Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 686

Human imagination is nearly limitless. Whether in a positive or negative light, human imagination always surpasses reality. After all, the constraints of reality don’t exist in imagination. Everyone has, at least once, imagined the best possible life they could live. And conversely, they’ve also imagined the worst possible situation they could find themselves in. However, Dabaao had never once imagined this particular situation. He had envisioned the worst possible scenarios he could face countless times. It was only natural. He was a creature living in the shadows. In the shadows, he could easily prey on others, but others could also easily prey on him. A life lived with blood on one’s hands usually ends with being felled by another’s blade. Therefore, the worst he imagined was always death. Death by betrayal from his organization. Death by being turned on by his target. Sometimes, it was by a colleague, and sometimes, it was by encountering an absolute master without any luck and dying for no reason. But perhaps due to a lack of imagination, he had never once thought he would find himself in this situation. ‘Damn it.’ Dabaao twisted his body. Sitting in the narrow seat for hours made it feel like he couldn’t breathe properly. He knew. It was just a feeling. The seat he was sitting in now was the most comfortable and spacious he had ever experienced in a car. It wasn’t the narrow seat that was making him feel this way. What was pressuring him wasn’t the seat, but Kang Jin-ho. Dabaao let out a stifled breath. ‘Damn it.’ He had always thought about the worst. But this kind of worst was beyond the scope of his imagination. He had thought he might die miserably. Perhaps he might be captured by those he had wronged and die after being horribly tortured. But in none of his imaginings was he ever captured by an enemy and dragged around like a dog. What made Dabaao feel even more humiliated was that the devilish man hadn’t placed any restrictions on him. His body wasn’t bound, and his inner energy wasn’t sealed. He was simply left in the car. If he wanted to? Yes. If he wanted to, he could tear apart this paper-thin metal car with his bare hands and escape. Perhaps he wouldn’t even need to go through that process. The car door wasn’t even closed. Even if it were closed, he was inside the car. He wasn’t some dog; surely he could open a car door. Yet, Dabaao couldn’t move. He was being suppressed. What happens when you cage an animal and use violence every time it tries to escape? At first, it tries. But after a few times, the animal stops trying to escape the cage. Even if the cage is removed, it can’t leave that spot. It learns helplessness and fear. That was Dabaao’s situation now. Dabaao knew very well that no one was stopping him. But the moment he left this car of his own volition, he was too afraid of what Kang Jin-ho would do to him to escape. In his mind, he had already escaped thousands of times. It was an easy thing to do. Open the door with a swift motion, then get as far away from this place as possible at maximum speed. Of course, Kang Jin-ho would notice. It was impossible to deceive his senses at this distance. But would Kang Jin-ho even bother to catch him? To Kang Jin-ho, was he really a person worth the trouble of capturing? He didn’t know. He couldn’t know. The only certain fact was that escaping was a gamble, and the moment that gamble failed, he would pay the price. And… The existence of the one who had paid that price was preventing him from moving. Dabaao subtly turned his head. Next to him, Guo Liqin was sitting with a vacant look on his face. Dabaao’s jaw trembled. Guo Liqin. Looking at his hair, which had turned white, and the wrinkles on his face, his teeth clenched involuntarily. He wasn’t fond of Guo Liqin. If anything, he had more ill will than goodwill towards him. Yet, he couldn’t remain indifferent to Guo Liqin’s condition. The next turn might be his own. “Hey.” Dabaao opened his mouth. Come to think of it, this was the first time he had spoken to Guo Liqin. To be precise, since being captured by Kang Jin-ho, he hadn’t spoken to Guo Liqin even once. He didn’t have the mental capacity to speak. Just enduring the reality he was in was already too much. He didn’t know if he had gained some composure or if he had just given up. “Hey, Guo Liqin.” “What do you intend to do?” Guo Liqin’s head slowly turned towards him. ‘He’s reacting.’ He had thought he might have regressed to a near-vegetative state, but he was reacting to stimuli. Dabaao flinched as he faced Guo Liqin’s face directly. His eyes. His empty eyes gave off an unknown eerie feeling. “…Nothing.” Dabaao flinched. ‘What’s with this guy?’ His voice was clearer than he had expected. He had expected him to be groaning weakly or begging to be killed, but… ‘Was he acting?’ That couldn’t be. It wasn’t something that could be acted out. Not even the greatest actor could create such a look. Then, had he recovered? “Are you in your right mind?” “I’ve always been in my right mind. Unlike you, you pathetic fool.” “This bastard…” Dabaao’s face contorted. “When were you begging like a dog to be killed? Should I kill you?” “That’s also true. And it’s a lie. It’s true that I begged that person like a dog, but you don’t have the ability to kill me. You’re too powerless to kill even me in my weakened state.” Dabaao’s eyes wavered. ‘What’s with this guy? He’s fine?’ It was the usual Guo Liqin. When they had exchanged words a few times before, Guo Liqin’s tone was exactly like this. There was sarcasm in every word, even back then. It was certain that Dabaao had gotten angry and tried to attack Guo Liqin back then. “You, if you were in your right mind, why didn’t you run away?” “Run away?” Guo Liqin scoffed. But his eyes didn’t move at all. A scoff without moving eyes gave the viewer a strange eeriness. “You’re thinking such foolish thoughts. You’re definitely useless.” “You…” “Do you think you can escape?” “The moment you think about running away, your body will be slammed to the ground. And you’ll fall into a state worse than a bug.” “Then what are you going to do?” “Nothing.” “What?” “I’m not going to do anything. Until that person decides our fate. We just have to wait. Don’t try to use your crude brain. We are beings in that person’s palm. A human standing before the King of Hell can only reveal their sins and wait for judgment. I don’t know if we’re even being treated as humans.” Dabaao’s face turned pale. ‘This guy is crazy.’ No. Perhaps it was the most normal reaction. Dabaao had already experienced it several times. What happens to a human exposed to overwhelming power? At first, they resist. Or rather, they try to resist. But when they realize that they can never oppose that power with their own abilities, humans worship that power. When civilization hadn’t developed, humans worshiped things they couldn’t handle. Sometimes it was fire, sometimes it was the sky… even animals were worshiped. A human who faces a massive power they can’t handle unifies themselves with that power by worshiping it. So, it wasn’t strange that Guo Liqin had come to worship Kang Jin-ho. To him, Kang Jin-ho was an unstoppable natural disaster, an overwhelming power that couldn’t be refused. Yet, he couldn’t laugh at him. Just thinking about Kang Jin-ho made Dabaao feel suffocated. Could Dabaao, who couldn’t escape even though his body was free because he didn’t know how Kang Jin-ho would react, laugh at Guo Liqin? If Dabaao had been subjected to Kang Jin-ho as much as Guo Liqin, he might be saying the same things as Guo Liqin now. No, he definitely would. So, how could he laugh at him? ‘Damn it.’ Dabaao raised his hand and rubbed his face. Why had it turned out like this? He couldn’t grasp where it had gone wrong. If he had abandoned his ambition when he heard the news about Guo Liqin, he wouldn’t have come this far… Bang! Bang! At that moment, a loud sound came from the door. Dabaao lowered the hand covering his face and raised his head. Several people were looking inside through the car window. ‘Hmm?’ He saw a familiar face. Dabaao’s eyes widened. Bang! Bang! Bang! Those who had looked inside the car and confirmed the presence of Dabaao and Guo Liqin were banging on the door. If left like this, they would break the door and come in. ‘Damn it.’ His mind wasn’t clear yet, but Dabaao got up. He didn’t know if the reason he was moving was to greet them, or if it was because he was afraid that Kang Jin-ho would get angry if the car door was broken. Screech. As he opened the door, familiar faces were giggling and laughing. “You pathetic bastards, you were caught here.” “But it’s good that you’re alive. Consider that you’ve been given a second chance.” The atmosphere was light, as if everything was over. Dabaao felt a strong sense of unease. “You guys…” What should he say first? Dabaao, who forced his contorted face to relax, opened his mouth. “Did only you guys come?” The ones in front of him were his organization members. It seemed they were one of those who had been summoned to Sichuan. “Would we have come alone when you guys were caught so pathetically? Everyone came. We’ll catch that bastard soon and beat him to a pulp, so don’t worry.” “Is that Guo Liqin inside?” Dabaao’s eyes twitched. “Support?” “Huh?” “…Is there no support? I’m saying, did only you guys come!” “What are you talking about? All the guys who gathered in Sichuan came.” Dabaao’s mind began to spin rapidly. ‘There’s no support?’ Knowing that Guo Liqin and he were captured? Did the guys who were thrown off the cliff not properly convey what kind of person Kang Jin-ho was? Because of their injuries? Or… “…Run.” “What? Speak louder, I can’t hear you well.” Dabaao shouted, filled with annoyance and anger. “Run away, you pathetic bastards! Now!” Dabaao’s heart, thinking of his comrades, was commendable, but unfortunately, it was a little too late. Kwaaang! A huge explosion echoed from the restaurant where Kang Jin-ho and Bator were, and then a person’s body was flung out through the building’s outer wall. “Kkeueueuek.” Those who had become covered in blood fell to the ground, convulsing. The atmosphere suddenly turned cold, and the bodies of those who had gathered in front of the car froze like stones. “…What is that?” Seeing their dumbfounded reactions, Dabaao sighed. Dabaao, who slammed the car door shut with a nervous gesture, went back to his original seat. The faint laughter of Guo Liqin, which was ringing in his ears, was grating on his nerves.