Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1699

“Chief.”

“…Is a quick return difficult?” Kang Jin-ho frowned, looking at the person speaking seriously in front of him.

‘It’s only been a few days.’

It’s only been one day.

It’s only been a day since Lee Hyun-soo took a vacation and left his post.

But in that single day, complaints are exploding.

‘Amateurish.’

This is something that shouldn’t happen organizationally, and it shouldn’t be happening. If an organization is shaken by the presence or absence of one person, then that organization is fundamentally flawed.

Hmm?

The Demonic Cult?

‘Of course, it was flawed.’

That’s why it collapsed.

The Demonic Cult is not an exception but a perfect example. As soon as Kang Jin-ho and Cheongma [Blue Horse, a reference to a powerful figure in the Demonic Cult] died, it collapsed cleanly at an unprecedented speed.

It’s lucky that remnants (?) have remained until this era, but considering the past power of the Demonic Cult, this was a complete and utter failure.

‘So, it shouldn’t be like that this time…’

How can someone come to complain after only one day of someone being away?

Of course, it also means that Lee Hyun-soo has been doing a lot of work, but even so, one day is too much. At least they should try to handle things themselves for a few days.

If it were the usual Kang Jin-ho, he might have scolded them at this point. Kang Jin-ho doesn’t usually raise his voice to his subordinates, but he doesn’t want to forgive a lack of will, not a lack of ability.

Yet, the reason why Kang Jin-ho can’t say anything right now is…

“It’s been a day, that’s plenty of rest!”

The person protesting with bloodshot eyes in front of him is none other than Wiggins.

Bator, Bang Jin-hoon, or Jang Min would complain if they were having a hard time, regardless of whether it overloaded the General Assembly, but Wiggins is a bit different.

‘…How hard must it have been.’

Looking at Wiggins with his bloodshot eyes, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

“…Is the overload severe?”

“Chief, I think…”

“O”

“It was a mistake to teach that guy magic or whatever.”

“Huh?”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head, wondering what this was about.

“People have talents, and they should be used in the areas where they can use those talents. Turning that guy to something other than office work is a waste of talent and a loss for humanity.”

“…Who was it that said he had talent and tried to teach him?”

“That’s why I said it was a mistake.”

Wiggins shook his head.

‘He’s not even human.’

Wiggins is someone who is confident that he is second to none in terms of work ability. He is the one who has endured for more than ten years in the position of a Knight, where an ordinary human would be buried under a pile of documents and die in less than three days.

No, it’s not just Wiggins.

When you think about it, Bang Jin-hoon, as a director of the General Assembly, also handled a workload that an ordinary office worker couldn’t even imagine, and Jang Min was the one who led the huge Demonic Cult.

But Lee Hyun-soo’s existence has made the workload of the other directors seem like that of a new employee.

“I thought he did a lot of work before, but I didn’t know he was doing this much. What were you thinking when you sent that guy on vacation?”

Just because.

Uh…

I thought it would be nice. There wasn’t really any grand thought behind it.

“He looked tired.”

“I’m tired too.”

Wiggins shook his head.

“Anyway, we’re putting off what we can and passing on what we can, but if that guy is away for two more days, things will collapse like dominoes, so you should know that.”

“…Oh, um.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded with a blank face.

‘Just what is he doing, and how much?’

Kang Jin-ho was secretly fed up with Lee Hyun-soo’s existence.

“However…”

Wiggins stroked his chin.

“It’s a bit embarrassing to say this after saying all that, but I think it’s not a bad choice to let him rest at this timing.”

“Hmm?”

Kang Jin-ho slightly raised his head and looked at Wiggins.

“You must have felt something to do this, but recently, Director Lee has been a bit…”

“Yeah.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded quietly.

“Humans who try to handle what they can’t handle tend to melt away under unbearable pressure.”

It’s something that every martial artist goes through at least once.

But Lee Hyun-soo is not a martial artist. He must have encountered an enemy he couldn’t handle on his own for the first time.

“A wall, huh?”

“That’s probably it.”

Wiggins stroked his stubble.

“He’s lived by relying on his brain, so he probably has no immunity to things that his brain can’t handle.”

“You should have been the wall.”

“Impossible.”

Wiggins shrugged.

“It’s embarrassing to self-assess, but I think I’m a more valuable existence than Lee Hyun-soo when considering both martial and intellectual aspects.”

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“But when it comes to intellect alone, I can’t beat him. My execution ability and experience only create a subtle advantage, and I can’t always maintain that advantage.”

Wiggins smiled bitterly.

What would happen if he became Lee Hyun-soo’s enemy?

If they fought, of course, he would win.

If they fought with ten equal subordinates, would his win rate be around 80%?

But if it were a hundred, it would be cut in half, and if it were a thousand, the win rate would be slim.

If he had to move ten thousand units, he would lose all thousand times.

The moment his martial power loses its significance, he will be at the mercy of Lee Hyun-soo.

The problem is…

‘This also applies to the relationship between Lee Hyun-soo and the King of Creation.’

Even more drastically.

Whether alone or with ten thousand people, Lee Hyun-soo cannot defeat the King of Creation. He can’t handle the martial power when outnumbered, and he can’t handle the intellect when outnumbered.

The despair of not being able to win against the opponent in any situation or circumstance.

This must be the first time Lee Hyun-soo has experienced such fear in his life.

“Of course, there’s your case, Chief, but that’s a bit different.”

“Hmm?”

“People don’t try to find a way to fight a lion with their bare hands.”

For Lee Hyun-soo, Kang Jin-ho is someone who lives in a different world. It means that he is an existence that cannot be dealt with by logic and rationality. But the King of Creation is in the same realm as Lee Hyun-soo and mercilessly tramples on him.

A gap that is even despairing.

That’s why Wiggins wanted to ask Kang Jin-ho one thing.

“Do you think he’ll overcome it?”

Kang Jin-ho let out a groan.

“It depends on what you mean.”

“…Can I hear both?” Kang Jin-ho quietly reached out and picked up a cigarette from the table. Then, he slowly put the cigarette in his mouth and lit it.

“If you’re asking if Lee Hyun-soo can beat the King of Creation, I don’t know either. That’s not my area. If I try to evaluate it, it’ll just be blind faith.”

“Umm.”

Wiggins nodded quietly.

“But if you’re asking if Lee Hyun-soo can overcome the pressure from the King of Creation…”

Kang Jin-ho shrugged.

“Wouldn’t that be disrespectful to Lee Hyun-soo?”

Wiggins shook his head.

‘It’s an unbelievable trust relationship.’

Sometimes, Wiggins feels that Lee Hyun-soo’s trust in Kang Jin-ho is dangerous.

The moment an alien substance like Kang Jin-ho interferes with the system that is the cold and calculating Lee Hyun-soo, the system malfunctions. Lee Hyun-soo, who should be objectively evaluating the martial artists of the General Assembly and turning them into combat power, shows a belief in Kang Jin-ho that is nothing short of religious.

And ridiculously, Kang Jin-ho has lived up to that unbelievable trust. So far, there hasn’t been a single misstep.

‘And the problem is that the Chief also trusts Lee Hyun-soo too much.’

And Lee Hyun-soo has never failed to live up to Kang Jin-ho’s trust.

That’s why it’s even more dangerous.

The shock of the moment when something you believed would never break breaks will be greater than anything else.

“Don’t worry.”

Kang Jin-ho, who doesn’t know Wiggins’s feelings, said calmly.

“He’ll recover and come back on his own. He’s not the kind of guy who would be crushed by that much pressure.”

Wiggins nodded quietly.

Anyway, he agrees with this part.

“Unless he suddenly gets into a car accident and dies.”

“He’s a martial artist, though.”

Wiggins and Kang Jin-ho looked at each other and chuckled.

And at that moment.

RRRRRR.

Kang Jin-ho’s phone started ringing. Kang Jin-ho turned his head, checked the screen, frowned, and answered the phone.

“This is Kang Jin-ho.”

[Ah, I’m sorry, Chief. I haven’t been able to reach Lee Hyun-soo since this morning…]

“He’s on vacation.”

[I’m sorry. It might be a problem, so I had to contact you.]

Kang Jin-ho frowned slightly.

“Tell me.”

[The intelligence department has discovered suspicious individuals entering Korea. With the current situation, we’re rechecking the identities of those coming from China several times, and it seems like about a dozen people keep getting flagged.]

Kang Jin-ho frowned.

“A dozen people?”

[Yes.]

“Hmm.”

Kang Jin-ho’s slightly tense eyes softened. Even though the General Assembly is a small group compared to the Three Kings of China, a dozen people wouldn’t cause a problem.

“That number shouldn’t be a big problem, right?”

[Their movements are strange. They entered through Incheon Airport and moved to Busan. And they evaded all the intelligence department following them, and their whereabouts are unknown.]

“…Their whereabouts are unknown?”

If they evaded the intelligence department, then there’s definitely a problem. It’s impossible for ordinary people to evade them.

In the end, it means that they are either highly trained agents or martial artists. Neither is good news.

[Yes. Busan is not a place where either the government or the General Assembly has much involvement, so it would be difficult to plot something… Their trail disappeared from there.]

“They’ll show up again.”

Then we’ll deal with them…

[Our side is guessing that they might have taken a boat to Jeju. But what doesn’t make sense is that if that’s the case, they could have just gone straight to Jeju Airport…]

“…Where to?”

Kang Jin-ho’s voice cut off Go Han-bong’s voice.

The cold, calm voice was transmitted through the receiver, and Go Han-bong’s flinch was clearly conveyed.

[Probably Jeju…]

Crack.

The phone in Kang Jin-ho’s hand was crushed.

The call was cut off, but the General Assembly no longer existed in Kang Jin-ho’s mind.

“Wiggins!”

“Wait, wait a minute! Just in case, an order to dispatch troops… No, Chief. I’ll do it over the phone.”

Wiggins failed to follow the obvious procedure he had set for himself.

If he had dragged it out any longer, Kang Jin-ho’s hand would have grabbed his neck and twisted it.

“They’re going to Jeju.”

“I’ll take you there right away.”

Wiggins started casting while sweating profusely.

‘Damn it.’

The situation is clear.

Wiggins prayed that nothing would happen to Lee Hyun-soo.

What if Lee Hyun-soo were to be harmed by them?

Wiggins glanced at Kang Jin-ho.

‘Perhaps…’

The world might witness a demon the likes of which it has never experienced before.