Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 144

A black hand.

A hand made of something dark and swirling, something unidentifiable, was reaching for his neck.

Noh Soo-bong had seen that hand before.

To be precise, he had seen the mark of that hand, not the hand itself.

Long fingernails. But the handprint was too large to be a woman’s.

Noh Soo-bong now knew who the owner of that handprint on Kim Hak-cheol’s neck was.

Ziiik.

The tip of the shadow’s outstretched hand grazed Noh Soo-bong’s cheek.

A sharp pain surged at the edge of his cheek, and he felt something hot flowing down his face.

The shadow lifted its hand, and a drop of dark red blood, clinging to the black fingertip, fell to the floor.

‘Humans are such amusing creatures.’

‘They speak so easily of hell, even though they’ve never seen it.’

The shadow’s lips moved subtly.

Noh Soo-bong could accurately understand the emotion visible in those lips.

It was mockery.

He was always the one doing the mocking, never the one being mocked. The mockery and ridicule from others stung his pride.

Unable to suppress the surge of hot emotion rising from his chest, Noh Soo-bong shouted at the top of his lungs.

‘Are you trying to play the hero of justice! Do you think you can act like a hero with that appearance! Don’t make me laugh! If I’m a criminal, then you’re a criminal too, and if I’ve done wrong, then you’re doing wrong too!’

In that instant, the shadow’s face flickered.

Noh Soo-bong took it as a sign of agitation.

‘The ends cannot justify the means. You might think you’re doing the right thing, but far from it! You almost drove a person to death. No, they might even die. So, the fact that you’re a murderer doesn’t change. I don’t think you’re unaware of how absurd the term ‘righteous murderer’ is, are you?’

Noh Soo-bong shouted as if spitting out blood.

If this being in front of him was trying to corner him because of what happened to Joo Young-gi, then it must be based on a sense of justice. If so, he had to shake that foundation.

But that was just Noh Soo-bong’s delusion.

‘A sense of justice?’

A low laugh.

A low, heavy laugh, as if the body, not the throat, was laughing.

The corners of the shadow’s mouth curled up.

‘Do you think what I’m doing right now is out of a sense of justice, or retribution… or something like that?’

‘It’s not?’

‘Hehehehehe.’

The shadow’s laughter was ominous.

‘You say amusing things.’

The shadow suddenly reached out and grabbed Noh Soo-bong’s neck.

‘Kkeuek…’

He instantly felt suffocated. The shadow grabbed Noh Soo-bong’s neck and pulled him towards its face.

Red eyes.

Eyes so red that even the pupils were invisible seemed to crush Noh Soo-bong’s soul.

The shadow stared at his eyes for a moment, then pulled Noh Soo-bong closer and whispered softly in his ear.

‘You seem to be mistaken about something…’

The shadow’s voice was incredibly ominous and eerie, like a demon licking its lips.

‘This is just a simple venting of anger.’

‘Kkeu, kkeueuk…’

The shadow’s eyes widened.

‘No matter what you’ve done, no matter what kind of human you are, it has nothing to do with me. If you search the world, you’ll find countless people far more evil than you.’

‘Kkeueup…’

‘Do you know what the difference is between them and you?’

Noh Soo-bong didn’t answer. No, he couldn’t answer.

His throat was constricted, and he couldn’t breathe. A terrible pain, as if his lungs were burning and his insides were twisting, dominated him.

Three seconds.

It only takes three seconds to cut off a person’s consciousness by constricting the carotid artery. [The main artery in the neck that supplies blood to the brain.]

But this devilish being was constricting his neck without ever touching the carotid artery.

He had to endure the pain fully with his brain alive and clear.

‘Do you know?’

Noh Soo-bong stared at the shadow with bloodshot eyes.

The shadow enjoyed that gaze and opened its mouth softly.

‘You just happened to meet me.’

‘Kkeu…’

A chuckling laugh could be heard.

The shadow was laughing as if it couldn’t help but find this situation amusing.

And that was incredibly chilling.

‘It’s different.’

This guy is different.

This guy is truly a devil that has sprung from hell.

No logic, no prediction works.

To Noh Soo-bong, who had always enjoyed a life of being superior to others with his social power and wealth, the shadow in front of him was like an unknown creature.

‘Was it fun?’

Noh Soo-bong couldn’t understand what the shadow was saying.

‘I’m asking if it was fun,’ the shadow growled lowly.

‘When you caught other people and played with them like toys, was it fun? Otherwise, I can’t understand why you would waste your time and effort on something that doesn’t benefit you. Isn’t that right?’

The shadow continued, chuckling.

‘There are those who find pleasure in trampling, mocking, manipulating, and oppressing others with violence. No, most people probably have that kind of desire. It’s a natural phenomenon to feel interest or amusement in destroying other beings.’

Even when a child stomps on a bug and tears off its legs one by one, there might not be any malice. But humans were beings capable of trampling on others without malice.

‘As they live, humans learn to control their impulses. They learn that they shouldn’t destroy other beings based solely on instinct and impulse. But sometimes, things like you appear. Things with broken brakes.’

The shadow slowly released its grip on Noh Soo-bong’s neck.

‘Keok! Heok! Heok!’

Noh Soo-bong gasped for air.

The vision that had turned yellow due to lack of oxygen was slowly returning to normal.

‘There are beings who cannot empathize with others and only pursue their own pleasure. Remorse? You won’t actually feel it. Right? You just wish you could get out of this situation. You’re probably thinking you were just unlucky.’

The shadow’s chuckling echoed slowly through the boiler room.

‘Do you know how I know?’

Noh Soo-bong looked at the shadow with eyes trembling with fear and doubt.

The shadow’s lips slowly parted.

Black…

The center of the shadow, which was just black, split open, revealing pure white teeth.

It was a human-like feature found in a non-human being, but it felt even more eerie.

Noh Soo-bong wanted to close his eyes.

Now he could understand why Kim Hak-cheol had gone insane.

It wasn’t because this thing in front of him was like a monster. This guy was truly enjoying it right now.

If the other party was punishing him, if he was paying for his sins… then he could regain his freedom. No matter how painful it was, there would be an end.

But if the other party was just enjoying tormenting him…

There was no guarantee that it would end until the other party lost interest. The anxiety that he might have to endure this forever was eating away at his mind.

How did he know?

Noh Soo-bong knew the answer. But he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

He was too afraid that the answer he uttered would become reality.

‘Because you and I are the same kind.’

The answer he never wanted to hear flowed from the shadow’s lips.

‘You knew, didn’t you?’

Noh Soo-bong’s pupils trembled.

The shadow looked at Noh Soo-bong and chuckled. After laughing for a while, the shadow casually reached out and grabbed Noh Soo-bong’s hand.

Noh Soo-bong’s hand convulsed.

He seemed to know.

What was about to happen.

‘So, you can probably guess.’

The shadow’s voice was low, but it was also slightly excited. The strange thrill he felt was approaching Noh Soo-bong as an unbearable despair.

He was now caught by someone who found pleasure in completely destroying their opponent.

Like a dragonfly with its wings torn off, caught in a child’s hand.

The hand that was contemplating whether to tear off the legs first or rip off the head was now touching his body.

‘Hoo-wook! Hoo-wook! Hoo-wook!’

He could have endured the pain inflicted on his body.

What Noh Soo-bong truly couldn’t bear was the thick, sticky malice emanating from the black shadow across from him.

The shadow’s fingernails dug into Noh Soo-bong’s fingers.

The shadow bared its white teeth and grinned like a beast.

‘Kim Hak-cheol lasted a week.’

‘So, how many days will it take for you? Ten days? Fifteen?’

A week…

That was the time it took for Noh Soo-bong to start having nightmares and attempt suicide.

So, it was obvious what the time this devil was talking about meant.

‘Kim Hak-cheol didn’t exceed my expectations. So, what about you? Can you endure more than I think?’

A sticky malice washed over him.

True malice doesn’t start from anger towards the other party.

Just a small curiosity.

Noh Soo-bong knew well that a small curiosity about a weak opponent, which could not be resisted, truly drove humans to hell.

The unfortunate thing was that he was the object of that curiosity right now.

A huge, irresistible force was trying to trample him.

‘Let’s make a bet.’

The devil extended its claws.

‘Kim Hak-cheol lasted a week. So, how long can you last? Come on, tell me. How many days do you think you can last?’

There was no need to answer.

His answer would be meaningless.

But he couldn’t help but answer. Noh Soo-bong opened his mouth as if possessed.

‘F-Fifteen days?’

Anyone would think so.

At least Noh Soo-bong would last longer than Kim Hak-cheol. This wasn’t confidence, but an objective fact.

But the shadow denied Noh Soo-bong’s thoughts.

‘Fifteen days? Fifteen days, huh…’

The shadow laughed lowly.

‘Let’s make a bet. One week. Just one week. If you can last one week, I’ll let you go.’

The same time as Kim Hak-cheol.

Noh Soo-bong’s body trembled.

This devil probably said the same thing to Kim Hak-cheol. And the moment the week was up, Kim Hak-cheol hanged himself.

The difference between being attacked unknowingly and being attacked knowingly was huge.

What on earth had happened that made Kim Hak-cheol try to escape from this devil by taking his own life in just one week?

That imagination was driving Noh Soo-bong into the abyss.

Even though the shadow hadn’t done anything yet, Noh Soo-bong couldn’t help but imagine everything it could do to him.

His jaw trembled.

His jaw was trembling as if it were a living creature, betraying his will and making a clattering sound on its own.

‘Well, then…’

The devil smiled.

The devil was looking at him, smiling, as if looking at a bug in a feeding container.

‘Shall we begin?’

Noh Soo-bong’s heart began to race wildly.

And soon, the devil’s laughter and Noh Soo-bong’s screams began to fill the boiler room.

As if this place was a different world.