Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1257

Lee Hyun-soo stared silently at the ampule in his hand.

On the surface, it didn’t look much different from cold medicine. But the clear liquid inside this glass vial wasn’t medicine; it was a drug.

“Tears of the Devil, huh…”

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled.

It was a childish name. But there was no point in blaming the poor naming. This drug wasn’t named in Korea.

Tears Of Devil. Also known as TOD.

It was a new type of drug currently trending in North and South America. It seemed to have taken its name from TOG, Tears Of God, which had been rampant in the past. [TOG was a previous drug that had caused widespread issues.]

But contrary to its crude name, its addictiveness and potency were real. In Korea, where things like amphetamines and ecstasy, which were ambiguous to call drugs, occasionally came in, TOD, with its hallucinogenic properties exceeding those of existing drugs, had been released, creating utter chaos.

The police authorities seemed to be on high alert about this situation, but the suppliers were moving so secretly that they couldn’t even think about making arrests.

Lee Hyun-soo put the ampule in his pocket and turned his head.

“Hey.”

“Ugh…”

“Get a grip, you idiot.”

Lee Hyun-soo sighed and looked at the man in front of him. The man was foaming at the mouth and convulsing.

It was a situation that was easy to misunderstand, but Lee Hyun-soo hadn’t done this to the man. The addict, whose high had worn off, was having a seizure on his own.

“This is some crazy drug.”

Lee Hyun-soo clicked his tongue.

It wasn’t the first time he had seen someone addicted to drugs.

As someone who had clawed his way up from the very bottom, Lee Hyun-soo had seen many drug addicts.

Basically, those addicted to drugs suffered from severe withdrawal symptoms, but they didn’t suffer physical harm just because they couldn’t take drugs.

There were people who died from overdoses, but no one died from a lack of drugs. But the man in front of Lee Hyun-soo was on the verge of dying just because he hadn’t taken the drug.

‘This isn’t good.’

Is South Korea a drug-free country?

That was just a misunderstanding by those who didn’t know the situation. If South Korea were a drug-free country in the first place, there would be no such thing as a drug department. Drugs were circulating secretly in South Korea, and even now, countless people were suffering from drugs.

But this drug was definitely different from the drugs that had been circulating in South Korea until now.

If this spread, it would quickly become a mess.

“He won’t die, will he?”

“He should be fine. This guy seems to be a bit severe… Anyway, I’ve never heard of anyone dying from withdrawal symptoms.”

“That’s a relief then.”

With a somewhat uneasy look, Lee Hyun-soo looked at the addict in front of him. He didn’t look that old, but how had he become so addicted to drugs?

Lee Hyun-soo shook the convulsing addict’s shoulder a couple of times and shook his head. It wasn’t a situation where a conversation would work.

“Dump him at the hospital.”

“He’ll get caught right away for drug addiction.”

“That’s better. Do you think he can quit on his own?”

“…Probably not.”

He had never heard of anyone this addicted quitting drugs on their own.

If you could quit just by making up your mind, drugs wouldn’t be called drugs.

“Having a criminal record isn’t the end of your life. But if you can’t quit drugs, your life is over. Do you have the loyalty to take him to your house, tie him up, and feed him?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Then dump him at the hospital.”

“Yes.”

They hoisted the collapsed addict onto their shoulders.

Lee Hyun-soo frowned slightly as he watched the addict being carried away.

People had to pay the price for their sins. Drugs weren’t something that someone forced you to take. Whether it was out of curiosity or some other reason, the start was always your own doing.

You wouldn’t get addicted from just trying it once by mistake. To get this addicted, you had to get the drugs yourself and keep taking them.

That person had to pay the price.

Just like those guys over there.

Lee Hyun-soo turned his head and looked at the groaning men. Seeing their bodies all battered, he couldn’t help but sigh.

“I told you to cut off their fingers, why are you beating them up?”

“This is better, isn’t it?”

“Cutting is much cleaner.”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No. It’s just…”

“Hey, hey, cutting off fingers doesn’t cause problems. These days, hospitals can reattach them well.”

“Shall we cut them off now then?”

“Should we?”

The men who had been lying on the floor suddenly raised their heads. The fists and kicks that had been flying told the story. These guys were the type to really cut them off.

“Please spare us!”

“We’ll tell you everything.”

Desperately moving their trembling limbs, they crawled towards Lee Hyun-soo with pleading eyes. But Lee Hyun-soo, looking at their desperate faces, just chuckled.

“Spare you?”

Lee Hyun-soo got up from his chair.

Then, he kicked away the drug dealers who were clinging to him.

“You guys sell drugs and ruin other people’s lives, but your own lives are important, huh?”

Lee Hyun-soo glared at the men in front of him with slightly cold eyes.

“The reason you guys are still alive is because I have something to hear from you. If you can’t even answer that properly, there’s no reason to keep you guys alive.”

“We’ll tell you!”

“We can’t contact them. If we go to the designated place at a specific time, they come and give us the drugs.”

“Is that so?”

Lee Hyun-soo turned his head with a subtle expression.

“Hey, is the information wrong?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Do our kids use such a method? There shouldn’t be anyone with that much brains.”

“Ah, why are you looking down on our kids! They still have basic brains!”

“It’s not that they’re stupid, it’s that they’re too lazy to use their brains! Don’t treat us all like ignorant fools!”

“Why are you guys getting so worked up? You’re making me angry.”

Lee Hyun-soo glared at them, and they all lowered their heads. They had gotten angry for a moment, but they didn’t have the courage to argue with Lee Hyun-soo.

Lee Hyun-soo, who had lightened the mood with a silly joke, shrugged his shoulders.

“So, where is the place where you guys meet?”

“You’re still not going to tell us?”

“Ah, no. It’s not that we don’t want to tell you… They said we’d really die if we revealed it.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll kill you if you don’t tell us either.”

“It’s because we saw someone die right in front of us as an example. We’re afraid we’ll really die if we say it.”

“…What?”

“If we tell you, we’ll really…”

“No, before that. They killed someone as an example?”

“Yes.”

“And you guys saw it?”

“Yes.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s face turned cold.

The rules of the Assembly were strict. [The Assembly is likely a gang or organization.]

They weren’t all written down, but at least everyone knew what they shouldn’t do. Kang Jin-ho had strictly prohibited the distribution of drugs and harming ordinary people.

But they had not only gotten involved with drugs but also killed an ordinary person?

This was something that could never be forgiven.

The bodyguards, sensing Lee Hyun-soo’s mood, shut their mouths. There was no one in the Assembly who didn’t know how scary Lee Hyun-soo was when he was really angry.

Now he was so easygoing that he joked and played around, but when Lee Hyun-soo first joined the Assembly, there wasn’t anyone who dared to make eye contact with him.

“Listen carefully.”

“…Yes.”

“I’m not in the mood for jokes anymore. If you tell us the exact location and time of the meeting, we will protect you. We’ll make sure they can’t lay a finger on you. Understand?”

“Yes.”

Lee Hyun-soo nodded lightly.

“But if you waste any more time, you’ll find out what kind of people we are, not them. Don’t think that what you’ve experienced so far is everything. We also have our own principles, so we’re being as lenient as possible right now. But if you protect them, things will be different. We’ll have to be serious too. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“…Yes.”

“Okay, now tell us what you know. We’ll decide after listening.”

The man who saw Lee Hyun-soo’s expression began to speak without delay.

Tap.

The end of the cigarette burned roughly.

A bodyguard approached Lee Hyun-soo, who was sitting on a chair and smoking, and asked cautiously.

“I’ve listened three times, and there are no discrepancies. It doesn’t seem like they’re making it up.”

“Hmm.”

Lee Hyun-soo nodded lightly.

It didn’t seem like they would lie in that situation, but still, a confirmation was necessary.

Normally, Lee Hyun-soo wouldn’t get involved in such trivial matters himself. But this matter was that important. Drugs were an extremely sensitive issue, and…

‘The Chairman is paying attention to this.’

It was impossible to do a sloppy job of what Kang Jin-ho had ordered. Lee Hyun-soo raised his hand and pressed his temples. He had a migraine, probably due to stress.

“What do we do with them?”

Lee Hyun-soo’s gaze turned to the drug dealers who were trembling in one corner.

“We said we’d protect them, so we have to protect them.”

“Do we take them to the headquarters?”

“Hand them over to the nearest police station.”

“…What?”

The bodyguard’s eyes widened.

“No, the protection…”

“Where else can we protect them more securely than the police? Have you ever heard of a murder happening in a detention center?”

“No…”

“Hand them over to the police. They have to pay for their crimes.”

“Understood.”

Even after hearing that they would be handed over to the police, the drug dealers didn’t show any particular reaction.

Whether they had decided that it was better to be caught by the police than to be dragged away by these people, or whether they were too out of it to understand the situation, was unknown.

Lee Hyun-soo took a deep drag of his cigarette.

It tasted bitter.

It wasn’t because of the cigarette. The bitterness he felt inside was stronger than the bitterness he felt from the cigarette.

‘I used to be fine with this kind of thing.’

When he was the second-in-command of the Yeongnam Assembly, he had directly punished those who caused problems. His methods were so cruel that the members of the Yeongnam Assembly had feared Lee Hyun-soo. [Yeongnam Assembly is likely a previous gang or organization.]

Back then, Lee Hyun-soo had been ruthless in controlling the internal affairs.

But now, Lee Hyun-soo was feeling a discomfort he hadn’t felt back then.

‘Are we all one family?’

Lee Hyun-soo shook his head. Now wasn’t the time to get caught up in such sentiments. To catch every single one of them perfectly, he had to drive the situation forward coldly.

“Clean up.”

“Yes, Chief.”

Lee Hyun-soo stubbed out his cigarette on the floor and got up from his seat.

“Take the recovered drugs to the police.”

“Yes.”

Lee Hyun-soo turned and walked out.

‘The scale might be bigger than I thought…’

He didn’t feel good about it.

Until now, they had been fighting external enemies. But when an organization became too large, internal problems were bound to arise. He didn’t know what decision Kang Jin-ho would make, but if internal problems were revealed, the atmosphere of the Assembly would not be the same as before.

‘Things don’t always go as planned.’

Lee Hyun-soo, who had come out to the entrance, leaned his back against the wall with a bitter expression.