Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 260

Lee Joong-gul stared at the three men before him, his heart heavy with despair. The physical pain was manageable, but the betrayal by those he had trusted was a torment far greater.

“Don’t look at us like that,” the man seated opposite him said with a strange, mocking laugh. “Do you think we wanted this? It’s inevitable. It’s just the way the world works.”

Lee Joong-gul gritted his teeth. “Is it the way of the world to betray and stab in the back those who have given you their trust and faith?”

“No. The way of the world is the survival of the fittest.”

Lee Joong-gul looked at the man, his gaze questioning. “Look here, Chairman,” the man continued, “this situation is a result of your incompetence. Why can’t you understand that?”

“That I’m incompetent?” Lee Joong-gul scoffed.

“If we had wanted to, we could have crushed the Yeongnam Assembly at any time. If you hadn’t hesitated, Chairman, we could have done it at any point in the last ten years.”

“Enough!” Lee Joong-gul interrupted, his voice rising.

The man ignored him. “The price for your old-fashioned nonsense about not engaging in fratricide and not shedding blood among our own people is this. We’ve fallen so far that we can’t compete with the Yeongnam Assembly on our own. This happened under your leadership, and yet you still refuse to admit your incompetence?”

“You, you bastard…” Lee Joong-gul’s face flushed red as he glared at the man.

“Do you not know why that happened?”

“Are you going to blame it on the influence of foreign powers?”

“You know! And yet you still question my competence?”

“Chairman, why can’t you understand?” the man said, feigning sympathy. “Not being able to deal with it is incompetence.”

“…What?”

“No matter what the situation, it’s the leader’s duty to find a solution. Whether it’s leveraging the power of foreign forces, nipping the problem in the bud by gaining their support, or even achieving results through the moderate methods you advocate, that’s what a Chairman should do.”

“…”

“But you’ve only cowered, using the excuse of avoiding tragedy.”

“I!”

“Think about it,” the man said, as if making a declaration. “What would you have done if you were forty years old?”

Lee Joong-gul couldn’t answer. That was exactly what the other man wanted. If he were in his prime at forty, he would have tried to eliminate the Yeongnam Assembly without hesitation.

“No, we don’t even need you at forty. Even at sixty, it wouldn’t have been different. But you’ve grown too old, Chairman. You’ve been in one place for too long. Stagnant water only decays.”

“…Are you saying I’ve decayed?”

“That’s something you should ask yourself.”

Lee Joong-gul’s body trembled. More than the situation he was in, the man’s words were making him feel utterly defeated. He had dedicated his entire life to the General Assembly, and now this man was completely dismissing his life’s work.

“Are you saying that even drugging people and taking advantage of them is because of my lack of ability?”

At that moment, a low chuckle filled the room. The man laughed lightly, then sneered at Lee Joong-gul. “Don’t act like a girl. The end always justifies the means. It’s only those in high positions who are afraid of that and insist that the means must also be just. What’s the difference between a powerful person fighting fairly against those below and saying they won’t lose? It’s not us who are cowardly, it’s you.”

Lee Joong-gul’s eyes wavered. “If the one who holds the power fights fairly with others, it’s only natural that they win. Don’t try to disguise your power with the name of justice.”

Lee Joong-gul quietly closed his eyes. It was over. There was no way to turn this situation around with words.

“What is your name?”

“Does it matter? But if you want to know, I’ll tell you. Chun Tae-hoon. That’s my name.”

“And you must be a man of Bang Jin-hoon’s?”

“Isn’t that what you already guessed?”

“I know that Bang Jin-hoon is hostile to the Yeongnam Assembly. So why are you receiving support from them?”

The man, Chun Tae-hoon, chuckled, a clear sneer. “I told you, the end justifies the means. I orchestrated all of this. No one knows the connection between me and Director Bang Jin-hoon. In the end, this will be seen as something the Yeongnam Assembly did, and Director Bang Jin-hoon will take over the General Assembly after you’re gone. As for me, I’ll just go to the Maldives for a few years, change my identity, and come back.”

“Do you think it’ll be that easy?”

“Chairman,” Chun Tae-hoon clicked his tongue. “That’s not something you should worry about. You’re already a relic of the past. You can leave the future to us. No matter how badly we mess things up, it can’t be as bad as you did, right?”

Lee Joong-gul looked at Chun Tae-hoon with regretful eyes. A young man full of spirit, though reckless, sometimes does things that older people can’t do without hesitation. He couldn’t tell if this man’s recklessness was genuine or if it was because Lee Joong-gul’s aging mind couldn’t keep up with him.

‘Should I have stepped down sooner?’ he wondered. It wasn’t out of greed or a desire for power. It was just that there was no one he could trust to hand over the position to yet. Bang Jin-hoon was capable, but too radical. He had planned to hand over the Chairman position to him once he calmed down a bit, even if he didn’t want it.

“You’ve dragged this out for too long. Now, tell us. Where are the secret documents?”

“You’ll find them eventually. If you don’t tell us now, the power of the General Assembly, which is already in chaos, will only weaken further. Even at this last moment, I hope you will show the affection for the General Assembly that you have always claimed to have, so that your departure won’t be disgraceful.”

Feeling that everything was over, Lee Joong-gul quietly closed his eyes. Chun Tae-hoon was right. If he held on like this, it would only worsen the chaos within the General Assembly. His death was already decided. Rather than having the General Assembly suffer internal strife, it might be better to give everything and go.

“The documents are…”

Just as he was about to speak, Chun Tae-hoon’s head snapped back. His gaze was fixed on the tightly closed door.

“…What’s that sound?”

A very faint sound was coming from outside. It wasn’t unusual; sounds always came. Even the wind would make this old, dilapidated building creak. However, the reason Chun Tae-hoon stopped everything and turned around was because this sound was different. It was a sound made by a person, not the house. A sound that seemed to come from a human being in extreme terror, like something out of a horror movie. It was a small sound from a distance, so he couldn’t be sure, but it was definitely a human scream.

‘What’s going on?’ he thought. Did someone come to help the Chairman? Impossible. The people of the General Assembly were being closely monitored by Bang Jin-hoon. If any of them were moving, Bang Jin-hoon would have stopped them. Even if that wasn’t the case, Chun Tae-hoon would have received a call by now.

Then? Did he mishear it?

At that moment, Chun Tae-hoon’s face contorted. A scream was heard from a slightly closer distance. This time, there was no doubt; it was definitely a scream. And then again. And again. Clear and distinct screams were approaching them.

‘There are twenty martial artists supported by the Yeongnam Assembly guarding the door,’ he thought. The General Assembly hadn’t moved. Then who was making the screams outside the door? Were the people from the Yeongnam Assembly fighting each other? Or else…

His question didn’t last long. The screams stopped. Even if there were no more screams, there should still be some commotion, but outside the door, it was as quiet as a mouse.

Gulp. The sound of someone swallowing was as loud as thunder. Chun Tae-hoon suddenly felt something was wrong.

‘What are we doing right now?’ he thought. If a person’s scream was heard from outside, the normal reaction would be to rush out immediately. Even if rational action was secondary, it was human nature to want to see what was happening. But from the moment the first scream was heard, no one in this room had moved. It was incredibly strange and impossible to understand.

Thud. At that moment, a low sound penetrated Chun Tae-hoon’s ears. Footsteps. Thud, thud. Someone was walking towards them. Chun Tae-hoon’s body trembled slightly. There was not a single part of this situation that made sense. The people guarding the outside were martial artists. The basics of a martial artist are to move lightly. For a martial artist to make such a sound was like revealing themselves. If the guards were approaching, it was impossible for them to make such a sound. But it also didn’t make sense that someone making such loud footsteps could have broken through the guards.

Then what was it? Confusion and frustration were trying to overwhelm him. At that moment, the doorknob slowly turned. The door, which hadn’t been locked, clicked open. Then, Chun Tae-hoon saw it. The figure of a man standing behind the open door.

What should he say? Chun Tae-hoon had no way to express the feeling that was chilling his heart. The figure of the person who appeared through the open door was enough to make the hearts of those watching sink. A bloodied figure [血人 – literally ‘blood person’], whose entire body, from head to toe, was completely stained with dark red blood. Drops of blood dripped from the ends of his hair, unable to bear the weight, and beneath those drops, his pure white eyes and pitch-black pupils were revealed. And… his teeth, shining pure white as if a crack had formed in his red face.

“So, you were here.” The moment those words were spoken, the air in the room felt like it was rapidly cooling down. Chun Tae-hoon realized it. This was probably the feeling of someone who meets a hungry beast in a dead end surrounded by cliffs. A feeling of despair that there was nowhere to run. When those eyes, so clearly visible through the blood-stained face, turned towards him, Chun Tae-hoon almost collapsed on the spot. He had seen many martial artists, many stronger than himself. But this man was different. An overwhelming presence that could not be expressed simply by the strength of martial arts. He had never met anyone who could instill such fear, as if his heart was shrinking just by making eye contact.

The man raised his hand and slowly wiped the blood flowing down his face. Then, with a strange madness in his eyes, he opened his mouth without even erasing his smile. “Come at me.”