Descent of the Demon Master

e finally understood why Lee Hyeon-Su was so adamant back then.

~

“Do not let your guard down.
Even the Fallen lost to him.
He ’s a monster beyond your imagination.”

~ 

Oh, how Yi Jae-Seok inwardly mocked that sentiment.
He mocked, and then mocked some more, thinking that even Lee Hyeon-Su was no one special.

But now, Yi Jae-Seok realized the mockery should have been directed at himself rather than at Lee Hyeon-Su.
Not underestimating one ’s opponent, regardless of who they were, was a basic mindset every martial artist should have.
However, Yi Jae-Seok had looked down on his opponent, even though he still hadn’t laid his eyes on the brat.
He thought this task would be a cinch, but now, he was about to get his just desserts.

This situation was reminiscent of entering a small cave to hunt a fox, only to run into a huge tiger.

Yi Jae-Seok desperately tried to stop his hands from trembling, but a low whisper dug into his ears first.

“Stop trembling.”

That voice sounded like an adult trying to pacify a child.
There was no hint of mockery, only the gentleness of someone genuinely worried about others.

“The results will still be the same whether you ’re scared or not, so why tremble? Trembling pitifully won ’t change anything.”

How strange.
Yi Jae-Seok felt himself settle down the moment he heard those words.

Those words, they were…
right.
Yi Jae-Seok and his colleagues had crossed a line they shouldn ’t have when they dared to kidnap Kang Eun-Yeong to lure Kang Jin-Ho here.
The only result would be one of the two opposing sides present today ceasing to exist.

In that case, why was Yi Jae-Seok trembling like an idiot? What would change by shivering like a wreck?

’

’…It ’s either we kill him first, or we die trying! ’

Accepting that reality suddenly broadened Yi Jae-Seok ’s field of view for some reason.

“If I ’m being honest, I always thought saying this would make me look like an utter loser, but…” Yi Jae-Seok grunted loudly, prompting his colleagues to pay attention to him.
“…That f*cker? I don ’t think he ’s a pushover, fellas.”

His colleagues slowly nodded in agreement.
It seemed they held largely the same sentiment as Yi Jae-Seok.
These men had been sharing banters and cackling away at their own jokes just a few minutes ago.
But now, their expressions under the balaclavas were stiff as they glared at Kang Jin-Ho with their fists tightly clenched.

“Yup, Chairman Kim and Lee Hyeon-Su wouldn ’t have given us an easy task.
You know what, though? I think those two also have no clue who the hell that brat is, so one slip-up here, and all of us might—”

…Die.

Yi Jae-Seok didn ’t say the last bit out loud.
However, everyone here knew what he had chosen to omit.
It was rather funny and unbelievable that he could predict their likely fate solely based on the vibe their opponent oozed, but no one was laughing at Yi Jae-Seok.

“Are you guys done getting ready?” Kang Jin-Ho asked gleefully.
Joy could oh-so-clearly be seen from his expression and tone of voice.
The smile on his face hinted at how much he was enjoying this situation to the point of going mad, but that fact was tightening around Yi Jae-Seok ’s throat like a noose.

’This guy is a bona fide psychopath! ’

Kang Jin-Ho leisurely opened his mouth.
“Well, then…”

A short bout of silence ensued.
Everyone waited for Kang Jin-Ho ’s next words with bated breaths.
All he did was build up some anticipation, yet everyone in the factory had no choice but to pay him undivided attention.

“Who should I start with?”

Yi Jae-Seok chuckled hollowly.
If there was an award for the most fitting utterance in this kind of situation, what Kang Jin-Ho said would walk away as the overall winner.
Not only did he announce the commencement of the hostilities, but he also managed to shrink the hearts of his opponents with sheer terror!

“You son of a b*tch!” Someone behind Yi Jae-Seok cried out before jumping out of the group.

It was unknown whether Kang Jin-Ho ’s words had angered him or he couldn ’t withstand the sheer pressure anymore.
However, one thing was for certain—Yi Jae-Seok could no longer stop that man.

No, it would be more correct to say that he didn ’t want to stop that man.
Because Yi Jae-Seok was curious—he was curious about just how strong Kang Jin-Ho really was.

Was he as strong as the pressure he emitted suggested? Was he strong enough to instantly kill Yi Jae-Seok and his colleagues? He wanted to see it.
He wanted to witness the truth with his own two eyes!

’

And the result far, far exceeded anything Yi Jae-Seok could imagine, and in various ways as well.

Kang Jin-Ho smiled while staring at the one charging straight at him.
His white teeth were bared in full.
That smile contained no other emotion than pure, unadulterated joy.
At least, that was what it looked like to Yi Jae-Seok.

Kang Jin-Ho ’s right hand rose up to greet the one charging straight at him.
The speed of that hand was slow, incredibly slow.
It was so slow that, in fact, he would have trouble trying to catch a mosquito buzzing around nearby.
It was slow, even by normal people ’s standards, too.
However, that languid, relaxed movement made all of Kang Jin-Ho ’s posturing until now seem like a well-acted bluff, yet it still produced a truly bizarre result.

The balaclava-wearing martial artist charging forward inexplicably shoved his own throat into Kang Jin-Ho ’s grip as if he had been hypnotized.
And Yi Jae-Seok was so shocked that his heart nearly leaped out of his mouth.

How…! How could such a thing even be possible?!

That balaclava-wearing man was definitely a martial artist.
In other words, he wasn’t an ordinary, powerless person.
Moreover, even an ordinary person wouldn ’t ’entrust ’ their neck to a hand moving that slowly, so how could a martial artist…

Unfortunately, Yi Jae-Seok failed to finish his train of thought.
Actually, it would be more correct to say that he couldn ’t finish it anymore.

Riiiiip-crunch!

It was such a bizarre noise.
It sounded like something was being torn apart while also being pulled out.
However, the noise alone wouldn ’t qualify as bizarre unless the thing producing that noise happened to be a person ’s neck.
Now that would be a serious problem.

Yi Jae-Seok finally witnessed it.

Splaaaaash!

The bizarre noise instantly changed.
Now, it resembled someone forcibly plugging up water wildly gushing out of a tap.
In a way, such noise shouldn ’t be anything remarkable.
But the story would drastically change if that noise were a result of blood exploding from a person ’s neck.

Just like that, a storm of blood whipped inside the factory.
The balaclava-wearing martial artist charged in only to have his head completely ripped off, causing his blood to gush up into the air like a fountain.

Plop…

Drop…

The two noises of a headless body and a human head falling to the ground echoed simultaneously.
And the devil standing in the center of this scarcely-believable spectacle with its figure soaked in crimson blood slowly opened his mouth.

“Next.”