Descent of the Demon Master

he end result.
The powder keg, kept docile with the facade of ’for the country and her citizens! ’ would ignite and blow up in no time at all.
This was why the facade…
the ’pretext ’ was so important.

The conflict between the Yeongnam Group and the Korean Martial Assembly was all about benefits and vested interests.
Everyone already knew that.
Even so, both sides still had to put on a facade that said, “We ’re doing this to prepare against foreign influences and to carry on the legacy of this country ’s martial path!”

And to maintain this facade, one needed at least some kind of a mechanism in place—such as, not doing anything ’dirty ’ where others could see.
And then, having an escape path ready; a pawn to shift the blame, and to wash away your guilt clean.

The Fallen was that escape path for the Yeongnam Group ’s chairman, Kim Seok-Il.
That crazy bastard was a useful pawn who could deal with a situation in silence and without witnesses.
However, if he got exposed somehow, the Yeongnam Group could always discard him and deny any knowledge of him.
A wonderful pawn, indeed.
However…

Lee Hyeon-Su stopped glaring at the staircase and finally began walking down into the basement.
The darkness here was especially thick, as if the air was stained by black ink.
It was so dark, in fact, that the trained eyes of Lee Hyeon-Su still had issues deciphering his surroundings properly.
And then…
the nose-stinging stench wafting in the air…!

That was the smell of blood—not the fresh kind but blood that had long dried up and was already half rotten.
The combination of countless different disgusting stenches was beyond Lee Hyeon-Su ’s limited vocabulary to express in words.

Lee Hyeon-Su covered his nose as he continued to descend the stairs.
He eventually reached the bottom, then quietly raised his voice.
“Fallen.”

There was no reply.
However, Lee Hyeon-Su didn ’t lose his patience and simply repeated himself.
“Fallen!”

“…I can hear you.” The eerie reply came from behind Lee Hyeon-Su.

’Since when?! ’

Behind Lee Hyeon-Su was the staircase, so when did the Fallen find the chance to stand there? Even though Lee Hyeon-Su didn ’t sense any presence whatsoever…

Within the mixture of the disgusting stench was the thick smell of blood.

’

’You son of a b*tch…! ’ 

Lee Hyeon-Su quietly gritted his teeth.

This bastard nicknamed the Fallen might be a useful pawn, but the fact that such an individual was being used seemed to be pointing out how rotten to the core the Yeongnam Group had become.
However, Lee Hyeon-Su couldn ’t blame anyone else here.
He was also guilty, after all.
“The Chairman is looking for you.
You have a new job.”

“The… The Chairman? Chairman?”

“…You insane fool!”

When Lee Hyeon-Su muttered that out, a hot and sticky breath tickled the back of his ear.
“Oh? You think I ’m insane?”

“…!”

“Huh.
Maybe you ’re right, and I ’m insane.
I can see how white your throat is.
It ’s so white, eh? Mm? I don ’t know why I ’m keeping you alive here.
I wanna rip that throat of yours apart.
What kind of a sound would it make if I do that? So…
What were you saying earlier?”

Lee Hyeon-Su quietly groaned.

The Fallen ’s real identity was a man who had lost his humanity after demonic energy had corrupted him to his soul.
The Yeongnam Group protected him from the pursuit of other factions, and as payment, he was made to perform certain tasks too dirty for others to carry out.

’Looks like his madness has gotten worse… ’ 

Lee Hyeon-Su grimaced.
It was possible to converse to some degree with the Fallen not too long ago, but now…

“The Chairman said you must not harm me.”

“The Chairman? Who?”

“Kim Seok-Il.”

That name invited a bout of silence in the dark basement before the Fallen broke it.
“Right, right.
Kim Seok-Il.
That ’s right.
So, what ’s the job?”

“There ’s a man you need to kill.”

“Huh? But I always kill people?”

’…You stinking bastard! ’

’

Lee Hyeon-Su shuddered in disgust.
The fact that he had to talk to this less-than-human creature was making him sick to his stomach.
Instead of wasting his time shooting the breeze, he decided to get right to the point and leave.

Paht!

Lee Hyeon-Su tossed a pile of documents on the floor.
“The target ’s name is Kang Jin-Ho.
A brat who ’s not even thirty.
Make it as silent as possible since he ’s being observed.”

A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled.

Shuffle, shuffle…

Lee Hyeon-Su didn ’t even bother to hide the disgust written on his face while mouthing a cigarette.
The occasion and situation were supposed to be responsible for the overall atmosphere.
And this basement had to be the only place in the entire world where the sound of papers rustling about came across as stomach-churning.

“…A brat?” The Fallen ’s cackling voice rang out in the darkness.
“I guess you ’re scared of nothing in this world since you can call this guy a brat.
I wish I were as brazen as you.
Just looking at his photo alone is making me so scared I can ’t even stand still! Yet you called him a brat! Kekekeke.”

Lee Hyeon-Su ’s expression hardened in that instant.
The Fallen was a demonic art practitioner.
He was also a nut case and a blood-stained butcher of fellow humans.
Despite possessing all these horrendous qualities, the Yeongnam Group chose not to dispose of the Fallen simply because his abilities were unquestionably top-tier.

Yet, someone like that was whining away about a target? This had never happened before.
Could it be that only a lunatic was capable of spotting something in the target?

“What are you saying? You don ’t want to do this job?” Lee Hyeon-Su asked in uncertainty.

“Don ’t wanna?” The Fallen tilted his head.
“Why don ’t I wanna? If I say I don ’t wanna, I don ’t have to? Not do it? Me not doing it? Not doing something he ordered me? Not gonna do it.
Can I not do it?”

He continued to mumble and cackle to himself as blood vessels began to bulge in his eyes.

“I ’ll sink my teeth into his neck and shove my hand inside his tummy.
Hey, have you seen the face a person makes as their throat and intestines are ripped out at the same time? I wonder, what kind of an expression will this bastard with this face make? Ah? What will his expressionless face change to? Aren ’t you curious? Curious?”

“…Finish the job as soon as possible,” Lee Hyeon-Su curtly said.
He then turned around and headed back up the staircase.
He didn ’t want to stay here any longer than necessary after his eyes had finally adjusted to the darkness and spotted several objects wrapped up in large plastic bags by the basement ’s corner.
He didn ’t want to know what they were, nor he wanted to guess.

’I ’m beginning to pity that Kang Jin-Ho kid… ’

Anyone about to come face-to-face with that lunatic deserved some sympathy.
Lee Hyeon-Su had never met Kang Jin-Ho before, but he still prayed that the young man would die swiftly and painlessly.

That…
was the only thing Lee Hyeon-Su could do for Kang Jin-Ho.