Descent of the Demon Master

“This, uh, doesn't make any sense...”

The doctor examining Kang Jin-Ho in disbelief, Doh Yong-Hwang, couldn't stop all the cold sweat from trickling down his forehead.

The world operated through something called 'logic'. Of course, there were instances when established logic would be challenged and broken. And people in the business of saving lives often encountered such instances.

Patients who were written off as beyond saving would make a miraculous recovery. Or, a patient who had been doing perfectly well until the day before would suddenly get worse. Such situations held the power to utterly shatter the arrogance of doctors, which was a natural byproduct of handling life and death every day.

Doh Yong-Hwan's respect and awe toward life had steadily grown over the many years he spent in the medical profession, but at this very moment... His awe seemed not quite enough for this strange situation.

'How can he be so perfectly fine?'

The doctor who oversaw the suturing three days ago was Doh Yong-Hwan. And, as luck would have it, he was also tasked with removing Kang Jin-Ho's stitches today.

That was a good thing, though, because that experience was stopping him from hurling as many insults as he could think of! As a doctor, how could he not curse the fool who dared to suture a perfectly healthy patient!

The suture on Kang Jin-Ho's stomach was Doh Yong-Hwan's handiwork. He clearly remembered it since he meticulously inspected the patient's peritoneum during the operation to ensure it hadn't been damaged.

But now...!

'This is completely unreal!'

There was not a single wound on the patient's body! No, wait. That wasn't right. There was one proof of an injury in the shape of a lengthy red line on Kang Jin-Ho's skin underneath the stitches. It looked like a cat had scratched him or something!

A person who did the suturing was here, yet the injuries requiring sutures had disappeared. How was Doh Yong-Hwan supposed to explain this situation?

Vator curiously asked. “Is there a problem, doctor?”

“N-no, sir! No problem at all!” Doh Yong-Hwan hurriedly replied while failing to disguise his astonishment.

'What the f*ck is happening here?!'

Doh Yong-Hwan was stuck in a serious dilemma of figuring out which was scarier—a man who could 'heal' fatal injuries in his gut in less than three days or a giant with a body five times larger than an adult male!

Didn't that sound like he was facing a ghost and a monster and had to decide which of the two was more terrifying?

At least the ghost-like man was keeping mum while the monster-like giant was directly 'threatening' Doh Yong-Hwan! That kind of helped with Doh Yong-Hwan's decision-making process.

“Sir! The patient has made a perfect recovery! His vitals are also stable! And everything seems fine internally as well!”

“Seems fine, you say?” Vator's brows quivered ominously. “Listen here, doctor.”

“Y-yes, sir?”

“Do you honestly think now is the time to say 'seems fine' to us?”

“...”

Vator growled unhappily. “Are all the fancy medical equipment in this hospital just for show? Aren't you supposed to perform a thorough examination and give us a confirmation? Will you take responsibility when the patient develops complications after leaving the hospital?”

“N-no, that's not what I...” Doh Yong-Hwan stuttered fearfully, more cold sweat flooding down his forehead.

'Why! Why did it have to be me?!'

Doh Yong-Hwan should've run for the hills when the hospital director summoned him and discussed the arrival of a super-duper VVIP on their premises.

Maybe it wouldn't have been too late to rip his doctor's license into pieces and retire to his home when the director said Doh Yong-Hwan was forbidden from discussing what he saw and heard while treating this VVIP.

What madness drove him to go on this reckless adventure? Doh Yong-Hwan certainly didn't need that massive payday for making 'house calls' as he was already making enough money to live a comfortable life.

To think the price for losing to his curiosity for a moment would be this costly!

“That's enough,” said the man covered in centipedes... No, the patient basically covered in countless stitches. His deep frown was enough for the giant to sheepishly cough and back away while zipping his lips sealed. The young man glanced back at the doctor. “Please continue, doctor.”

“Y-yes, sir! Of course I will!”

Doh Yong-Hwan hurriedly manipulated the forceps to cut open the stitches, his hands moving at the speed of lightning! He could confidently call himself a top expert after overseeing countless surgical operations in his career, but even then...! He was sure he had never used forceps this delicately and speedily before.

“W-we're finished, sir,” said Doh Yong-Hwan while wiping the streaming sweat off his forehead. He dumped the large pile of removed stitches into a waste basket, then stuttered out some medical advice. “W-well, originally... I'm supposed to tell you to refrain from vigorous activities since your wounds can open up again. But... Uh... Mm... In this situation…”

Doh Yong-Hwan's complexion got paler, and his hands became clammier.

“Well, uh... I guess it'll be fine?”

“Doctor!” Vator yelled unhappily again.

The truth was, though, he wasn't trying to yell. It was just that Vator's voice was naturally thunderous. That shouldn't come as a surprise, considering his lungs were several times larger than an average person's.

“Hiiiieeek?!” Doh Yong-Hwan grandly flinched.

“Give us a straight answer! And do so with more conviction, too!” Vator continued to yell. “If a doctor like you can't be sure, how can the patients confidently walk out of here!”

“N-no, hang on a minute...”

Doh Yong-Hwan wanted to break down and cry right now.

It wasn't as if doctors received oracles from the heavens above, so why! All of Doh Yong-Hwan's medical knowledge came from books and his own clinical experiences. If responding to unprecedented medical cases was easy, why would doctors need to go through such harsh training in the first place?!

“I, uh, we could've given you a more clear-cut prognosis if we were dealing with a regular medical situation, but this is rather unprecedented, and so...”

“So? You have no idea?” Vator grunted loudly again.

“W-well, uh...”

That was when Kang Jin-Ho frowned deeply again at Vator and tutted softly. “Tsk...”

Vator quickly turned his head away, his expression sheepish.

Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow. “What are you so unhappy about?”

“I'm not unhappy, master.”

“Really? You look unhappy about something, though?”

“I'm not unhappy.”

Despite his curt protests, Vator was restlessly rubbing and squeezing his hands. And his legs were nervously shaking and trembling so much that the bed Kang Jin-Ho was sitting on seemed to vibrate to match the tremor!

Kang Jin-Ho sighed. “Why don't you go outside and get some fresh air?”

Vator perked up a little. “Can I?”

“...Yeah, you can.”

Vator jumped up to his feet as soon as Kang Jin-Ho gave his permission. Doh Yong-Hwan went agog when Vator's head nearly touched the room's ceiling.

“Urgh...!” Vator suddenly grunted before plopping down on the floor again.

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. “What is it this time?”

“Well, it's because I'm not an idiot who can't tell the right time and place.”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled softly. It seemed Vator didn't feel comfortable inside a hospital judging from how jittery he was. His usual relaxed demeanor was nowhere to be seen.

Doh Yong-Hwan wiped his sweat off again while addressing Kang Jin-Ho. “Sir, we've scheduled additional tests for later in the afternoon.”

Kang Jin-Ho frowned. “Really? Doesn't feel like I’ll need them, though? When can I get discharged, doc…”

Before Kang Jin-Ho could finish his question, though, a chorus of disapproval stopped him in his tracks.

“Assembly Master, no.”

“You need to receive those tests, my lord.”

“Yes, get those tests, master!”

Kang Jin-Ho clamped his mouth shut and turned his head to stare at the trio. Lee Hyeon-Su, Wiggins, and even Vator were glaring at him with burning eyes.

“Assembly Master, it's for that one in a million chance.”

“Yes. No one can predict the future, after all, my lord.”

“Master, don't forget that you are not an immortal.”

Kang Jin-Ho powerlessly nodded away. Even though he was nominally the dictator of the Martial Assembly, how was he supposed to say no when the second-, third-, and fourth-in-command all said the same thing?

“Then... I'll stay until the afternoon's test,” said Kang Jin-Ho in defeat.

Others nodded in unison while making content expressions.

Doh Yong-Hwan hurriedly got up to leave. “Then, I'll see you later in the afternoon.”

Before he could quickly escape, however...!

“Wait, doctor,” Vator called out to the poor doctor.

“Y-yes, sir?”

Vator smiled brightly. “You are my master's attending physician, right?”

“...I'm sorry?” Doh Yong-Hwan blinked his eyes.

An attending physician...?

In a dictionary, an attending physician, or the 'primary care physician', was defined as a person responsible for all the medical services offered to a patient and also the person in charge of the patient's medical team. An attending physician would also take on the role of a counselor if necessary. And ultimately decide on the course of treatment in the end, too.

However, Doh Yong-Hwan had a sneaking suspicion that when this intimidatingly huge man was talking about an attending physician, he actually meant the 'person in charge'.

Doh Yong-Hwan fake-coughed to clear his throat. “T-technically speaking, I'm not...”

“No need to beat around the bush, doctor. Let's all agree that you are the attending physician and save us the trouble.”

“N-no, wait, sir! I can't unilaterally decide on something like that.”

“Really? In that case, it's fine if I decide that, right?” Vator slyly smirked.

The words 'No, it’s not!' nearly jumped out of Doh Yong-Hwan's throat. Although, if he had the balls to say that out loud in this situation, he wouldn't have become a doctor. No, he would've devoted his entire being to extreme sports instead!

“So, give it to me.”

Doh Yong-Hwan faltered. “W-what do you mean, sir...?”

“Your business card, obviously.”

“...”

Vator's smile deepened. “We will be in your care, doctor.”

***

A short while later...

After the soulless Doh Yong-Hwan shuffled out of the room while mumbling something, Kang Jin-Ho frowned deeply at Vator.

“Didn't I tell you to stop bullying non-martial artists?”

“I wasn't bullying anyone, master. Everyone should hold professional pride in what they do. Besides...” Vator grinned strangely as he spoke. “You should lecture the guy who went to the hospital director's office not too long ago and threatened the poor man with the utter destruction of this place if you suffer from any lingering side effects.”

Kang Jin-Ho's head slowly turned to his side. Lee Hyeon-Su awkwardly coughed and looked away after his boss's probing gaze locked on him.

'...How did I end up here?'

Kang Jin-Ho involuntarily looked up at the ceiling. The injuries to his neck made that simple enough movement a bit too stiff for his liking, but such a thing wasn't important right now.

He didn't think he had surrounded himself with people boasting such weird personalities, so how...? From a certain moment on, it felt like everyone around him stopped being 'normal'. Even Lee Hyeon-Su didn't behave this way in the past, so what was going on here?

“Mm…” Wiggins tried to shift the conversation in a more productive direction. Thank goodness he was comparatively more sane-minded among every insane person here! “I'm not sure how to evaluate our current situation. Such serious injuries should horrify everyone, but considering who our enemy was... We sure got lucky this time, didn't we?”

Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded to express his agreement.

'The... Crimson King!'

Even Kang Jin-Ho had to agree that the Crimson King was a monster.

Walking away with only this level of injuries should be considered a blessing. This outcome was pretty much the best anyone could hope for, a fluke that would likely never happen again.

That didn't mean they should throw a wild celebration, though.

This event starkly reminded everyone of the massive gap between the Crimson King's faction and the Korean Martial Assembly. A small number of people thinking on their feet produced a favorable result in the end, but the truth was... All they did was barely extricate themselves from China while giving up their arms and legs.

In future clashes, the Crimson King's faction would no doubt make all sorts of additional preparations. In other words, Kang Jin-Ho shouldn't expect another miracle like this time.

Wiggins nodded contemplatively. “Still... We did acquire some valuable things. We can look forward to that, at least.”

“However, to feel relieved by that, we…” Kang Jin-Ho quietly sighed, his gaze shifting toward Wiggins' right arm. He furrowed his brow at how Wiggins' empty sleeve flapped around. “...We've lost too much to celebrate.”

“It's not like we've lost everything, my lord,” said Wiggins while rubbing his shoulder. “It'll get a bit inconvenient, yes, but... I still believe we got lucky. Besides, I believe you will reward me far more handsomely than what I had to sacrifice.”

“Yes, I must,” Kang Jin-Ho replied in a somber tone. “That I must...”

The atmosphere quickly became just as somber. Wiggins tried to lift the mood by clapping his hand, only to realize he didn't have an arm. When he awkwardly lowered his still-intact arm, Vator took over the role and clapped his pot lid-sized hands.

SLAP!

Wiggins smiled and nodded at the big man before addressing everyone in the room. “Yes, it's unfortunate we had to lose some things. But I believe we shouldn't get too hung up over our losses. No, we should focus on the positives. My lord, the people you've brought from China will greatly improve our forces.”

Kang Jin-Ho shifted his gaze to Lee Hyeon-Su. “Where are...”

That was when...!

SLAM!

The door was shoved violently open.

Kang Jin-Ho oh-so-badly wanted to beg the rude visitor to remember the concept of knocking first before entering a room.

The visitor in question, the white-haired Chang Min, rushed toward Kang Jin-Ho as tears flooded down his cheeks.

“My liiiiiiiiieeeeeege!”

Kang Jin-Ho hurriedly pushed Chang Min's face away before the latter could get too close. Goosebumps of revolt broke out on his skin after the moist sensation registered in his palm.

“Ohhh! My liege! Your...! Your noble figure was injured! Because of us! Please punish this incompetent servant! Please kill me! Oh, my liege!”

Nurses passing by sneaked curious gazes inside the room as Chang Min proceeded to raise one hell of an unholy fuss. Grins best described as 'awkward' were plastered on their faces.

Kang Jin-Ho silently turned his head away and looked outside the window.

'...Maybe I should've stayed unconscious.'

This was... bloody embarrassing. So much so that Kang Jin-Ho thought about jumping out the window to kill himself!

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