Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 456

Lee Myung-hwan’s eyes widened as he lifted his head, drawn by a faint voice he hadn’t consciously registered.

‘What?’

The scene before him was familiar.

A dark room.

A dark room, set up like an interrogation room.

It was exactly as he had seen it when he first entered this room.

Of course, when he thought about it, there was nothing strange about it. Just because Kang Jin-ho had tortured him didn’t mean there would be blood splattered everywhere. His bones were broken, though.

Even so, what made Lee Myung-hwan so bewildered was the height of his vision.

It was low.

The height he had seen while being held by Kang Jin-ho’s hand was different from the height he was seeing now. It was then that Lee Myung-hwan realized he was sitting in a chair.

Being so aware of his own posture was something that would never happen under normal circumstances. Lee Myung-hwan was experiencing something completely new.

Without thinking, Lee Myung-hwan raised his hand and touched his face, realizing one more thing.

‘Wasn’t it broken?’

It had definitely been broken.

And it had been shattered into pieces.

From his fingertips to his wrist, and even his forearm, it had definitely been broken. The pain he had felt as his arm broke was still vivid.

‘What the hell…’

Lee Myung-hwan raised his other arm and touched the broken area, cold sweat beginning to trickle down his forehead.

This arm had definitely been broken. And the other arm that was touching it had also been broken. His arms, legs, and even his collarbone had all been broken, and he had worried whether he would ever recover to a normal state.

But why was he perfectly fine?

‘A dream?’

No way.

There was no way he could have fallen asleep in that tense situation. Even if he had fallen asleep, he should have woken up before experiencing such a vivid nightmare.

And it couldn’t have been a dream.

Sight, touch, smell… and even the sensation of pain, so clear and vivid. There was no way such a perfect dream was possible.

Lee Myung-hwan’s eyes began to tremble.

Across from him, he saw Kang Jin-ho sitting with a blank expression.

It must be this man.

If something illogical had happened, it must be this man’s doing. It was impossible for anyone else to do it.

Kang Jin-ho answered calmly.

“You passed.”

“Ah, no, that’s not it… what the hell happened to me?”

His voice, which had risen sharply, gradually lowered as he finished speaking. In the end, it became a voice as quiet as a mouse.

He had been so dumbfounded and dumbstruck that his voice had risen, but he had realized something while speaking. Who he was talking to right now.

Kang Jin-ho smiled quietly and took out a cigarette from his pocket.

“Want one?”

“Ah…”

Lee Myung-hwan hesitated for a moment, then nodded and took the cigarette Kang Jin-ho offered. He didn’t usually smoke, but if not now, when would he?

Click.

Kang Jin-ho lit the cigarette, and Lee Myung-hwan quietly inhaled the smoke.

His head spun, and he felt dizzy. Considering that he was a martial artist with inner energy [a concept of internal power cultivation], and had never felt anything unusual when smoking, his body was not normal right now.

Even though he was wearing a sweat-absorbent tracksuit, his whole body was soaked.

After taking a few puffs of the cigarette to calm his trembling heart, Lee Myung-hwan looked at Kang Jin-ho and asked.

“…What really happened?”

“It’s not a particularly important story.”

“Huh?”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled and put the cigarette in his mouth.

“Isn’t it more important what the result is than what happened? Passing is what’s important. Go home. We’ll contact those who passed separately.”

Kang Jin-ho checked something on the documents on the table.

“You can go now.”

“No…”

Lee Myung-hwan’s lips moved several times.

There were so many things he wanted to say. There were so many things he wanted to ask. But he couldn’t ask.

He felt crushed.

He knew that Kang Jin-ho wasn’t doing anything. He was just smoking a cigarette. He was just indifferent and apathetic.

Even so, Lee Myung-hwan was being crushed by Kang Jin-ho. The impression of Kang Jin-ho he had felt in the situation he had just experienced, where he couldn’t tell if it was reality or illusion, was too strongly imprinted on him.

Like an indelible brand.

After seeing that, how could he resist this man?

He might have to go through that again.

Lee Myung-hwan had a hunch.

Probably, from this moment on, he would jump into the fire if Kang Jin-ho told him to. It was a hundred times better than facing Kang Jin-ho. He would rather choose to burn to death than resist this man.

“Is it… illusion magic?”

Lee Myung-hwan was dumbfounded even as he said it.

Illusion magic…

That was something that only appeared in cartoons.

Of course, to ordinary people, they would also look like characters from a cartoon. To those who lived ordinary lives, they would also be unreal beings. But even martial artists had their own sense of reality.

Getting stronger didn’t mean they could breathe fire from their hands or fly in the sky. But illusion magic was a concept that was even beyond their reality.

For a human to infiltrate another human’s mind and drag them into a reality they had created, was that even possible?

“It’s more of a variation of soul-binding than illusion magic…”

Kang Jin-ho scratched his brow.

“It’s not a concept that has been passed down, so I don’t know how to explain it. I didn’t learn it theoretically.”

“Anything else you’re curious about?”

“Ah, no.”

Lee Myung-hwan got up from his seat.

He felt like he had been possessed by a ghost. And the ghost that had possessed him was still here, and he was being bothered by it.

Who in the world had ever experienced such an absurd situation?

Lee Myung-hwan, who was about to go outside, hesitated.

“Um…”

“Yes.”

“How many passed?”

“Not many. There are still a lot of people left to interview.”

“Yes. Th, thank you.”

Lee Myung-hwan bowed his head and hurried out of the room. As soon as he came to his senses, he wanted to get out of this place immediately.

Lee Myung-hwan opened the door and quietly closed it without making a sound.

And then…

Thud!

As soon as he realized he was out of that room, his legs gave way. It didn’t matter who was watching. Lee Myung-hwan sat down on the spot and touched the floor.

Cold sweat began to pour down his entire body.

‘This is fucking real, not a performance.’

In dramas, they show characters sweating profusely when they are extremely nervous. He had thought that was an exaggeration, but it wasn’t at all. If he squeezed out the sweat that was flowing from him now, he could collect enough to wash his face.

He could feel that the human body was 70% water. Otherwise, where would all this sweat come from?

As Lee Myung-hwan worried about whether he could even walk out of this building, he heard someone approaching.

‘Huh?’

Lee Myung-hwan looked up and saw two men approaching with a large mop and bucket.

“Wh, what is it?”

“Move aside. We need to clean.”

“Huh?”

The man who had glanced at Lee Myung-hwan’s lower body looked at him in surprise.

“He didn’t wet himself, did he?”

“Really? Wow, this guy’s got guts.”

What was this about?

“Could you explain…”

“Ah, it’s nothing much… about half of the guys who come out of that room collapse like you. And many of them lose consciousness, and some are conscious but wet themselves… so we’re cleaning up depending on the situation.”

“So don’t be embarrassed and tell me. Do you need a change of clothes?”

“Ah, no.”

“But what the hell is going on inside? Not a single one of them can explain it properly. You seem to be in your right mind, so tell me.”

Explain?

That incident?

‘How could I?’

It wasn’t that they couldn’t explain it because they were out of their minds. It was that there was no way to explain it even if they tried.

Some of them must have tried to explain what had happened inside. And then they realized that there was no way to convince these people.

Because even they couldn’t understand it.

“Can I… go?”

“Take this.”

The men took a dry towel from the bucket and handed it to Lee Myung-hwan. Lee Myung-hwan took the towel and wiped the sweat from his face, then put strength into his limp body.

Forcing himself to stand, Lee Myung-hwan calmed his trembling body and looked around.

‘Where was the way out?’

The headquarters, where he had spent more than ten years, felt unfamiliar.

Was this really the place he had been living in?

“You can go that way. It’s strange, isn’t it? All the kids react the same way. You’re lucky you didn’t scream. Some of them came out completely crazy. They say they’ll be fine after a few days, so we’ve locked them up in solitary confinement for now.”

Lee Myung-hwan laughed hollowly.

‘The ones who aren’t crazy are the weird ones.’ If they could stay sane after going through that, that would be even stranger. Even Lee Myung-hwan would never be able to escape the trauma of what had happened today. Until the moment he died.

‘Could it be?’

Lee Myung-hwan’s eyes wavered.

Yes, he couldn’t escape. Absolutely. What did that mean?

Lee Myung-hwan turned his head with trembling eyes and looked at the firmly closed door.

Those who had entered this door, whether they passed or failed, would not be able to resist Kang Jin-ho. If this process was repeated just a couple of times, those who were chosen this time would be the kind of people who could calmly die if Kang Jin-ho told them to.

‘Did he even think of that?’

Lee Myung-hwan realized his situation.

His toes were touching a spider web. It was just his feet for now, but the moment he struggled to get out of that web, the web would cling even more to his body.

And the moment his whole body was bound by the web, Kang Jin-ho, who was watching from above, would wrap him tightly in the web.

All that would be left was to have his fluids sucked out while he was still alive.

“Hey… are you okay?”

“Yes?”

“You’re still sweating? Usually, they come to their senses by now, but you seem to be getting worse?”

“…No.”

Lee Myung-hwan shook his head fiercely.

It couldn’t be.

It couldn’t be that far.

And even if it was, what could he do? He had already become someone who couldn’t resist Kang Jin-ho.

Wiping the cold sweat from his face, Lee Myung-hwan took his heavy steps and went outside.

Home, he wanted to go home. Right now.

“Be careful when you drive. About two of them went off the road and rolled over. If you don’t think you can make it, sleep here.”

“…I’m fine.”

Lee Myung-hwan barely listened and headed for the entrance.

Lee Myung-hwan, who had come out of the entrance, looked back at the building with trembling eyes.

It was a building he had been in and out of countless times since he was a child, but it had never felt as desolate as it did today. The same but completely different, an inexplicable sense of alienation washed over him.

Lee Myung-hwan felt as if Kang Jin-ho was looking down at him from the windows that were open in various places, and he bit his lip tightly and turned his body. Then, he desperately walked towards his car.