Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 414

“I said, get everyone out of there now!”Cho Kyu-min’s voice was forceful. His slightly raised tone was perfectly designed to intimidate the person on the other end.[B-but, we can’t do that on our own…]

“Then who’s supposed to decide that?”[We need instructions from above.]

“Are you messing with me right now?”Cho Kyu-min growled.”You morons, do you not realize what will happen to your company if even one casualty occurs there? Which do you think is worse, the reprimand you’ll receive for evacuating people without orders, or the consequences of casualties occurring there?”[W-well, of course…]

“Listen carefully.”Cho Kyu-min stated firmly.”We, in the name of the Finance Department, have provided you with information about the situation on the ground before anyone else. If there are casualties due to a delayed evacuation, we will release this recorded call and all the details of the situation to the media in the name of the Finance Department.”[Just a moment, sir.]

“Do you think I’m speaking on my own behalf? What authority do I have to call you and say these things? We’re trying to help you on a group level. Even if a regular person reported this, you should be investigating and evacuating immediately. Are you saying you don’t trust the information coming from the Finance Department? Is that your answer?”[Sir, please calm down. This is the first time we’ve encountered a situation like this, so I don’t know what to do.]

Cho Kyu-min sighed.

‘Damn it.’The company operating this amusement park was one of the most rigid in South Korea. Their corporate culture was far from what you’d expect from a major corporation, and they were notorious for blaming employees whenever something went wrong. It wasn’t a place where anyone could make proactive decisions on their own.”Listen carefully.”[Yes.]

“If there are casualties because of this, it won’t end with just your job. The media will tear you apart, and companies and the government, who are already looking for an opportunity to take you down, will jump at the chance. How do you think the company will react? They’ll try to pass all the blame onto you and run. You know that better than anyone, right?”[Yes, that’s right. They will.]

“Then I don’t need to explain what you should do, right? If you’re going to get punished anyway, let’s at least minimize it.”[…I will issue the evacuation order immediately.]

“Yes, please do.”Cho Kyu-min hung up the phone and stood up abruptly.”Those crazy bastards.”This was the kind of situation where you’d see completely incomprehensible responses when an incident occurred on-site.From a company’s perspective, evacuating all the visitors and closing the amusement park would result in enormous losses. Logically, it’s right to prioritize saving lives, even if it means taking a loss. If you don’t, you can’t even call yourself human.The problem is that in the case of an amusement park operated by a subsidiary, the president doesn’t have the actual authority to close the park. If they close the park based on their own judgment, they’ll immediately face criticism.Those who are blinded by petty internal politics will tear them apart.The argument that they should save people first and worry about money later doesn’t work.Because they’ll be caught in the absolute question of ‘Why didn’t you properly manage the facilities until an accident occurred?’So, those who are in a lose-lose situation, where they’ll be held responsible no matter what, will try to minimize their losses first. That’s the only way they can survive.”Those rotten bastards.”They talk about finding people, but when the time comes, they only care about money. He was sick of the way these companies behaved.Cho Kyu-min sighed deeply and picked up the phone again. At least the evacuation order would be issued, and now he needed to get cooperation from the relevant authorities. The more rescue workers and firefighters deployed, the more people they could keep safe.Fortunately, Hwang Jung-hoo had given him full authority without asking any questions.

‘These days, I feel like I’m not a secretary anymore.’The chief of staff to the president is one of the most powerful positions, but the chief of staff to a company is just a title with no real power. But lately, Cho Kyu-min felt like he had become the chief of staff to the government, representing Hwang Jung-hoo.It was comfortable, but the responsibility had grown just as much.”This is not the time to be thinking about other things.”Choi Jung-hoon clenched his teeth as he listened to the loud ringing of the connection tone.Just do your best.Then that person will take care of the rest.”W-what is that?””Huh?””I-is that a person?”The heads of those who were evacuating turned towards the ceiling. They couldn’t help but look up because of the dust that had been falling little by little and the equipment that was swaying as if it could crash to the ground at any moment.How could they just look ahead when something could fall on their heads at any moment?As they glanced up anxiously, they saw a man rushing along the rails.”Is he moving by holding onto that?””No way. He must have hooked something onto the rail!””It looks like there’s a rope or something…””Even so, is it possible to move at that speed? And is it okay for him to go that way? If more weight is added, the rail will break even more, right?””…He must be a safety worker.””Safety worker, my foot! Do safety workers risk their lives these days? And he’s not even wearing a staff uniform!”Horror filled the people’s eyes.It was practically a ceiling, and the chances of someone surviving a fall from there were less than the chances of someone surviving a lightning strike. And while a person struck by lightning might not suffer severe aftereffects, someone falling from there would be in terrible shape even if they survived.”I-incredible. Look at that.””He’s so fast?”Meanwhile, people started pushing through the crowd from behind, interrupting those who were looking up and talking.”Hey, you bastard! What are you looking at! Hurry up!””Don’t you know we’ll all die if the collapse starts? Do you want to go to hell and brag about what you saw?””Move! Get out of the way!”And that was the beginning.The people who had been maintaining some composure started to show violence because the line was slightly blocked by those who were looking up.It wasn’t hard to understand. They were desperately suppressing their anxiety that the things above them might collapse and bury them at any moment.So, when they saw people blocking the line by looking up and talking, they couldn’t help but get angry.”Why aren’t you moving! What are you all doing! Are you going to take responsibility if we die because of this?””C-customers, please calm down.””Get out of the way, you bastard!”Reason was gradually disappearing from people’s eyes.The line, packed like sardines, was not moving forward. Fear and anxiety were shaking their patience.It was impossible for all the people who filled the amusement park to evacuate at once. The fear that a major accident might occur made people push the person in front of them.”Go! Go! If you’re not going, get out of the way, you bastards!””Get out!”The safety workers desperately tried to stop them.”Customers, please keep the line! You’ll cause an accident if you do this!””Don’t push! Don’t push from the front!””There! Come down! You can’t go up there. There’s no way there. Come down!”As people started to riot from behind, the people in front also started to push forward. They couldn’t see properly because of the people surrounding them. So, they couldn’t help but think that the people behind them were suddenly getting impatient because something was happening behind them.”L-let me through!””Why aren’t you moving! Hey! Safety workers, you bastards! Are you saying that everyone else can get out, but we can just die?””Let’s go! Tell the people in front to move! Tell them to go forward!”Panic quickly engulfed the crowd.The people in the back grabbed and pulled at the people in front, trying to climb over them. Shouts erupted everywhere, and even fights broke out.The safety workers tried to control the situation, but it was impossible. There were too few of them to stop the crowd.”Damn it, if I die like this, it’ll be a dog’s death! I have to get out of here!””Wouldn’t it be safer to go underground? Rather than staying here, let’s go underground!”As people became more violent, the line that had been somewhat organized began to waver. At the same time, the security guards began to panic.And at that moment, the final blow came.Screeeeeech!Everyone’s heads turned upwards at once. It was the sound of the rail, which had been somewhat stable, twisting. The faces of the people who saw the white powder and stone dust falling from above turned ashen.

‘I’m going to die.’If they stayed like this, they could really die.It would be best if everyone could escape in an orderly fashion, but… now, the thought that they might be the only ones to die while the people who escaped in front got away was starting to dominate their minds.”Get out! Get out of the way, you bastards!””Move! Move now!”They pushed forward, stepping on the people in front.”You can’t do this! You can’t!””Hey, you crazy bastard! Do you want to die too?””Huh?””Do you think only we’ll die if an accident happens here? You’ll die too. Are you going to die in order while keeping the line?”The faces of the security guards also began to turn pale. They didn’t know what would happen if that rail started to fall. If it was just the rail falling, it wouldn’t cause much damage, but there was no guarantee that the ceiling was okay.”I, I want to get out.””Hey! Are you crazy?””Ah, damn it. I’m just working a part-time job for a few bucks. Why would I risk my life here? I’m done.”The young man threw off his uniform and hat and shouted as he joined the crowd.”Ah! Get out of the way! I’m getting out! Damn it, if you can’t push the line forward, get out of the way! I’ll do it!”The situation was getting heated.”Sister! Sister!””Come here! Come here!”Choi Yeon-ha reached out and pulled the children who were being pushed around.

‘It’s dangerous.’The people were too agitated. It felt like a major accident was about to happen.It was at that very moment.