Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 2109

“No, I told you not to handle it that way!”

Lee Hyun-soo roared.

“Don’t just gloss over it with what those bastards already know! I told you to identify each and every one of them and report it in a list! Don’t leave out a single person!

Later, if the audit finds any discrepancies, I’ll throw the person in charge into a drum and set it on fire!”

“W-we did relay that… but it seems they don’t have a list to begin with.”

“So, if they don’t have it, that’s it? Then they should make one! Are these bastards trying to get away with doing nothing?”

“Well… the others are somewhat reasonable, but the Round Table is strongly opposing that particular issue.”

“Why? Because of their precious individualism?”

“…Europe tends not to collect personal information on a national level… and, crucially, they’re worried about the potential harm they might suffer if the list is leaked.”

Even Lee Hyun-soo couldn’t immediately respond to that.

“I-if it gets handed over to the government, they’ll have the personal information of all the Awakened in Europe… and we can’t guarantee there won’t be any disadvantages.”

Lee Hyun-soo sighed deeply.

“Then tell them to destroy all related data after making the list. Tell them we’ll manage it as physical documents, not electronic ones, to prevent leaks.”

“But…”

“Damn it!”

Lee Hyun-soo yelled.

“What are we going to achieve by catering to their every whim? Don’t you realize that we need to show the Awakened that we have absolute control over them right now, even if it means putting everything else aside?”

“I know, I know, but the opposition…”

“Opposition? You didn’t expect opposition?” Lee Hyun-soo glared.

“This isn’t the time to accept every single objection! We need to put out the immediate fire first! Even if there’s a potential problem, we can deal with it later!”

The person reporting lowered their head.

“So, the Round Table… no, never mind. You focus on the others. I’ll contact them directly!”

“N-no, sir. I…”

“It’ll be faster if I do it. Go now. Did you secure the Chinese side?”

“Yes. The Hongwang Group took it for granted. They’ve already sent over the list. We need to do some additional investigation, and they’ll supplement the list with the additional personnel as soon as the investigation is complete.”

“…Good, they’re fast.”

Of course, it wasn’t because of Lee Hyun-soo’s request, but simply because they were handing over the personal information they had already organized to manage the Awakened. Still, it was good that they were cooperating.

“Okay. Go back to work.”

“Yes, sir.”

As the person reporting bowed and left, Lee Hyun-soo pressed his temples as if he had a headache. But what was really giving him a headache wasn’t the complicated situation.

“Why is Director Lee so busy?”

“Do you think Director Lee is an old man? It’s natural to be busy when you have a lot of work.”

“Well, it doesn’t look like he has that much to do?”

“Well, he is a bit peculiar. He’s always worked like that.”

“The people under him must be suffering. The guy who just left looked really disgruntled.”

“In the old days, he’d be the type to get stabbed to death for being so arrogant.”

A vein popped out on Lee Hyun-soo’s forehead.

The directors, sitting around his desk, were sipping their steaming coffee and gossiping about Lee Hyun-soo… no, they were talking about him to his face.

“Hey…”

Lee Hyun-soo trembled as he shouted.

“Why are you doing this here! You know I’m busy!”

“Huh?”

Bator said, looking dumbfounded.

“Anyone would think this is your office. Why are you complaining when you’re also occupying the council chamber?”

“It’s different. I’m the one who has to receive and make calls directly on the hotline connected to the Council Leader!”

“Right. That’s why we’re being understanding, right? So you can work comfortably.”

“Ugh.”

Lee Hyun-soo scratched his head. Then Jang Min clicked his tongue.

“If you had just asked for a proper office when you had the chance, this wouldn’t have happened. If those people who don’t do paperwork hadn’t complained about why you needed an office, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“W-well, that’s true!”

Lee Hyun-soo protested, looking wronged.

“Are you all done with your work and just hanging out here?”

“What? You mean the list of Awakened from Mongolia?”

“Yes!”

“We handed it over yesterday.”

“…Huh?”

Lee Hyun-soo blinked.

“I think I mentioned that yesterday.”

“Yeah. We heard it yesterday, did it yesterday, and handed it over yesterday.”

Bator chuckled.

“How many people are there in Mongolia? It shouldn’t take more than a day. It’s something that can be done in a few hours with a simple instruction.”

“…The land is vast.”

“The descendants of the Blue Wolf are as fast as the wind. Not everyone is like you.”

Lee Hyun-soo, having nothing more to say, glanced at Jang Min.

“What about the Demonic Cult…”

“Korea is done. The list of demons who refused to join the Hongwang Group in China will be handed over by tomorrow.”

“…That fast?”

“There’s nothing fast about it. Isn’t confirming the identities of the cult members the most basic task of the cult? What we’re doing now is just checking for any changes in the cult records that might have occurred. It’s not even work.”

Lee Hyun-soo was speechless.

He was still struggling to accurately identify the Awakened from other countries, but these people were sitting still and confirming the identities of thousands of people without lifting a finger, just by giving orders.

Is it really okay for the world to be so unfair?

‘But…’

On the other hand, it was also a fortunate thing.

Bator and Jang Min were absolute rulers in their respective groups, Mongolia and the Demonic Cult. The fact that their orders were carried out so quickly meant that even in this twisted world, the power of the strong still held sway.

Isn’t what Lee Hyun-soo was trying to do exactly that, to expand that kind of control globally?

So, he couldn’t help but ask.

“…Did you have any opposition there?”

“Opposition?”

Bator tilted his head, looking confused.

“It’s not like we’re asking them to do anything big. Why would they oppose something as simple as bringing their names, addresses, and photos?”

It suddenly occurred to him that the value of personal information varied from culture to culture.

“Then, the Demonic Cult… yes. I won’t ask about the Demonic Cult.”

“Of course.”

Jang Min showed his divine skill by expressing with his face alone, ‘If anyone dares to utter even a hint of opposition to what the Demon Lord is doing, I will personally tear them to shreds and feed them to the dogs.’

“What about the General Assembly?”

“We already have the list.”

Bang Jin-hoon shrugged.

“It’s not a big deal to hand over what we already have.”

“Right. So, in the end…”

Lee Hyun-soo sighed deeply.

“I’m the only problem, I’m the only one.”

“That’s right.”

“Hang in there.”

“Good luck.”

A vein popped out on Lee Hyun-soo’s forehead.

When someone is struggling alone, shouldn’t you want to help them? But these idle directors didn’t seem to have the slightest intention of helping him.

“Director Lee.”

“Yes?”

At that moment, Jang Min opened his mouth.

“I’ve lived quite a long time, and I’ve realized one thing.”

“Yes, Elder.”

“What’s meant to happen will happen.”

If anyone else had said that, Lee Hyun-soo would have immediately snapped back, but he couldn’t do that to Jang Min. His experience was an unfathomable realm for Lee Hyun-soo.

“Whether it’s fast or slow, the world will eventually change according to the flow. So, there’s no need to rush.”

“…I understand what you mean, but it’s not as easy as it sounds.”

Lee Hyun-soo scratched his head and sat down.

“Of course, it’s true that the Council Leader has established an absolute position in the Awakened world… but there are limits to that. The Awakened are not the type to like being restrained.”

“…That’s right.”

“We can manage the East Asian side, where there’s a strong sense of belonging to a group, and the European side, which has developed from knight orders and guilds, but it’s not easy to exert control over other countries. The Awakened in those countries don’t even know what the Hongwang Group is, what the Hokwang Group is, or where the General Assembly is.”

Everyone nodded.

It wasn’t difficult for the General Assembly to have the greatest influence in the Awakened world. That was possible with Kang Jin-ho’s existence alone.

But pushing all the Awakened in the world under the influence of the General Assembly was almost impossible.

“It’s just a headache to try to do something impossible.”

“Do you think I want to? The problem is that we’ll be responsible for everything the Awakened do from now on.”

“Those guys won’t try to understand us. They’ll force everything onto our shoulders, even if they know it’s not our fault. It’s the easiest way for them.”

Bator clicked his tongue, looking displeased.

“That’s why we need to bring as many people as possible under our control right now.”

“Haa…”

Bang Jin-hoon sighed deeply and leaned back on the sofa.

“What you’re saying makes sense, Director Lee.”

“Yes?”

“But… listening to it, it sounds no different from military dictatorship logic.”

Seeing Lee Hyun-soo’s expression slightly harden, Bang Jin-hoon lightly raised both hands.

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying it’s bad… and I don’t want to belittle Director Lee’s efforts. When things are urgent, you have to drink even poison.”

“But what I’m worried about is that such methods always have bad results. I’m just worried. The work that started to benefit everyone is ending up making us public enemies.”

Lee Hyun-soo pursed his lips.

Bang Jin-hoon, glancing at his expression, said as if joking.

“Right? Because it’s urgent, we act a bit aggressively, suppress those who oppose us with force, and stabilize society through strong control… and then, when things get a little better, we promise a more free world. We’ve experienced that before… Ah, of course, I don’t mean that Director Lee or the Council Leader are like that.”

“I understand, Director.”

Lee Hyun-soo sighed deeply.

“I know… but I don’t know what else to do.”

“…It’s a difficult problem.”

Reality and ideals. The gap was too far.

Lee Hyun-soo was now feeling deeply why heroes turn into dictators.

“But we can’t just sit idly by…”

At that moment, Lee Hyun-soo’s phone rang. Lee Hyun-soo, slightly frowning, took out his phone and quickly composed his expression.

“Yes, Council Leader. This is Lee Hyun-soo. I’ve answered the call.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s expression, which had been polite, gradually changed.

“Yes? No… Yes? What did you say?”

Lee Hyun-soo’s eyes twitched.

“J-just a moment. Council Leader, are you serious… um, yes? Wait a minute, you! What the…”

Lee Hyun-soo, with a blank look, took the phone away from his ear and stared blankly at the disconnected call.

“…What did he say?”

“It seems…”

“Huh?”

“The Council Leader seems to have lost his mind…”

“…What?”

Everyone stared at Lee Hyun-soo with dumbfounded expressions at the absurd words.

But Lee Hyun-soo, instead of explaining, just had a look as if he was possessed by a ghost.