

That fact made Hong King unable to bear it.

‘Why? Why did you come back! Why! Kang Jin-ho!’

Look.

Look at that state.

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t even properly lift his own body. Hong King didn’t even need to step in. Anyone here could kill Kang Jin-ho.

Kang Jin-ho, who had become like a deflated balloon, could easily have his neck cut off by even an ordinary martial artist on the street.

Hidden something?

A trump card?

Such things didn’t exist. Hong King, who was looking directly at Kang Jin-ho, knew that fact better than anyone else.

Then why?

Why had Kang Jin-ho regained his body?

If he had left his body to the demon for just a little longer, Hong King would have had his head cut off. Even if he regained his body after that, it wouldn’t have been too late. But why this timing?

The fact that he had been saved by an enemy.

And the fact that the savior was in such a pathetic state.

That reality infuriated Hong King.

Where could there be a greater humiliation than this?

‘Answer meeeeeeeeeee!’

Hong King’s shout, which seemed like it would tear his ears apart, exploded. Blood spurted like a fountain from his torn wounds due to the violent shaking, but Hong King didn’t seem to feel any pain.

‘Do you think I won’t be able to kill you? Do you think I’ll let you go because I saved you?’

Kang Jin-ho slowly raised his head.

A pale complexion.

A face with no trace of blood left.

It was a face that looked like it would soon vomit blood and die, even if Hong King didn’t lift a finger.

But what Hong King felt from that face was a completely different emotion.

‘Even in this situation…’

Kang Jin-ho must know.

That Hong King would kill him now.

Anyone with a bit of sense could think that. If they weren’t crazy, they would have no choice but to reach the same conclusion. Hong King, who had discovered the existence of the Demonic Heavenly Sovereign [a powerful demonic entity] hidden inside Kang Jin-ho, would let Kang Jin-ho go?

That was something that could never happen, even if the sky fell. For himself and for the world, Hong King had no choice but to kill Kang Jin-ho. But why was Kang Jin-ho so determined to crawl out and invite death?

Hong King was devastated by the fate that had been reversed as a result of that absurd choice.

He was Hong King.

A king should never be pitied by anyone. But now, he was being begged for his life by Kang Jin-ho. Regardless of his will.

For the first time in his life, Hong King had lost control of his fate and was forced to be swayed by the choices of others. He was broken. He was frustrated.

‘This… this is such a dog-like…’

Hong King was feeling it.

He could no longer be the ‘him’ he once was.

Even if he punched Kang Jin-ho to death in one blow right here, he could never return to the Hong King of the past. He could never again return to the one who ruled the world with his two fists and arrogantly laughed at the sky.

But what about Kang Jin-ho?

Hong King’s eyes turned bloodshot as he saw the sneer on Kang Jin-ho’s lips.

Why…

Why was he smiling?

How could this man smile even in this situation?

‘You don’t know it, but…’

Kang Jin-ho slowly opened his mouth.

Hong King couldn’t know.

Because he had never experienced death. But Kang Jin-ho had already experienced death twice.

Death is always a frightening thing.

Severance from everything. It was something that could never not be frightening, no matter how many times one experienced it. Even so…

‘Sometimes, there are things more frightening than death.’

‘…More frightening than death?’

‘Not being able to live as myself.’

Kang Jin-ho raised his body. His trembling legs subsided, and strength returned to his straightened shoulders.

This was a bluff.

Kang Jin-ho didn’t have the strength to even move a finger right now. It was just a bluff.

But why?

Why was that absurd bluff so dazzling?

Hong King trembled with an unknown emotion.

‘I am Kang Jin-ho.’

‘That’s all that matters.’

Incomprehensible words.

Incomprehensible actions.

Hong King couldn’t understand this man at all.

An unfathomable being.

How else could he describe this man?

‘…Kang Jin-ho.’

Hong King decided not to think anymore. If he couldn’t understand it, he didn’t have to.

Thud!

Hong King’s fist struck Kang Jin-ho’s chest.

Reversed positions, reversed abilities.

The current Kang Jin-ho didn’t have the strength to withstand Hong King. He couldn’t even beat a stray dog. Even if his opponent was the critically injured Hong King, he could never win.

Both Kang Jin-ho and Hong King knew that fact.

Kang Jin-ho’s body bounced off the ground. Hong King didn’t send Kang Jin-ho flying far away. He was cutting off even the slightest possibility of a variable. To kill Kang Jin-ho without fail.

‘It was a long night. I remember you. The wounds you carved into my body and the wounds you carved into my soul will never disappear. With that hatred and respect, I will end it.’

It didn’t matter whether Kang Jin-ho heard those words or not. Hong King gathered the last of his strength into his right hand.

Light.

Different from the past…

Somewhat faded.

But the power gathered in Hong King’s right hand was more than enough to end Kang Jin-ho’s life.

‘Die!’