Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1384

Click.

Kang Jin-ho lit a cigarette.

The smoke was immediately drawn out through the window. Even though he was told he could smoke, he couldn’t let the smoke drift inside.

It wouldn’t be polite to the other inmates.

‘How many days has it been?’

Being here made the concept of time blurry.

Quite a few things had happened over the past few days. His family and Choi Yeon-ha had come to visit once each, and Lee Hyun-soo had been requesting visits every day.

“There’s a loophole. While regular people have limited visiting hours and can only visit once a day, lawyers don’t have such restrictions. So, if a lawyer requests a visit, you can spend all day in the visiting room with them. You’ll need to carefully choose a lawyer to represent you, but there’s no rule that says you can only have one, and you can hire as many visiting lawyers as you want. Should we do it?”

Of course, Kang Jin-ho didn’t understand what Lee Hyun-soo was talking about.

Why would he spend all day in the visiting room with a lawyer when he had nothing to say? It was uncomfortable.

According to Lee Hyun-soo, there were even dedicated lawyers who would spend all day visiting wealthy tycoons or high-ranking officials just to keep them from doing labor.

When he even mentioned that they usually preferred young and pretty female lawyers, he was completely turned off.

‘Labor, huh…’

It seemed like others were doing that kind of thing, but Kang Jin-ho hadn’t been assigned any labor yet. Or, to be more precise, Kang Jin-ho hadn’t done anything at all since he’d been here.

Even the guards rarely came to see him. He could hear the other inmates doing their roll calls, but even during roll call, the guards never visited Kang Jin-ho’s cell.

While ordinary people would feel terrified being locked alone in a solitary cell without being able to talk to the guards, Kang Jin-ho wasn’t the type to feel that kind of loneliness.

He was just endlessly bored and frustrated.

Kang Jin-ho reached out and grabbed the bars of the window.

He didn’t even need to apply much force. Just a slight twist of his wrist while holding the bars would be enough to break them like dry twigs.

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

What was holding him back wasn’t the walls or the bars. What was truly holding Kang Jin-ho back was the world he had created.

‘Why can’t I?’

Why couldn’t he just break out?

If he wanted to, he could break out anytime.

He could break down this wall and cut off Kim Myung-chan’s head.

And then?

Why was the ‘then’ a problem?

Were there people who could stop Kang Jin-ho if he did whatever he wanted?

Wouldn’t they be more concerned with covering up Kang Jin-ho’s actions?

Then why was Kang Jin-ho locked up here right now?

Squeeze.

Kang Jin-ho’s fingers dug into the bars, crushing them inward. But then, Kang Jin-ho released his grip with a sigh.

‘Am I cornered?’

He thought he would be fine.

He thought that even if he was angry about being in this situation, he wouldn’t feel particularly burdened by being locked up. But being confined by his own will in a place he could leave at any time was like a grain of sand in his shoe, irritating Kang Jin-ho.

‘I should live without committing crimes.’

He’d do it once, but not twice.

Kang Jin-ho sighed deeply.

Being locked up had a way of making people feel weary. Putting aside everything else…

‘I want a Coke.’

It seemed that for Kang Jin-ho, Coke was a symbol of modern society.

He had been drinking coffee lately, but as soon as he was locked up in prison, he didn’t crave coffee, only Coke. He had requested it as a commissary item, but it wouldn’t be delivered until tomorrow, so he had no choice but to wait…

Whoosh.

At that moment, Kang Jin-ho’s eyes were suddenly filled with a bright light.

Even the mighty Kang Jin-ho was slightly surprised as he stared at the pure white light that had appeared before him.

What is this?

Whoosh.

The light flickered, and then a figure appeared within it.

Kang Jin-ho stared wide-eyed at Wiggins, who had appeared in his solitary cell.

“Uh… uh?”

“I brought you food.”

“Huh?”

Wiggins held out the tray of food to Kang Jin-ho.

“Or would you like to go out and eat for a bit?”

“…No, no, it’s okay.”

Even the mighty Kang Jin-ho was genuinely flustered at this moment.

“No, but is it okay to just come in here like this?”

“What’s not okay? It’s fine as long as we’re not caught. Let’s eat.”

“What if someone sees us?”

Wiggins waved his hands towards the iron door without a word.

“I’ve cast an illusion, so anyone who comes will not notice anything strange and just go back.”

Wow!

I should have learned magic too.

Martial arts are useless.

Kang Jin-ho burst out laughing without realizing it.

This was beyond absurd; it was ridiculous.

“I never imagined this. When I think about it, it’s obvious.”

“Preconceived notions tend to bind people. Let’s eat first.”

“Ah, before that…”

“Yes. Is there something you want to say?”

“Go to the convenience store and get me a Coke.”

“Quickly.”

Ssssh.

Kang Jin-ho opened the can of Coke and gulped it down.

“Ahhh.”

He slightly frowned as he put down the Coke, and Wiggins looked at Kang Jin-ho with a strange expression.

“Do you like it?”

“Well, how should I put it… It’s the taste of freedom, I guess?”

“…You seem to have become quite cheerful while I haven’t seen you.”

“It’s probably because I’m not good at talking.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

This was the first time he was so glad to see Wiggins. He was even more glad than when Wiggins came to save him when he was fighting Hong Wang.

Actually, he was unconscious back then.

“But why all of a sudden?”

“Didn’t I say I brought you food? I heard you weren’t eating much.”

“…Where did you hear that?”

“Don’t underestimate our intelligence… no, the intelligence of the place where the Lord is. Bribing a guard or two is nothing.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

They were deceiving and bribing each other… it was a mess.

‘The old Demonic Cult was better.’

If someone was stronger than him, he would be loyal, and if someone was weaker, he would trample them.

At the time, he thought they were just simple-minded lunatics, but after being so stressed by modern life, he even missed those simple-minded lunatics.

‘If Cheongma had been here, would things have been different?’

It probably would have been.

It wasn’t that he was ignoring Lee Hyun-soo or Wiggins. It was just that they were different from Cheongma. Basically, Cheongma wanted to control everything he knew.

In the end, his greed grew too large, and he ended up opposing Kang Jin-ho.

If Cheongma had been by Kang Jin-ho’s side now, he would have infiltrated the political world before any of this happened and turned them into puppets.

Just like he did in the imperial palace in the past.

‘It’s not exactly a good thing.’

Even so, if he had to choose someone to be with now, it would be Wiggins rather than Cheongma. First of all, Cheongma wouldn’t run errands for Coke.

“And I also needed to do some experiments beforehand.”

“Experiments?”

“Yes. If Elder Jang Min or Bator start acting up when they return, I will temporarily take the Lord out. Please subdue them.”

‘Subdue them’ instead of ‘stop them’?

“Would they listen if I tried to stop them? One of the things I’ve learned since coming here is that sometimes, a beating is the only medicine.”

“…You’ve learned something good.”

He had learned something very good.

Kang Jin-ho glanced at the table. Somehow, he had brought all of his favorite foods. And he even brought an iced Americano, which made him want to applaud his sense.

“Let’s eat first.”

“Before that…”

“Yes.”

“Tell me. What’s the situation outside?”

Wiggins sighed.

“It would be better to hear it after you eat.”

“Tell me first.”

Wiggins looked at Kang Jin-ho with a serious expression before opening his mouth.

“It’s not good.”

“The media has started reporting. It seems Kim Myung-chan ordered the media to leak the story. Currently, the Lord is being treated as a spy who illegally entered North Korea without permission, and the fact that you are the CEO of MK is also being reported.”

“MK?”

“They haven’t started searching yet. In fact, they probably won’t. If they mess with it, they might get into trouble with tax issues. However, this is…”

“So, if I want to normalize the company, I should accept their offer and rot in prison?”

“…To put it bluntly, yes.”

Kang Jin-ho leaned back against the wall.

Wiggins glanced up at Kang Jin-ho. It was difficult to guess what he was thinking from his expressionless face.

However, he probably wasn’t in a good mood.

“Wiggins.”

“Yes, Lord.”

“Let’s think about this calmly.”

“Is there a way for me to legally prove my innocence?”

Wiggins fell silent.

This was a slightly different question than he had expected. That’s why it was difficult to answer…

No. The answer was already decided.

“It’s difficult.”

Wiggins sighed and continued.

“They’ve bet everything on this. If this fails, they know what will happen to them. So, they have no choice but to be desperate. Even if we find the most perfect evidence to prove our innocence, the court will not acknowledge it.”

“So, the court is also in their hands?”

“There is no judiciary that is completely independent of the government. That’s just an ideal. In reality, rulings change easily depending on changes in the government. After all, judges are also human.”

“Then…”

Kang Jin-ho said coldly.

“Is the answer already decided?”

“Lord.”

Wiggins said with a firm face.

“Breaking the balance requires a certain level of resolve. If you are prepared to give up everything you have protected so far, we will not hesitate to throw our lives away. So, please be patient a little longer. We will definitely find a way.”

“For what?”

“For you, Lord.”

Wiggins looked directly at Kang Jin-ho and said.

“I won’t ask you to be patient for the sake of the Assembly. Frankly, I don’t think the Assembly is a value that is important enough for you to sacrifice your life for.”

“What’s important is your life. Breaking the balance is not difficult. But the price of breaking that balance is something you will have to bear entirely. I don’t want you to bear that burden.”

“You’re misunderstanding.”

“Yes?”

“I value the Assembly more than you think.”

“…Is that so?”

“Just as I don’t want to sacrifice myself for the Assembly, I have no intention of sacrificing the Assembly for myself.”

“…Lord.”

“Wiggins.”

“Yes!”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Wiggins with calm eyes.

“I’m not a very patient person.”

“I know.”

“If you have something in mind… hurry. Before my patience runs out.”