Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 903

‘But why am I here?’ Nobuo slowly became aware of his surroundings. He was on a ship belonging to the Assembly, and it was filled with Assembly warriors.

‘Who said the Korean warriors were weak?’

The explanations he’d heard before the expedition, the stories he knew about Korean warriors, were all lies. Or perhaps, those who spoke of them didn’t know the truth about Korea.

Because among the warriors Nobuo could see now, not a single one seemed easy to deal with.

‘It definitely wasn’t like this before.’

Nobuo was quite knowledgeable about Korea. He knew the level of the Assembly well. He had interacted with Assembly warriors since he was young.

But the people he saw now were completely different from the Assembly warriors he knew. Putting aside their martial prowess, their very nature was different.

‘I can’t breathe.’

The air was thick and acrid. He felt like he understood what it meant to have a killing intent that could cut flesh. The energy emanating from his surroundings was pressing down on him.

The problem was that these energies didn’t seem to be intentionally directed at him.

Look at them now.

Among the people on the ship, no one was paying him any attention. Even Wiggins and Kang Jin-ho, who had brought him here, had lost interest in him the moment they boarded the ship.

So, the others didn’t pay him any attention either. Some were slightly curious about the unfamiliar face, but they quickly returned to their usual expressions, as if they understood. It seemed that the fact that Kang Jin-ho and Wiggins had brought him was a more solid guarantee than anything else to them.

‘Even so, isn’t this too much of a hands-off approach?’

He was suffocating from the killing intent. What were these guys that they exuded such killing intent even in their daily lives? He had never heard of such people existing in the Assembly.

“Mr. Nobuo?”

At that moment, a voice calling him came from behind. Nobuo was startled and turned his head. Just being able to hear fluent Japanese was enough to surprise him.

“Yes? Yes!”

“Ah, you can speak Korean.”

“Y-yes, I can.”

Nobuo blinked as he looked at the man approaching him. He felt very out of place. And that sense of incongruity surprised Nobuo even more. If this were anywhere else, this person would seem normal, and the others would seem strange.

But just like how a person with two eyes would be treated strangely in a place where people with three eyes lived, seeing someone who looked normal among these people made him feel an even greater sense of alienation.

“I’m Lee Hyun-soo. I’m the head of the Management and Administration Office of the Korean Martial Arts Assembly.”

“Ah… I’m Nobuo Takeshi.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Lee Hyun-soo smiled and continued. “You must be flustered, but don’t worry.”

“Ah…”

“It’s just that the atmosphere those guys give off is so filthy, but they’re actually nothing special.”

Nobuo closed his mouth.

‘Is he trying to die?’

In his eyes, Lee Hyun-soo was definitely not strong. The strength of a warrior isn’t determined solely by their appearance or the aura they give off, but you can roughly guess, can’t you?

But Lee Hyun-soo didn’t give off any aura of a strong person at all. And yet, he was openly making remarks that disregarded those terrifying people.

As expected, no sooner had he finished speaking than sharp glares were shot from all directions.

Then, as if sensing those glares, Lee Hyun-soo raised his head.

“What?”

When Lee Hyun-soo glared, the sharp glares quickly softened.

“…Nothing.”

“Did we take away your mouth or nose?”

“The chief is right.”

Murmuring comments followed, and everyone subtly turned their heads. It was only after seeing that scene that Nobuo was able to grasp the situation.

‘This guy is crazy.’

It wasn’t that the people around him were nothing special, but that the guy he was talking to, Lee Hyun-soo, was definitely not ordinary. A sense of tension washed over him, the feeling that he might have his head chopped off at any moment if he made a mistake.

“See? They’re nothing special. So don’t worry… You seem even more tense?”

“Ah, no, I’m not.”

Lee Hyun-soo narrowed his brow slightly. Then, he gave a warm smile.

“There’s no need to be so tense. Mr. Nobuo is a benefactor of the Assembly.”

“A benefactor?”

“Yes, a benefactor. Thanks to Mr. Nobuo, we were able to reduce casualties. Everyone here wouldn’t be out of place if they were bowing their heads to the ground.”

Lee Hyun-soo subtly gestured towards the three people at the bow of the ship.

“Of course, not those guys.”

Nobuo’s gaze turned to the three people at the bow of the ship. Bator’s massive physique captured his attention first, but Nobuo’s gaze ultimately lingered on Kang Jin-ho.

‘His build is rather small?’

From the back, he didn’t seem to possess great power. But to Nobuo, who had seen him use his martial arts with his own eyes, Kang Jin-ho seemed even bigger than Bator.

“I didn’t do anything that great…”

“Mr. Nobuo.”

Lee Hyun-soo grinned.

“The evaluation of a person’s actions is not done by themselves. It’s done by others who have witnessed it. And it’s done by those who have benefited from it. From the perspective of those who have benefited, what Mr. Nobuo did was valuable enough, and heroic.”

“I, I…”

Nobuo waved his hand.

“I didn’t do anything that great. I didn’t do it with that intention either. It was rather pathetic…”

“No.”

Lee Hyun-soo shook his head firmly.

“When evaluating what someone has done, their intention is not very important. We only need to look at the result.”

“No…”

“A person’s intention is something that others cannot know. Who knows what someone’s intention is when they do something? Even what they say themselves could be a lie. So, we simply evaluate what Mr. Nobuo has done as it is.”

Lee Hyun-soo bowed his head towards Nobuo. At that sight, Nobuo was startled and waved his hand.

“Please don’t do that.”

“I’m not in a position to represent the Assembly, but as the head of the Assembly, I thank you. Thanks to Mr. Nobuo, countless lives were saved.”

It wasn’t just empty words. If Nobuo’s information hadn’t arrived first, they would have had no choice but to meet them at the coast, no matter how quickly they reacted. In the worst-case scenario, they might have only grasped the situation after they had landed.

Then the front line would widen. If the front line widened, the areas that Kang Jin-ho and the directors could cover would be limited. Those deployed to other areas would have no choice but to be sacrificed. Because the difference in individual strength was still clear.

Nobuo had truly saved the lives of countless people.

“My job ends here. It seems like you need to discuss it with the Assembly Lord now.”

“Yes?”

“This way.”

Lee Hyun-soo led Nobuo towards the bow of the ship. Nobuo flinched but had no choice but to follow Lee Hyun-soo.

‘I really don’t want to go.’

Who would welcome having to talk to those Kang Jin-hos? If they had just met today… No, they did meet for the first time today, but there was too much he had seen to resolve it with such a simple statement. Those people were the kind of people who made Nobuo, who had lived in the harsh martial world, look like an innocent kindergartener.

Nobuo reluctantly moved forward, feeling awkward at the hand of Lee Hyun-soo pulling him along.

“Ahem.”

Lee Hyun-soo, who had approached Kang Jin-ho, cleared his throat. Three pairs of eyes, each with a different glint, turned towards them.

Hiccup.

Nobuo, who met those gazes, twitched slightly.

“Assembly Lord, this is Mr. Nobuo.”

“Oh.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded. Then, he stared intently at Nobuo.

“…Ah, hello?”

It didn’t seem like the right thing to say in this situation, but Nobuo couldn’t bring himself to remain silent while facing that gaze.

“Is your injury alright?”

“Yes? Ah… Ah! Yes!”

Nobuo answered in a stiff posture. Surprisingly, the voice that came was gentle. The voice he had heard on the ship felt like it belonged to a different person.

“Wiggins.”

“Yes, Lord.”

“Is the treatment sufficient? It seems there’s a problem with his dantian [an energy center in the body in traditional Chinese medicine].”

“I’ve done the emergency treatment. Even if he receives treatment over time, I’ve taken care of it so that there won’t be any lasting aftereffects.”

“Does that mean he can learn martial arts again?”

“Of course, Lord.”

“Good.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded calmly. And Nobuo’s heart was pounding as he heard those words.

‘He can learn martial arts again?’

That was an absurd story. A person whose dantian was broken could never build up internal energy again. This was common sense and a truth in the martial world. If someone else had said this, Nobuo would have immediately cursed them out for lying.

But he couldn’t do that to them. It wasn’t because they were strong, but because, no matter how he thought about it, none of the things they had done were within the realm of common sense. They were the kind of people who jumped onto the expedition’s ship and smashed it to pieces, so what was the point of considering common sense?

Restoring Nobuo’s dantian might be nothing to them.

“That’s good. I was feeling heavy-hearted.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded. Then, he opened his mouth, looking at Nobuo.

“You’re called Nobuo, right?”

“Yes, that’s right!”

“You did well.”

Nobuo bit his lip. It was a simple statement without any flowery words, but it shook Nobuo’s heart. No matter how he looked at it, Kang Jin-ho wasn’t the kind of person to make empty promises. And that person was now acknowledging Nobuo.

“If you’ve done a good deed, you should receive a reward. Tell me what you want. I’ll give you whatever you want.”

At Kang Jin-ho’s words, Nobuo glanced slightly at Lee Hyun-soo. Then, Lee Hyun-soo smiled and helped Nobuo.

“It’s exactly as he said. Just tell us what you want. If you want a huge amount of wealth, we’ll help you as much as we can, and if you want a position, we’ll give you a position. If you want to live as a member of the Assembly from now on, I will also help you with all my heart.”

And Lee Hyun-soo shrugged his shoulders.

“You can also return to Japan.”

“Yes?”

Nobuo’s eyes widened at the completely unexpected words.

“I’m in a position where I can’t return to Japan anymore, am I not?”

“That’s the common sense, but it’s not necessarily the case. We can give you a new identity and a new life. Of course, there will be a slightly troublesome process of changing your face.”

Lee Hyun-soo smiled and continued.

“The martial world isn’t as meticulous as you might think. If you want to hide your identity and live, we can help you as much as you need.”

At Lee Hyun-soo’s words, Nobuo’s eyes wavered.