Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 139

Punishment (5)

There are things that humans cannot change, no matter how hard they try.

Like night following day.

No matter how much Kim Hak-cheol struggled, he couldn’t stop the night from coming.

“Ugh, look at this bastard. He’s gone pale.”

Noh Su-bong clicked his tongue.

“Hey, idiot. It was just a dream.”

“…Yes.”

“Some guys choke themselves in their sleep. It’s sleep paralysis. If it’s bad, it can happen.”

“Yes.”

“Besides, we all take turns on night duty. How could anyone take you away without waking you up?”

“I think so too.”

Though he said that, an undeniable fear was creeping into Kim Hak-cheol’s face as he watched the setting sun.

“Okay, remember. It’s a week. It starts now.”

If it weren’t for those words, he wouldn’t have been so terrified.

A week.

Didn’t that mean he would come six more times?

‘Come? What do you mean, come!’

Kim Hak-cheol threw his cigarette into the ashtray, agitated.

It was a dream.

Just a dream.

It was too absurd to be real. How could a broken bone heal like that? It was too vivid to be a delusion, the sensation and pain of the bone breaking were too real.

Or was it real because it was so vivid?

“Shit.”

Unable to contain his confusion, Kim Hak-cheol cursed.

“Shit? Are you saying that to me?”

“No, sir. Would I do that if I wasn’t crazy?”

“…Watch your mouth, you bastard.”

“Yes.”

Kim Hak-cheol grimaced as he watched Noh Su-bong spit and head back to the barracks.

‘Even if it’s not real, it’s still a problem.’

It meant that Kim Hak-cheol was under so much mental pressure that he was having such nightmares. There was only one thing that could be causing him such stress.

Joo Young-gi.

Kim Hak-cheol grabbed his head and sat down on a chair.

‘I didn’t mean to go that far.’

Who would have thought of killing him? He was just frustrated and cursed, and when that didn’t fix things, he got angry, and in a moment of rage, he hit him.

And after that, it just got worse and worse.

Guilt?

Of course, he felt it. Who wouldn’t think they went too far when someone ended up like that? But Kim Hak-cheol really didn’t think Joo Young-gi would do something like that.

If he had known, he wouldn’t have pushed Joo Young-gi that far.

“That idiot, killing himself.”

Of course, he wasn’t dead yet.

But…

Kim Hak-cheol tilted his head back, agitated, and closed his eyes.

‘It’s a dream.’

This is a dream.

It didn’t make sense for a person’s form to be covered in darkness unless it was a dream. No matter how dark the boiler room was, he had been in there a few times, and he knew how people looked inside.

But what he saw was a shadow that looked like a clump of black clouds, even though it had a human shape.

There was no way such a thing could exist, so it was definitely a dream. If he thought about it rationally, the answer was obvious.

“Then why am I so anxious!”

He felt like he was going crazy.

He knew it wasn’t real!

He knew it, but the anxiety that was squeezing his chest wouldn’t go away.

‘If it weren’t for that bastard…’

If it weren’t for Noh Su-bong, who egged him on every time he bullied Joo Young-gi, he wouldn’t be in this miserable situation.

Frankly, what power did he have to bully Joo Young-gi? If Noh Su-bong hadn’t told him to, he wouldn’t have touched Joo Young-gi.

Later, he naturally started bullying Joo Young-gi, but that was just a result of getting too used to it.

“Aish, damn it!”

Kim Hak-cheol shook his head and jumped up from his seat.

He was about to go inside when the door burst open and Kang Jin-ho came out.

Kang Jin-ho and Kim Hak-cheol’s eyes met.

“Hey, Kang Jin-ho.”

“Corporal Kang Jin-ho.”

“You bastard, back then…”

“What are you talking about?”

“…When you burned that notebook.”

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

Kim Hak-cheol, who had been glaring at Kang Jin-ho with a slight frown, sighed and turned his head away.

“Never mind, it’s nothing.”

Kim Hak-cheol went into the barracks with agitated steps. And Kang Jin-ho was staring at Kim Hak-cheol’s back with an expressionless, icy face.

‘I need to sleep.’

He couldn’t fall asleep.

To be honest, he was afraid to fall asleep.

He was afraid that if he closed his eyes and fell asleep, he would have the same dream as yesterday. He had once laughed at those who said they were afraid of nightmares, but Kim Hak-cheol could never laugh at them again.

Because he had learned just how terrifying dreams could be.

But his body was slowly betraying his will.

The eyes he was desperately trying to keep open were slowly closing.

How many times had he dozed off and woken up?

Unable to overcome his exhaustion, Kim Hak-cheol slowly fell asleep.

Completely unaware of the presence watching him from above his head.

‘Huh?’

When did he fall so deeply asleep?

Kim Hak-cheol’s eyes snapped open as he was enveloped in darkness. He tried to lift his head.

But his head wouldn’t move, as if it were fixed in place with an iron nail.

A body that wouldn’t move.

A hot wind mixed with moisture and warmth.

A damp floor.

Everything was telling him where he was.

“Ugh…”

Kim Hak-cheol desperately twisted his body.

No.

This isn’t a dream.

It’s not a dream!

He screamed and struggled, but his body only showed the slightest movement.

Nothing had happened yet.

It hadn’t even started yet.

But the fact that he knew what was going to happen was driving Kim Hak-cheol to the brink of despair.

Tears welled up and saliva dripped from his mouth.

“Ugh…”

Kim Hak-cheol’s eyes slowly turned.

He didn’t want to see it.

He knew very well that it would be much better to just close his eyes. But he couldn’t help but look. Humans can endure fear, but they can’t resist curiosity. It was like watching a horror movie through your fingers while covering your face with both hands.

Kim Hak-cheol’s eyes slowly, very slowly, turned to the side.

His gaze was directed to the place he had seen yesterday.

The darkest corner of the boiler room.

The very place where the demon had appeared yesterday.

He didn’t want to look, but he couldn’t help but look.

When his eyes, betraying his will, turned to the corner of the boiler room, Kim Hak-cheol couldn’t find anything.

‘It’s not there?’

It wasn’t there today, today.

Today was different from yesterday…

“What do you think?”

Then, a sinister voice reached his ears.

Kim Hak-cheol’s body began to tremble.

The demon’s voice was coming from behind him. And it was very close!

“Ugh…”

He strained his whole body and screamed, but his body didn’t move an inch.

A dream?

This?

If he could move his mouth, he would have laughed bitterly.

This is a dream? This?

“Heuheuheup.”

A scream turned into a sob.

The presence he felt behind him was turning his mind white.

“Today is the second day. Have you ever thought about how our game will go?”

Kim Hak-cheol couldn’t answer.

“It seems you haven’t thought about it yet. Good. But now you have to think about it. Okay, remember. There are six days left.”

There was a playful tone in the man’s voice.

Playful?

Did he think making a person like this and tormenting them was a game?

Only a demon could do that. A demon!

Then, the demon’s eyes appeared right in front of his eyes.

“Heeup!”

The moment he saw the red eyes, Kim Hak-cheol couldn’t help but feel a chill run through his entire body.

“Do you resent me?”

Something was different.

Yesterday, he was just scared.

But today, a fierce anger was surging towards the hideous black shadow in front of him.

“Why are you angry?”

The shadow asked as if it didn’t understand at all.

“This is what you used to do.”

Kim Hak-cheol’s eyes slowly trembled.

What I used to do?

This?

Then, a name popped into his head.

Joo Young-gi.

…Is this what I did to Joo Young-gi?

The shadow’s lips twitched.

He couldn’t see it clearly, but the emotion that the movement conveyed was very clear.

Mockery.

The shadow was looking down at him with a low sneer.

“Are you reflecting?”

Kim Hak-cheol nodded frantically. Of course, his head didn’t move at all, against his will.

“But what should I do?”

He could hear a giggling laugh.

“I don’t care whether you reflect or not.”

Crack.

“Kkeueueueup!”

The finger bones that the shadow had crushed were all broken.

“Keueup! Kkeueueup!”

It was a completely different pain than yesterday.

Since the bones in a more sensitive area were broken, the pain was indescribable.

Tears streamed down his face, and his eyes were so swollen that he could barely see.

“Calm down.”

The demon whispered very softly.

Something long grew from the demon’s fingertips.

It wasn’t a fingernail. Fingernails couldn’t grow that long and sharp like a needle.

But what it was didn’t matter.

What mattered was…

That long, needle-like thing was now heading towards Kim Hak-cheol’s broken fingertips.

Sometimes, knowing something can be a terrifying thing.

If you didn’t know, you wouldn’t have to be afraid, but the awareness of already knowing torments a person with a fear that feels like it will stop their heart even before the pain arrives.

The demon seemed to know that too.

The needle stopped right in front of his fingernail.

Then, the demon whispered softly.

“Remember this.”

What?

What was he supposed to remember?

“Remember today, today. Tomorrow… I’ll be back. Okay, now it’s six days.”

The demon’s needle slowly dug under Kim Hak-cheol’s fingernail.

“Aaaaaaah!”

“Ah! Damn it, seriously!”

Kim Hak-cheol jumped up from his seat and screamed.

Noh Su-bong, unable to take it anymore, threw a pillow at Kim Hak-cheol.

“No! You bastard, why are you doing this! Why!”

But Kim Hak-cheol didn’t even look at Noh Su-bong. He jumped off the bed barefoot and ran outside.

“…Is that bastard really crazy?” Noh Su-bong got up from his seat with a dazed look and followed Kim Hak-cheol.

“Huff! Huff! Huff!”

Kim Hak-cheol, who had sprinted with all his might, arrived at the boiler room.

Catching his breath, Kim Hak-cheol stared at the boiler room’s tightly closed iron door and reached out a trembling hand to open it.

Screeeak.

With the feeling of a humid, hot wind rushing out, the sight of the dark boiler room came into his eyes.

“Hey, are you crazy?”

Noh Su-bong, who had followed him belatedly, shouted, but Kim Hak-cheol didn’t move at all.

“Hey?”

Noh Su-bong, who came in front of Kim Hak-cheol and tried to shake him, turned his head following Kim Hak-cheol’s gaze.

“What are you looking at?”

Noh Su-bong, who had looked at where Kim Hak-cheol’s gaze was directed, could find something strange.

A single drop of dried red liquid was clearly imprinted on the floor.

“Blood?”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Kim Hak-cheol began to have a seizure.

“Hic! Hiiic!”

“Hey! Hak-cheol! Man, what’s wrong!”

“Aaaaaaah!”

Kim Hak-cheol’s soul-tearing scream echoed through the boiler room.