Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1065

Vroom, vroom.

The car sped along the mountain road. Kang Jin-ho pressed down on the accelerator, reviewing the contents of the report again.

‘I can’t figure it out.’

A respected economist at 61 years old.

A professor at a leading domestic university, he is considered to be leading the current administration’s economy.

He has wealth, fame, and power in his hands, a life that can be called a success.

That’s why it’s even more incomprehensible.

Seok Dong-soo was already a socially successful person. No one could call his life a failure. A minister’s position is not something anyone can just take.

He could have earned respect just by completing his term without incident. But he’s taking the hand extended by China and resisting the government?

Kang Jin-ho frowned.

It wasn’t the resistance to the government that was the problem. If he were resisting the government to uphold his beliefs, Kang Jin-ho would have applauded him.

Kang Jin-ho doesn’t know much about politics, but he knows that politics is about breaking through thorny paths with conviction as a shield.

The direction isn’t the issue.

Kang Jin-ho was the leader of the Demonic Cult in the past. That’s why he had fought to the death with those who walked the righteous path.

But that didn’t mean that his enemies, the righteous sects, were all cancerous beings that had to disappear.

Of course, there were times when he felt disgusted by their hypocrisy, and times when he wanted to shout at their stuffiness, but even so, he didn’t deny their lives.

‘I’ll find out when I hear it.’

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes lowered.

Squeak.

The foot pressing the accelerator gained strength. Accordingly, Kang Jin-ho’s sports car sped down the road, cutting through the rain.

[Are you really going to do this?]

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

[It’s too much to repay kindness with betrayal! How much did the President care for you, and now you’re listening to the Chinese and acting like this!]

“I’d appreciate it if you would stop slandering people with unconfirmed facts.”

[What did you say?]

“That’s exactly what I said, Prime Minister.”

Seok Dong-soo brought the wine in his hand to his lips with a nonchalant expression. After savoring the scent that reached the tip of his nose, Seok Dong-soo put the wine down.

Instead, he put a cigarette in his mouth.

Click.

Seok Dong-soo lit the cigarette, inhaled deeply, and exhaled a long stream of smoke.

“I have never been under anyone’s orders. I just thought this matter was not right. If you don’t like my direction, you can dismiss me.”

[This, this man!]

“If not, please stop this kind of pressure.”

[You know, you could really get into big trouble if you keep this up.]

“Prime Minister.”

Seok Dong-soo said in a cold voice.

“Please understand the situation accurately. In the first place, it is illegal to favor those thugs. Right now, you are ordering me to commit an illegal act.”

[Are you done talking?]

“I have a lot more to say. But if I say it all, it would be too rude to you, so I’m holding back. If you stop here, I won’t make an issue of this any further. But if you keep picking at me like this, I might just have to make a move, putting my position on the line, wouldn’t I?”

The sound of heavy breathing came from the other end of the line.

‘Old man, he’s going to collapse from high blood pressure.’ Seok Dong-soo smirked.

Just a few days ago, he had been treating the Prime Minister with the utmost respect, carefully considering the emotions in every word. But to Seok Dong-soo now, he was no longer of any significance.

“Then I’ll hang up.”

[Hey! You!]

Click.

Seok Dong-soo hung up the phone and tossed it onto the table with a slightly rough motion.

“That old geezer who’ll disappear after his term is so noisy.”

Seok Dong-soo chuckled.

He acted as if he couldn’t understand, but in fact, the Prime Minister probably knew better than anyone why he was doing this. He would be feeling the same frustration.

In South Korea, the position of Prime Minister is second only to the President.

No one is above the Prime Minister except the President. But…

‘It’s a frustrating position.’

Those who have reached the position of Prime Minister have nowhere else to go. The highest position one can reach as an appointee is the Prime Minister. To aim higher, one must shed the guise of an appointee.

The same goes for ministers.

If they achieve good results, they might be able to aim for the position of Prime Minister in the future, but conversely, no matter how well they do as a minister, the highest they can go is Prime Minister.

They seem to wield immense power, but in reality, they are just shields for the President, taking the blame for crimes they didn’t commit and being forced to step down. That was the reality of the Prime Minister’s position, the final boss of South Korean appointees.

“That won’t do.”

Some might be grateful for such a position.

But Seok Dong-soo was too ambitious to be satisfied with such a position.

What he was aiming for was a higher place.

The highest place where he could know all the secrets of this massive group called South Korea. A place he couldn’t even dare to dream of because of the wall of reality was now beginning to come into view.

Of course, to achieve that goal, he would have to walk a long and thorny path, but it was definitely different to have a destination at the end of the thorny path than not.

“Hehehe.”

A clear future began to appear in Seok Dong-soo’s eyes.

‘If I can unite the pro-China factions within the party, I can solidify my power. If China directly pushes me, it’s entirely possible. Then, even if not the next presidential election, I can aim for the one after that.’

It was a faint possibility.

A very faint one.

But Seok Dong-soo knew better than anyone how treacherous the political arena was.

A leading presidential candidate could fall overnight, and someone no one paid attention to could wake up to become the top presidential candidate. That was the political arena.

In other words, there was no such thing as a solid possibility in politics. Even if a possibility seemed very faint now, no one knew what the future would hold if one pushed forward with sincerity.

Let them laugh if they want.

Seok Dong-soo picked up the wine glass he had put down and slowly drank the wine. The scent of alcohol and grapes filled his mouth, making him feel refreshed.

‘Then from now on…’

What he had to do was simple.

The Korean Martial Arts Assembly.

China’s request was very simple.

To hinder the Korean Martial Arts Assembly. Any method was fine. If he could reliably hinder the Assembly, they also promised unlimited support for Seok Dong-soo.

It wasn’t a difficult task.

It would be difficult if Seok Dong-soo had to stop them directly, but hindering them within his capabilities was nothing.

Moreover…

Seok Dong-soo picked up the report that was lying next to him and opened it.

“It’s even easier since they brought it to me themselves.”

A smile bloomed on Seok Dong-soo’s lips.

‘Clumsy fools.’

Well, it wasn’t right to call them clumsy. If Seok Dong-soo hadn’t answered the call from the Central Committee member directly in that situation, he would have had no choice but to do as they wanted.

Rather than those guys being clumsy, it should be seen that China’s response was exceptional.

However, one thing…

‘Why is China so wary of those guys?’

It was something he hadn’t even thought about when he didn’t know anything. But now that he knew the situation to some extent, something was bothering him.

According to the information he had obtained, China was an incomparably larger country than South Korea, and China’s martial arts world was also incomparably larger and stronger than South Korea’s.

Then why on earth was China trying so hard to keep the Assembly in check?

Even promising unlimited support to Seok Dong-soo.

‘I don’t know.’

And it wasn’t something Seok Dong-soo needed to know.

He didn’t care about their circumstances or the Assembly’s. He was only interested in his own life and what he could do.

‘With this, I can live a new life.’

The thought alone made the back of his neck tingle.

He might have to thank the Prime Minister.

He thought he had been given a bothersome and annoying task, but it turned out that it would open up a new path for him.

It wasn’t intentional, but he had received a favor, hadn’t he?

Seok Dong-soo thought that he should order some high-quality wild ginseng and send it to the Prime Minister’s residence as soon as it was light, and then he got up from his seat.

Now it was time to sleep…

At that moment, Seok Dong-soo tilted his head.

Wasn’t it a weather where you would sweat just by breathing? But a little while ago, he had goosebumps on his arm.

He felt chills and his body was shivering.

‘Did I turn the air conditioner on too high?’

It seemed that he hadn’t lowered the air conditioner that he had turned on during the day. As Seok Dong-soo was looking for the remote control, he felt a strange sensation and looked up.

‘Wind?’

It wasn’t coming out.

‘Come to think of it, I turned off the air conditioner a little while ago?’

He checked again, but no cold air or even wind was coming out of the air conditioner.

Then?

Then what was this chill?

‘A chill?’

Seok Dong-soo unconsciously waved his hand. But the air that touched his fingertips didn’t feel cold at all. Rather, it was even humid.

“…Am I not feeling well?”

It seemed that he had caught a cold.

Well, after going through such an ordeal, it would be stranger if he wasn’t under extreme stress.

He should stop here for today and rest…

That was when it happened.

Shudder.

His body began to tremble.

‘What the hell?’

He couldn’t come to his senses.

This wasn’t like an illness. It was definitely not like a cold.

The trembling that started from the center of his body spread throughout his body. His arms and legs were shaking, and his jaw was chattering, making a clattering sound.

At the same time, cold sweat began to pour down his forehead.

“What the…”

Just as Seok Dong-soo was about to shout and call for someone,

“There’s one thing I want to ask.”

A low voice.

A voice so low and cold that it sent shivers down his spine just by hearing it, pierced Seok Dong-soo’s ears.

Twitch.

Seok Dong-soo’s body froze.

It was something he had never experienced before. But Seok Dong-soo’s instincts instinctively knew what he had to do.

Hold his breath.

Stop moving.

Shrug his shoulders and widen his eyes.

‘Who?’

Seok Dong-soo moved his head slowly, very slowly. Towards the place where the voice came from.

A corner of the room.

The darkest place in the dimly lit room with only a mood light on.

No, towards a place that had become infinitely darker than the darkness it should have had.

Seok Dong-soo held his breath.

The darkness began to move.

The deep darkness, so thick that it was impossible to know what was there, seemed to ripple slowly, and then it began to writhe and swallow the entire room.

Darkness.

In the deep darkness, so black that it felt alien, a bright red light bloomed.

Two eyes glowing with blood-red light.

The moment he faced those eyes, Seok Dong-soo’s heart stopped beating. A demon.

There was a demon in this room.