Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 512

What is the most difficult thing for a human?

There would be countless answers.

Everyone is different, and what each person finds difficult will also be different.

However, Vinsant could confidently pick one thing for this question. No, he had come to be able to pick one.

If someone were to ask Vinsant such a question, he would answer without a second’s hesitation. The most difficult thing for a human is ‘choice’.

Some might say.

That while choosing might be a little difficult, it doesn’t make a person so miserable. That while choices might lead to advantages or disadvantages, they can ultimately be overcome through effort.

‘Bullshit.’

Vinsant gritted his teeth.

Yes, maybe that’s true.

If what’s at stake in the outcome of a choice is small.

The really funny thing about choices is that the pressure increases exponentially depending on what’s at stake in the outcome.

What if what’s at stake is life?

Moreover, what if the lives of dozens of subordinates could be wiped out depending on the choice?

Would you still say that choosing isn’t difficult?

Vinsant was in that situation right now.

In just a few days, the dark circles under Vinsant’s eyes had become hollow. And his nerves were so frayed that he would be startled by the sound of a water droplet falling from far away.

It was the same now.

Click.

Vinsant bit his fingernails. He had bitten them so much that they were bleeding, but even though he knew he should stop, he couldn’t.

To hell with these damn fingers.

When it’s a matter of life and death, whether his fingers are bitten off or broken doesn’t matter.

“Commander…”

At the voice from behind, Vinsant slowly turned his head.

Matthieu was looking at him with a worried expression.

“You need to eat something.”

“I’m fine.”

“If your blood sugar drops, your mind won’t work properly. Please eat, even for the sake of making wise decisions.”

Vinsant glared at Matthieu with a slightly irritated expression. But Matthieu didn’t back down and met Vinsant’s gaze.

“Haa…”

Vinsant let out a low sigh.

“…Alright, you’re probably right.” He had no appetite at all, but he had to force it down somehow. He had to, in order to use his brain. Vinsant looked at the tray Matthieu had brought and let out a hollow laugh.

On the tray were well-baked croissants, sliced baguettes, cheese, and jams.

‘Damn, how proper [referring to the high-quality and formal nature of the meal].’

It was a lavish meal for someone in a situation akin to a prisoner. Except for one thing.

“Tea… Damn it, don’t they have coffee in this country?”

Perhaps if Vinsant were released from this place and walked the streets, he would be able to feel the majesty of South Korea, a country of coffee that surpasses even the mainland, but unfortunately, he was in a position where he couldn’t go outside the bars.

“Why can’t these guys distinguish between France and England?”

“That’s a common thing for Japanese and Chinese people to say.”

“…Damn it.”

Vinsant shook his head and picked up a croissant, shoving it into his mouth. He couldn’t taste anything. It felt like chewing on a lump of mud.

Vinsant shoved everything on the tray into his mouth, chewed it roughly, and swallowed. Then he gulped down the tea.

“I ate well. Thank you for your concern.”

“You’re welcome.”

“…Is it today?”

“Yes, it is.”

Vinsant anxiously gripped his thigh.

Today was the day Kang Jin-ho had promised. Soon, Kang Jin-ho would come to him and ask.

Death or obedience.

It was such a terrible choice.

And it was also the most frequently forced choice in the history of whales [referring to the history of their unit or organization]. The fact that a definite answer had not yet been found, despite so many choices being forced, spoke to the heinous nature of this question.

“I wish I could just die of a heart attack.”

“Commander.”

“Yes, I know. It’s not the time to be making such weak noises.”

Vinsant rubbed his face roughly.

“What’s the opinion of the unit?”

“It’s split in half.”

Matthieu added with a serious expression.

“Half of them want to choose death while upholding their honor. They say that even if they live and return, they won’t be able to hold their heads up for the rest of their lives. And the other half thinks it’s better to follow them and live than to die. It’s not really a situation where one side is clearly dominant…”

Vinsant leaned his back against the wall.

‘I guess so.’

It was a problem with no answer.

If it were a problem with a clear answer, he could ask them for advice, but this was purely a matter of different directions of choice. No one could say which was right or wrong.

In the end, the choice was entirely left to Vinsant.

And the responsibility would also be entirely Vinsant’s.

When had he ever felt such pressure?

Vinsant felt like he was going to be crushed by the burden pressing down on him.

“Is there still no contact from the home country?”

“If there had been contact, we would have been informed by now. It would have been a situation where we no longer needed to choose.”

“Hmm, I guess so.”

He doubted whether they would be so meticulous in conveying the situation, but there was no need to say it out loud.

“However, Commander.”

Vinsant raised his head and looked at Matthieu.

“I would like to help you with one choice. Would that be alright?”

“Tell me.”

Matthieu held out the empty tray.

“It’s not bad.”

“Hmm?”

Matthieu said with a serious face.

“Just by complaining about the meal, we’re getting top-quality food.”

“I don’t really know.”

“What would taste good to you right now, Commander?”

“That’s true.”

“It’s not bad. No, you could say it’s top-quality. In the first place, this place is in the mountains. You saw it yourself on the way here, Commander. This isn’t a city center. But to bring in this kind of food just because we requested it… it means they’re not barbarians.”

“…You really are French.”

“Pardon? What do you mean by that…”

“I mean, judging someone by how well they serve food, it’s kind of a standard French image, I guess.”

Matthieu chuckled lightly.

“There’s always a reason for things passed down from our ancestors.”

It was an absurd answer, but…

‘There’s definitely something to that.’

It was important information. It meant that if they surrendered to them, there was a high probability that their treatment would not be bad at all. You might think it’s judging by trivial things, but attitude is something you should judge by these trivial things.

‘He’s doing something that doesn’t suit him.’

Based on the image of Kang Jin-ho he had seen on the island, he thought they would all be thrown into a coal mine and given dried rat meat to eat while being worked to death, but surprisingly, he had an humanitarian side. Since being captured here, they had never been treated inhumanely.

That fact made Vinsant even more tormented.

If Kang Jin-ho was just a cruel demon, there would be no need to worry. But Kang Jin-ho, as he had observed him so far, was not such a simple person. He was a very complex person with many different sides.

Even after seeing him several times, he couldn’t figure out what kind of person he was. In some ways, he seemed like a ruthless mass murderer, and in others, he seemed like an ordinary young man you could see anywhere.

That complexity was making Vinsant’s choice difficult.

He had no idea how Kang Jin-ho would react to whatever choice he made.

But Vinsant had to choose.

He no longer had any time left.

Thud.

Slow footsteps were heard.

Vinsant’s bloodshot eyes turned to the stairs. It wasn’t shift change time. Yet, if someone was coming down, it was obvious who it would be.

As he watched Kang Jin-ho slowly descend the stairs, Vinsant swallowed hard.

Imagination stimulates people.

The image of Kang Jin-ho was so strongly imprinted in his mind right now, but in reality, he had only faced Kang Jin-ho a few times.

He had been separated from Kang Jin-ho for the rest of the time. Yet, Vinsant was always forced to encounter Kang Jin-ho. Because Vinsant had fleshed out the skeleton that the Kang Jin-ho he had actually encountered had created in his mind.

His imagination had turned Kang Jin-ho in his mind into a monster.

‘Imagination?’

Vinsant wanted to laugh.

No, that was a lie.

Because it couldn’t be like this otherwise.

If the image of Kang Jin-ho he was thinking of right now was created solely in his mind, how could he explain that the appearance of Kang Jin-ho coming down the stairs was a perfect match for the Kang Jin-ho he had imagined?

Vinsant knew.

If Kang Jin-ho was coming down the stairs with a certain thought in mind, he would have that kind of expression.

If that thought was correct, he could infer two things. First, the home country had not taken any action to save them. And secondly…

‘He’s going to kill us all.’

If he thought their cooperation was important, he would never have made that face. But Kang Jin-ho was now subtly annoyed by them.

He had captured them, but he was wondering how to deal with these people who were not particularly useful. And the conclusion would be obvious.

Kang Jin-ho, who had come down the stairs, stopped in front of the bars.

Cold sweat dripped from Vinsant’s forehead.

Today’s Kang Jin-ho was different from the Kang Jin-ho of the last time. If he had to compare, he was more similar to the Kang Jin-ho he had met on the island than the Kang Jin-ho he had seen here before.

Not the Kang Jin-ho who was running wild, but the Kang Jin-ho who slowly revealed himself before them.

The Kang Jin-ho who was suppressing his boiling heart while knowing that blood and slaughter would soon occur. But the devilish Kang Jin-ho, who couldn’t help but let the corners of his mouth curl up, was in front of them.

“Now…”

“We will cooperate!”

Before Kang Jin-ho could even finish his sentence, Vinsant shouted as if screaming.

“C-Commander!”

“So easily!”

Voices of bewilderment came from behind. But Vinsant ignored all those words.

‘You fools.’

They wouldn’t have wanted this kind of negotiation. Even if they were to cooperate, they would have wanted to get as much as possible. That was the wise thing to do.

Vinsant thought the same way. Even if he had to cooperate, he would never give up all his pride so easily.

Until just a moment ago.

Until he saw Kang Jin-ho coming down the stairs.

‘Negotiation won’t work with this guy right now.’

Conversation is something that humans do with other humans. What kind of conversation can a human have with a demon who is hungry for blood? What he had to protect now was not pride. It was only one thing.

Life.

That which is supreme, sacred, and infinitely precious.

If he could protect that one thing, he was willing to give up everything.

Kang Jin-ho opened his mouth and then closed it.

He seemed to have not expected this situation either, as his face was slightly distorted. That distorted face was giving Vinsant an indescribable sense of pressure.

After hesitating for a moment, Kang Jin-ho finally opened his mouth.

“Is there an interpreter here?”