Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 815

“Is that guy crazy?”

A strong reaction came back.

It was obvious. Suddenly, out of the blue, he made a fuss about whether the tanks were safe, then they whispered among themselves and rushed out. And then he tells them to leave if they don’t want to die.

Who could accept this situation calmly?

The gazes directed at Kang Jin-ho were sharp.

“Didn’t you hear us telling you to stop?”

“They’ve all gone nuts, completely nuts.”

“People should know how to read the room.”

Kang Jin-ho sighed at the harsh reactions.

‘Well, what can I do?’

He didn’t exactly expect a good reaction. But it was more intense than he thought. Perhaps the location was triggering their fear, causing them to react more strongly than usual.

There might be ways to speak softly and nicely, but Kang Jin-ho was still clumsy with that kind of approach. And there was no time to persuade them nicely, nor did he have a logical argument to do so.

‘Have they gone far enough by now?’

And there was a slightly underhanded thought as well.

Kang Jin-ho trusted Cho Kyu-min. He believed that Cho Kyu-min would get the children out safely. But that was only possible when it was a normal aquarium.

If people panicked and rushed out, accidents would surely happen. And there was no guarantee that the children wouldn’t get caught up in those accidents.

‘That’s clean.’

Not long ago, Kang Jin-ho would have hesitated.

Should he somehow inform the people of the situation to reduce the harm to even one person, or should he delay informing others to prioritize evacuating the people he knew inside?

It was a matter of choice. And to be cold about it, the real answer should be the latter. Because it was a matter of safety.

But Kang Jin-ho chose the former without hesitation. He had no intention of letting the people he knew be in even a little more danger for the sake of the safety of people he didn’t even know.

The choice was made without a moment’s hesitation. Just like the Kang Jin-ho of the past.

It was the moment he truly realized he was possessed by a demon.

“Hey, you. What are you doing right now?”

A large man emerged from the crowd and pointed at Kang Jin-ho.

“What am I doing?”

Kang Jin-ho stared at the man.

Judging by the annoyance and anger on his face, he looked like he was about to charge at any moment.

Kang Jin-ho silently raised his hand and pointed at the tank.

“If this bursts…”

The man’s gaze followed Kang Jin-ho’s fingertip.

“What do you think will happen?”

Burst?

That tank?

The man swallowed hard, looking at the tank.

He didn’t know how much water was in there, but it was more than what was in most dams. Even when a dam bursts outside where there’s room to escape, there are casualties. If that tank bursts in this narrow space?

It wouldn’t end with just a few deaths.

“Why would that burst?”

“It will burst.”

“No, this crazy bastard!”

Just as the man was about to rush at Kang Jin-ho, security guards came forward and stood in front of Kang Jin-ho.

“Sir, you can’t do this.”

“If you keep doing this, we will report you for obstruction of business.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly looked at the security guards blocking his way.

Then the security guards flinched and stopped. The hands that had been raised to grab Kang Jin-ho’s shoulder awkwardly retreated.

‘What is this guy?’

That was the thought they all shared.

They hadn’t been threatened. They had just been stared at with emotionless eyes. Yet, they felt like they had touched something untouchable.

“Why are you being polite to a guy like that!”

“Drag him out! Drag him out! We all saw it! We’ll testify!”

“Hey, film that! Film it!”

People started taking pictures of Kang Jin-ho and the security guards with their cameras. The security guards panicked and blocked the front of Kang Jin-ho.

“Personal filming is prohibited. Please refrain from doing so.”

“That bastard is doing crazy things right now!”

“The situation inside the aquarium is being recorded by our own CCTV [Closed-Circuit Television]. Please refrain from filming.”

“Ugh!”

The frustrated people lowered their cameras all at once. They were complaining about the abuse of power, but when they tried to resist the security guards, the situation got complicated.

The people who lowered their cameras with sullen faces glared at Kang Jin-ho with fierce eyes.

One of the security guards approached Kang Jin-ho and raised his hand, pointing towards the hallway.

“I’m sorry, sir. For your safety, please leave the main hall.”

“Leave?”

“Yes, sir.”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head, looking at the security guard with a stern gaze.

“I can’t leave here right now.”

“…Sir!”

“If the problem is me talking, I won’t say another word from now on. I can’t leave here right now.”

The security guard sighed.

“Then, no more statements…”

“What’s going on?”

At that moment, a man approached.

“Ah, manager.”

The man called manager approached with a puzzled look.

The man, who had come right in front of the security guard, asked in a quiet tone.

“What’s going on that I can hear the noise all the way outside? Is there a problem that we need to advertise?”

“Ah, it’s not that, but this person…”

The security guard glanced at Kang Jin-ho. The manager’s gaze turned to Kang Jin-ho.

“He’s telling people to get out quickly if they don’t want to die…”

The security guard was at a loss. He couldn’t say that he was causing a disturbance in front of the person himself. But the manager’s face hardened when he heard those words.

“I am Park Gwang-cheol, the facility management manager of Sea Paradise Aquarium.”

“Yes.”

“Are you saying that this place is not safe?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Surprise flickered across Park Gwang-cheol’s face.

He was the person in charge of managing the facilities. Therefore, he knew all the internal affairs of this aquarium and the problems with the facilities. But visitors who followed the set course could not know about such problems.

‘Does he really know something, or is he just crazy?’

He was confused.

And Kang Jin-ho’s next words confused him even more.

“You seem to know?”

“…Yes?”

“You don’t need to ask me, you already know, don’t you?”

Park Gwang-cheol closed his mouth.

He knew in his head that he had to speak calmly. But he couldn’t open his mouth. On the other hand, Kang Jin-ho’s gaze was too calm as he looked at him.

‘Calm down.’

Whether this person knew something or was just a simple crazy person who didn’t know anything, it didn’t matter. Either way, there was only one response he had to make right now.

He couldn’t admit in front of all these people that there was a problem with safety. A little while ago, he had strongly insisted on closure in front of the president, but that closure also had to go through its own procedures and processes.

The moment he shouted, ‘The tank is about to burst, so get out of here,’ this aquarium would be ruined. It would be ruined even if the tank didn’t burst.

He was someone who wanted to protect the safety of the visitors, not someone who wanted the company to go bankrupt.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but please refrain from making statements that unnecessarily incite fear. This facility has passed the safety management corporation’s inspection.”

“35cm.”

“…Yes?”

“Doesn’t seem like it?”

Kang Jin-ho spoke softly, just loud enough for Park Gwang-cheol to hear. And Park Gwang-cheol’s face paled slightly when he heard those words.

“No, what are you talking about!”

Just as his voice was about to rise, Kang Jin-ho held up his phone. He was tense, wondering if he was going to call someone, but Kang Jin-ho simply looked at the clock on the screen and nodded.

‘By now, I’ve bought enough time.’

If there were no problems, Cho Kyu-min would have taken the children out halfway. He hadn’t been able to look at the map beforehand, so he didn’t know how much of the way was left, so he had to make a rough guess.

“Whether the thickness is right or not, that’s not important. What’s important is that this place is about to burst. If you have any sense, evacuate the people right now.”

Park Gwang-cheol closed his mouth like a clam. He had to object right away.

Because other people were listening to these words now. But his mouth wouldn’t open.

‘Burst?’

Those were the words he had shouted at the president a little while ago. He had said that he had to get people out right now because he didn’t know when it would burst. But when he heard those words from someone else’s mouth, he felt a sense of resistance.

‘This is not a tank that bursts so easily.’

Kang Jin-ho’s words were not wrong. The tank was made thinner than the safety standards. To be precise, the initial design was for a tank that met safety standards, but as the design was changed several times, the tank became larger than expected, and as a result, it was holding more water than the standard.

But would that mean the tank would burst easily?

Not a chance.

Safety standards are, as the name suggests, safety standards. It means that if you follow these standards, you will be safe no matter what. That’s why safety standards are often set more strictly than reality.

There is a recommended air pressure for tires, but who always matches that air pressure? And does it cause a big problem if the air pressure deviates from the regulations?

It doesn’t.

This was a similar case. Of course, there could be problems in the long term because it exceeded the standard, but there wouldn’t be any major problems in the short term.

‘That’s nonsense.’

There were two things he trusted.

If there was a problem, a part of it would burst first and water would leak. And just in case, he had already told his subordinates to drain some water from the tank.

Considering both of those things, at least there wouldn’t be a problem right now.

But…

“It’s going to burst now?”

Park Gwang-cheol asked back.

He knew it was something he shouldn’t do, but he couldn’t help it. The words that came out of the man in front of him had a strange sense of trust.

It wasn’t Park Gwang-cheol who was annoyed, but the other people.

“No! Drag him out so he can’t talk nonsense!”

“How are you managing this place? How long do we have to keep watching that!”

“If you don’t drag him out, we’ll drag him out, so drag him out quickly! Or at least shut his mouth!”

The shouts of the people echoed in the hall.

Just as Park Gwang-cheol was trying to sort out the situation.

That happened.

Screeeeeeeeeeeeeech!

It was a very strange sound.

Sharp yet heavy, like a giant balloon bursting with a pop!

The people who were shouting and annoyed.

The people who were looking at their phones as if they were not interested.

The people who were comforting their bored children.

And even the security guards and Park Gwang-cheol. Everyone’s gaze turned at once.

And with that turned gaze, it was clearly visible.

‘A crack?’

A clear crack was visible on the wall that was so transparent that it looked like water was in front of them.

It looked like a crack in the air. Those who saw the crack realized for the first time that the wall in front of them was made of 35cm thick acrylic.

Information entered their heads…

And the moment that information was interpreted.

A scream erupted.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak!”

With a sharp scream, people were instantly thrown into chaos.