Descent of the Demon Master

r cult leaders.
And Kang Jin-Ho had mastered it after reaching the peak.
Meanwhile, he started off his path of cultivation with the Records of Asura in this life.
Of course, he did use the cultivation technique he had mastered before joining the cult as the foundation.
Even so, this would be his first time cultivating from the ground up with the Records of Asura.

Were his extreme shifts in emotions caused by his body being attuned to the Records of Asura, then? Or…

’I need to observe for a little longer. ’

Something like this didn ’t happen when he mastered the Crimson Flame Art first as the foundation of his cultivation.
No, wait…
He couldn ’t be a hundred percent certain about that, either.

Whether it was before or after he threw his lot with the demon cult, Kang Jin-Ho never really had a reason to suppress his emotions.
If he had to kill someone, he did exactly that.
If he had to fight, he had never held himself back.

That earned him plenty of enemies, but he still found himself on the demon cult leader ’s throne after sending all of his enemies to hell.
In that case…
Maybe he was just as impulsive in his previous life? He couldn ’t be sure.
All this was so bloody confusing.

Jo Gyu-Min glanced at Kang Jin-Ho and quietly asked, “What are you thinking about, Mister Jin-Ho?”

’

“…Nothing in particular.” Kang Jin-Ho slowly shook his head.

This wasn ’t important.
At least, not right now.
If this compulsion plagued him more often, then he might have been more worried about it.
However, if it only happened very rarely like this? Then, it could be his body ’s way of acclimatizing to the demonic cultivation, which was something he didn ’t call upon all the time.

At least, not for now—for now.

***

The next day…

Lee Hyeon-Ju ’s trembling eyes were staring at the entrance of the cafe.
Her hand was carrying a thick pile of documents.
That was all the information on the Fallen, something Kang Jin-Ho had ordered her to bring.

’Will…
will I be okay? ’

The prospect of meeting Kang Jin-Ho by herself scared her.
But…
Not fulfilling Kang Jin-Ho ’s order was even more frightening.

She couldn ’t inform the Assembly of what happened.
What if she brought it up and caused the Martial Assembly to wage an all-out war against Kang Jin-Ho? It would only be helping the Yeongnam Group in the end, no? Those bastards were figuratively chomping at the bits to devour the Assembly at every opportunity, so they would obviously jump at the chance.

’Really? Is that true? ’

However, Lee Hyeon-Ju couldn ’t help but ask herself that.
Was that really her reason? Was she really scared of the Yeongnam Group seizing the so-called chance, and that was why she didn ’t report what happened to the Assembly?

A helpless smirk formed on her face.
Because she knew deep down that it wasn ’t true…

There were plenty of ways to go about things.
She didn ’t inform the Assembly not out of fear of the Yeongnam Group but because of her grandfather, the Assembly Master.
What if he learned about this situation, got angry, and charged straight at Kang Jin-Ho?

Lee Hyeon-Ju trusted her grandfather.
She was confident that no martial artist in Korea could surpass him.
Even so, she couldn ’t overcome that one strand of doubt stinging her from the deepest part of her mind.

Could her grandfather win? Could he really triumph against Kang Jin-Ho? And even if he could win, would he be able to do that without any losses? If not, then never mind the Yeongnam Group, her grandfather would be torn to shreds until nothing was left of him by all those bloody hyenas drooling over his position in the Assembly.

That scenario had to be stopped from becoming reality no matter what.
Even if that meant she had to deal with Kang Jin-Ho by herself.
That was why even Lee Seong-Hwi, currently admitted to a hospital, also hadn’t contacted the Assembly Master.

“Right.
I have to do this…” Lee Hyeon-Ju muttered to herself to confirm her resolve.

Just as she tightly clenched her fist, Kang Jin-Ho suddenly exited the cafe even though its lights were still on.
Just seeing him made her heart freeze from fear, and Lee Hyeon-Ju had to clutch at her chest.

It felt like a flood of cold sweat was traveling down her spine.
When she thought about how it was time to have a one-to-one talk with that psycho, an impulse to turn around and run away from here suddenly reared its head.
However, she tightly bit her lower lip.

Sure, running away now wouldn ’t be hard.
But the aftermath would be far, far nightmarish than anything else she had experienced in her life.
Knowing this, she forced her trembling hand to rise up.
Kang Jin-Ho discovered her and began walking to her location.

’

Watching his expressionless face closing the distance was another form of torture for Lee Hyeon-Ju.
Even then, she forced herself to smile and wait for him.
Giving up soothing her wildly-racing heart somehow made her feel a little better about this situation.
Acknowledging her fear of Kang Jin-Ho helped her think a little clearer.

Kang Jin-Ho maintained his expressionless face as he reached her position, then leisurely greeted her.
“Hi.
Were you waiting for me?”

“…Eh?”

“Let ’s go that way.
There ’s a twenty-four-hour cafe in that direction, so I think we can talk freely over there.”

“Eh? Oh, uh…
O-okay!” Lee Hyeon-Ju failed to hide her fluster at Kang Jin-Ho ’s sudden polite attitude.

’W-what is up with this guy? ’

Where did that guy from yesterday who glared at her like an axe murderer go? Who was this Kang Jin-Ho, and why was he speaking so smoothly to her as if they were meeting for the first time on a blind date or something?! Lee Hyeon-Ju couldn ’t help but briefly wonder if yesterday ’s Kang Jin-Ho was just a product of her overactive imagination.

“Shall we get going?” Kang Jin-Ho asked.

“Ah, yes.” Lee Hyeon-Ju watched Kang Jin-Ho start walking ahead, her expression was a jumbled mess of many different thoughts.

’…A split personality disorder? ’

If she needed an explanation, that would be a somewhat apt description for Kang Jin-Ho.
This was how he behaved before he dragged her to that basement parking lot, after all.
However, how could he pretend as if nothing had happened after last night ’s event?

Only then did Lee Hyeon-Ju realize something.
She finally understood that bizarre outburst of anger Kang Jin-Ho had displayed yesterday.
It was easy to guess how exhausting it would be to hide a personality like his and try to live an ordinary life.
In that case, imagine what it would be like if strangers requiring his repressed personality to be freed for them to be dealt with suddenly intruded into his life.
It had to have been incredibly stressful.

’…Wait, what am I even thinking about here?! ’

To think that she would sympathize with Kang Jin-Ho after last night ’s events! She had to have had several of her screws loose.

’Fine, let ’s do this! ’

Lee Hyeon-Ju hardened her expression with steely resolve and energetically followed Kang Jin-Ho from behind.
He didn ’t seem to know her psychological changes as he continued to leisurely lead the way.
Soon, they found the cafe in question, stepped inside, and settled around a table located near the corner.

Kang Jin-Ho remained expressionless, while Lee Hyeon-Ju stared at him with a cold, hard face.
After staring at each other for a while, Kang Jin-Ho broke the ice first.
“Would you like something to drink?”

“…I’m sorry?”

Lee Hyeon-Ju ’s icy expression crumpled in an instant.