Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1393

‘Why can’t we stop them!’

‘The Chinese aren’t cooperating at all. They’re even completely ignoring requests from the top.’

‘Why the hell are they helping Kang Jin-ho! Even at the cost of antagonizing Korea!’

The aide bit his lip.

He had no idea why they were helping Kang Jin-ho. But he knew for sure that the last part was wrong.

‘It’s not like they’re antagonizing Korea.’

It was a sad truth, but there was no way the government could retaliate against China just because they were acting like this.

Above all, it wasn’t easy to protest. China was a great power and a rogue nation at the same time. Once a strong power started acting like a bully, there was nothing you could do with just justification.

Besides, they hadn’t even secured any justification right now.

How could they ask them to lie just because a domestic power figure had committed a crime and was in trouble?

That was something you couldn’t say if you had even the slightest bit of decency.

And what if they tried to negotiate clumsily and the Chinese side revealed the contents of the negotiation?

‘That would be the collapse of the regime.’

It was already a scandal of epic proportions.

If word got out that the regime had tried to protect the Prime Minister, impeachment wouldn’t be surprising.

‘What the hell is the President doing? He needs to fix this quickly!’

The aide bit his lip.

‘He’s completely lost his mind.’

If Kim Myung-chan had maintained even a little bit of reason, he would never have said such a thing. He couldn’t possibly not know that the moment the higher-ups intervened, they would fall even further.

‘Why are you looking at me like that?’

The aide raised his head and looked at Kim Myung-chan.

Bloodshot eyes.

Rough skin.

His usually neat hair was disheveled and falling down.

His gaze couldn’t stay fixed, moving restlessly here and there. His dry, cracked lips kept opening and closing.

The Kim Myung-chan he knew was nowhere to be found.

‘So, what’s the plan? You need to come up with a plan, you incompetent fool!’

A deep sigh escaped him.

‘Prime Minister, to be honest, there’s nothing we can do.’

‘……Are you saying that?’

‘We’re going to try our best. But… as you know, if this had happened domestically, we could have tried anything, but China is not an opponent we can handle. You know that, right?’

Kim Myung-chan scratched his lower eye area nervously.

‘So?’

The aide couldn’t say anything more.

Kim Myung-chan jumped up from his seat and exploded.

‘So, you’re saying we should just sit here and take it? Did I do this for my own benefit? Everything was for the sake of the nation! And yet the nation is… the nation…’

Kim Myung-chan stared blankly at the ceiling.

‘The nation is abandoning me…’

Thud.

Kim Myung-chan slumped back onto the sofa, muttering as he looked at the ceiling.

‘So this is how it feels. Kang Jin-ho… this is how it felt. This is how it feels when the nation abandons you…’

The aide bit his lip silently.

Kim Myung-chan was finished.

This was a checkmate.

Even at this moment, the media was relentlessly reporting on this incident. There was no new statement from the Chinese authorities, and the Blue House hadn’t shown any other reaction, but they were squeezing out every last drop of water from a case that had already run dry.

In other words, the public’s attention was not leaving this matter.

Now that the incident had grown this big, the only remaining option was to drag out the trial and aim for a lighter sentence when people lost interest.

Which meant…

‘My career is over too.’

Who would hire an aide who served a criminal? The reason he was still reporting to Kim Myung-chan was because of their past loyalty, not because there was anything left for him.

‘Contact the party leader. This needs to be handled at the party level…’

‘The party already made a statement this morning. They’re going to review the motion to expel Prime Minister Kim Myung-chan.’

‘….Expel?’

‘Yes.’

‘Expel me?’

Flames sparked in Kim Myung-chan’s eyes.

‘Who the hell do they think they are to expel me!’

‘Prime Minister…’

Without another word, Kim Myung-chan took out his phone. Then, with trembling hands, he dialed a number and put the phone to his ear.

After a long ring, the person on the other end answered.

[What is it?]

‘Party leader, this is Kim Myung-chan.’

[Yes, Prime Minister. You must be going through a lot.]

‘……I heard that there’s a review going on to expel me?’

[That’s how it is. The public opinion is too bad. But don’t worry. It’s a temporary measure, and you’ll be reinstated as soon as you clear your name.]

‘What’s the point of being reinstated then? You need to stop me from being expelled!’

[Prime Minister, the party isn’t like it used to be, where the party leader can do whatever they want. If the committee members insist, we have to accept it. We don’t have the power to refuse. You know that, right?]

‘So you’re just going to let go?’

[Hmm…]

Kim Myung-chan half-shouted, and an uncomfortable groan came from the other end.

[Prime Minister, get a hold of yourself. They say if you keep your wits about you, you can survive even in a tiger’s den.]

Kim Myung-chan gritted his teeth.

It wasn’t that you could survive if you kept your wits about you in a tiger’s den, but that you’d be eaten alive while still conscious.

‘Party leader, you haven’t forgotten how much I’ve helped you, have you?’

[Of course, I haven’t forgotten. But you’ve always said that it wasn’t for me, but for the nation, haven’t you?]

[If helping the Prime Minister is for the sake of the nation, I’ll do it as much as I can. But helping an individual with a scandal at the party level is not something we can do, is it?]

‘Individual? Damn it, where do you think the money I sent to China came from! You think you can just wipe your mouth and be done with it?’

[I don’t know what you’re talking about. Money?]

‘You…’

Kim Myung-chan’s body trembled.

[Anyway, Prime Minister, I hope you get a good result soon. And please refrain from making these personal calls in the future. I’m a public figure, and I have to take responsibility for a party. Sometimes, we have to suppress personal friendships. Goodbye.]

‘You!’

Kim Myung-chan tried to say something, but the call had already ended. Kim Myung-chan, his hands trembling, couldn’t contain his anger and threw the phone to the floor.

‘You goddamn bastards!’

Kim Myung-chan’s face flushed red.

‘Do you think I did this for my own good! When I took the lead, you all applauded it as a decision for the nation! Now you’re just wiping your mouths? You’re going to push me out as a scapegoat and live on? Do you think I’ll let that happen?’

The aide closed his eyes tightly.

The man in front of him was an old man who had lost his reason due to fear and anger. Nowhere in his appearance could he see the figure of the fighter who had resisted the oppressive dictatorship.

How did it come to this?

‘Prepare the car. Right now!’

‘Yes?’

‘I have to go see that person! The only person who can resolve this situation is him! I have to meet him before it’s too late.’

It was obvious who he was talking about.

‘That’s impossible.’

‘It’s not the time to talk about what’s possible or impossible! I need to go right now…’

‘Get a hold of yourself, Prime Minister! The President is currently overseas. He’s not at the Blue House right now.’

Kim Myung-chan stared at the aide, looking dazed.

‘Why? What for?’

He had completely lost his mind.

‘Prime Minister.’

The aide bit his lip and said,

‘What I’m about to say is my last act of kindness and advice.’

Kim Myung-chan stared at the aide with bloodshot eyes.

‘Die with it.’

‘……What?’

‘You know it too, Prime Minister, the ruthlessness of power. You shouldn’t keep saying things like that. If someone who has nowhere to escape says they won’t die alone… you know what will happen, right?’

‘I have nowhere to turn. But the only lifeline I have is the regime. If you’re completely abandoned by the regime, the only future you’ll face is one. If you want to avoid that future, you should just take it all on yourself and die so that they don’t get hurt. That way, you might be able to aim for reinstatement…’

Thwack!

The ashtray rolled onto the floor.

Blood flowed down the aide’s forehead.

‘Are you spouting that nonsense?’

‘……Prime Minister.’

‘Get out of here right now! Disappear from my sight!’

The aide stood up silently. Then, he looked at Kim Myung-chan calmly.

‘As I said, this is my last piece of advice. There’s nothing more I can do.’

‘You…’

‘The prosecution will summon you soon for questioning. Please sort out your thoughts by then. I’ll probably be summoned too. I’ll say I don’t know anything.’

Before Kim Myung-chan could say anything, the aide bowed deeply and turned away.

In the room where the aide had left, only Kim Myung-chan remained, suppressing his anger.

‘Die with it?’

He laughed.

‘Heh.’

There was no way to stop the laughter that was bursting out.

‘Hehehehe.’

‘You must die with it, for the sake of the nation.’

It was a phrase he had said once. Looking back on his life, he had said this phrase countless times. But it was as if he was receiving the words he had said back, and he had to hear them now.

And… the people he had said those words to had all met a miserable end.

Kim Myung-chan grabbed a cigarette with trembling hands.

‘Prosecution investigation?’

Kim Myung-chan, with a cigarette in his mouth and lit, stared blankly at the ceiling.

What should he say?

It wasn’t even funny.

He couldn’t say things as they were. Even in a situation where his life was ending, he had to make up words so that the regime wouldn’t be harmed. Or maybe they had already decided what he should say.

‘Hehehehe.’

Kim Myung-chan’s eyes turned red, and soon tears like pus began to flow.

It was over.

It was all over.

‘Hehehehehehe.’

Kim Myung-chan slowly collapsed.

Everything he had built was collapsing along with Kim Myung-chan’s life.

In Kim Myung-chan’s mind, Kang Jin-ho’s last words echoed.

‘You’ll experience it now. Hold on as much as you can, and we’ll meet again at the end.’

‘The end?’

Was this the end?

No… it couldn’t be.

Conversely, the fact that Kang Jin-ho hadn’t come to him meant that he still had something to lose.

And when he had lost everything,

Kang Jin-ho would come to him. To give Kim Myung-chan a painful death that he could never escape.

‘Huu…’

Kim Myung-chan’s laughter subsided. And the empty space of laughter began to be replaced by sobs.