Descent of the Demon Master

ories to drag his original name out of the deepest recesses of his mind.
The name that he hadn't used in such a long time that it now sounded so awkward to say was… “Kang Jin-Ho.”

The nurse asked once more.
“Where do you live, Mr.
Kang?”

“Sorry?”

“Your home address, sir.
Your home.”

Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor, no, Kang Jin-Ho, honestly replied with a shake of his head.
“I don’t know.”

“Mm, I see.
Do you remember how old you are?”

Kang Jin-Ho tried to recall his age while he was still in this world, which should have been…

“…I'm thirty-five.”

‘Did I remember that right? I can't recall it well, but I must be somewhere around that age, I think?’

However, it seemed that others disagreed with him.
The doctor's expression was so stiff that even a blind person would have noticed it.
He wordlessly stared at Kang Jin-Ho, before turning toward the nurse.
“Please call the department of neurosurgery.”

“Understood, Doc.”

A short while later, another doctor entered the hospital room.
The previous doctor noticed him, then the two of them briefly stepped outside.
However, both men seemed carefree as their conversation could be heard through the wall.

“What happened? Does the patient have a problem?”

“The chart says he doesn't have any issues with his brain.
However…”

“It's possible that he might be suffering a slight concussion, but we didn't discover any signs of hematoma or brain hemorrhage.”

“He's displaying signs of amnesia and delusion.”

“What do you mean?”

“He remembers his name but can't recall his address and says he's 35 years old.”

“Thirty-five?”

“Yes.”

“Well, now it’s a bit troublesome.
What's the reason, I wonder?”

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The room's door opened, and the doctors walked inside.
Kang Jin-Ho stared dumbfounded at them.
What on earth were these fellas even discussing?

“Mr.
Kang Jin-Ho?”

“Yes?”

“Can you tell me how old you are?”

Kang Jin-Ho replied cautiously, “…I'm thirty-five.”

“How about your home address?”

“I don't remember.”

“Then, what do you do for a living?”

“I don’t have a job.”

“I see.” The doctor stopped his questioning there, then performed a couple more tests.
The tests themselves were infantile, such as asking Kang Jin-Ho if he could see how many fingers the doctor was holding up, which side the sound was coming from, and if he felt any pain after his skin was pinched a little.
Without saying much, Kang Jin-Ho complied with all of their demands.

“Hmm, he isn't exhibiting any other symptoms here…” The doctor shook his head.
“Mr.
Kang Jin-Ho.
I know everything must be very confusing to you right now.
The good news is that your memory disorder should be temporary, so you don't have to worry about it.
Still, just to be on the safe side, we'd like to take another CT scan.”

Kang Jin-Ho replied, “I'm sorry?”

“I'm sure you don't have anything to worry about.
It's just for that one in a million chance, so you can rest easy, Mr.
Kang.”

“…I see.”

It was precisely at that very moment that the door was flung open, and a woman rushed inside the room.
“Jin-Ho!”

Kang Jin-Ho turned his gaze towards the woman calling out to him…
and his irises enlarged in an instant.
“Huh…?”

The woman cried out, “Jin-Ho! Jin-Ho! How, how on earth did you get into a car accident! Doc! Is, is my son alright? Please tell me, Doc!”

The doctor patiently calmed the panicking woman down.
“Ma'am, the operation was successful.
His spleen was ruptured and he broke a few ribs, but they shouldn't threaten his life or leave lingering aftereffects.
You can rest easy, ma'am.”

“Oh, thank you! Thank you so much, Doctor!”

“But the problem now is…
It seems that Mr.
Kang is suffering from a minor memory disorder…”

“I'm sorry? His memories? Did my son injure his brain?”

“Ah, no, nothing like that, ma'am.
But he seems to have suffered a concussion during the accident and is in a temporary state of confusion.
We didn't discover any abnormalities during the initial CT scan, so we think he'll make a full recovery soon enough.
However, just to be safe, we'd like to perform another CT scan later in the afternoon.”

“I see.
Thank you, Doc! Thank you so much!” The woman bowed her head several times at the doctors before quickly walking up to Kang Jin-Ho.
“How are you feeling? Does it still hurt a lot?”

“…”

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The woman asked him again, “Jin-Ho? What's wrong?”

Kang Jin-Ho stared at the woman so hard that his gaze could burrow through a solid wall.

‘Why is she here? This person, she…!’

She was someone he could never forget.
Indeed, he had never forgotten about her, not even once during his life in gangho.
But she was also someone he never expected to see ever again.

“Mo…
ther…?”

“Yes, I'm here! I told you so many times to be careful, didn't I?! Why weren't you paying attention to the road?! Why?!” His mother continued to scold him for a long while, but in the end, she wiped the corners of her teary eyes and held Kang Jin-Ho's hand tight.
“Still, I'm relieved, Jin-Ho.
It could've been worse, right?”

“But, how…?”

“Mm? What's wrong, Jin-Ho?”

Kang Jin-Ho stared at his mother in a daze before urgently diverting his gaze toward his legs.

'Aren't they…?'

His legs moved.
His legs, they…
were actually moving! Kang Jin-Ho's figure began trembling all of a sudden.

“What's the matter, Jin-Ho? Are you in pain?”

“…No, I'm fine.” Kang Jin-Ho looked back at the woman before him and calmed his trembling body.

‘Mother…’

He had believed that he would never see her again, yet here she was.
But how was that even possible? By the time he had started his previous life in gangho, his mother had already been dead for a decade and a half.
So, how could she be here right now?

“Mother…?”

“You must be really shocked right now, seeing how you're still calling me 'mother.’ You’ve never called me that before, you know?”

“…”

“For now, try to get some rest, Jin-Ho.
I'm sure it must've been a nasty shock to you.
And if something feels wrong, you can always tell me.
Okay?”

“…Yes, Mother.”

His mother made a deeply worried face while reaching for Kang Jin-Ho's head.
He flinched slightly when her hand approached him, but he didn't try to dodge it.
Her hand eventually began gently caressing his head.

Kang Jin-Ho felt the warmth through his hair and closed his eyes.

'I came back.'

He wasn't sure what happened, but he was back.
Decades after being reborn in Zhongyuan of the ancient past, Kang Jin-Ho was back—back to the present.

Not only that but…
he was back much earlier in the timeline than when he had died, too.