Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 817

“Excuse me! Coming through! Excuse me!”

Cho Gyu-min frantically pushed through the crowd.

“Hey, what’s the big idea!”

“Are you crazy!”

Curses flew from all directions, but Cho Gyu-min, with a grim face, continued to push forward.

“Jin-seong.”

“Yes, Team Leader.”

“The kids aren’t falling behind, are they?”

“No, sir. I’m keeping an eye on them.”

“Good! Don’t lose them!”

Cho Gyu-min glanced back.

‘Damn it.’

The line was long, and with the crowd, he couldn’t see the end. He couldn’t visually confirm if the kids were following properly behind him.

But he couldn’t turn back either. If he didn’t clear the path ahead, their progress would be much slower. Since Cho Gyu-min, with his somewhat intimidating look, was pushing through, people were annoyed but still made way for him.

Kids clearing a path?

‘No way.’

He felt a surge of anger at the force of people bumping into him. They kept causing trouble while pretending to avoid him.

Cho Gyu-min bristled at the movement of people pushing against his shoulder as if they were about to move aside.

‘Calm down.’

He desperately wanted to lash out, but he couldn’t cause trouble here. Any factor that could delay them even a little had to be completely eliminated.

Besides, it was natural for them to be angry. If someone was enjoying their visit and someone started pushing from behind, anyone would be annoyed.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. It’s an emergency. Please understand. I’m sorry.”

As Cho Gyu-min repeatedly apologized and bowed his head, those who had been resisting slowly made way.

‘Hurry.’

His heart was pounding.

Honestly, Cho Gyu-min didn’t know what was happening inside.

But he didn’t bother to find out. Kang Jin-ho had told him to get out, so he just had to listen. Kang Jin-ho wasn’t the type to cause trouble for no reason. There must be a problem for him to tell them to get the kids out.

And he had a pretty good idea of what it was.

‘The tank.’

If Han Jin-seong really heard that sound, and Kang Jin-ho agreed with him, he could easily guess what was about to happen. Cho Gyu-min’s face hardened as he pictured the situation in his head.

‘We need to get out of here fast.’

He had no idea how big the problem was. This was unprecedented. Who could guess whether there would be a major disaster or just a simple incident?

But not being able to guess didn’t mean they didn’t have to respond. They always had to consider the worst-case scenario and act accordingly. If they got out and nothing happened, that was a relief, and if something big happened, it was even more fortunate.

But there was one thing…

‘Is it really okay to just leave like this?’

The people who were annoyed but making way for them caught his eye.

These people didn’t know anything.

Was it okay to just leave them like this?

Shouldn’t he tell them the situation and tell them to evacuate?

‘Damn it.’

The kids came first.

Cho Gyu-min bit his lip.

First, the kids, the people he knew, came first. He couldn’t help it if he was criticized for being heartless. All lives had the same value. But the value of a life that an individual felt couldn’t be the same.

First, he would get the kids to safety. And then, if there was time, he could join in helping others evacuate.

‘There’s nothing I can do right now anyway.’

What should he say to make these people leave the aquarium?

The tank is about to burst, so run away quickly?

He would be lucky if he wasn’t treated like a madman. He would be restrained by security guards and dragged out before he could even cause a ruckus.

So, the only thing Cho Gyu-min could do was to take the kids out. He didn’t have to feel guilty about the people here.

But…

With a stern face, Cho Gyu-min raised his phone.

“Jin-seong!”

“Yes, Team Leader!”

“Keep in touch with Mi-hye and make sure the kids don’t fall behind.”

“Understood! Don’t worry!”

“Stay sharp!”

“Yes!”

Cho Gyu-min made eye contact with Han Jin-seong with a stern face and then made a call.

“Damn it, why aren’t you picking up!”

The phone was ringing, but no one was answering. Meanwhile, Cho Gyu-min pushed through the crowd, checked behind him, and gritted his teeth.

“Damn it, why don’t you pick up when I need you! You bastard!”

[You bastard?]

Wow, of all times, he picked up there?

[Where are you? I’ve been thinking, and no matter how busy I am, I think I have time for a meeting. Where are you?]

“Do you even need to ask? I’m at the aquarium!”

[Why are you getting angry, you punk! Why!]

Of course, the person who answered the phone was Lee Hyun-soo.

“Hyung-nim!” [Hyung-nim is a Korean term for older brother or a respected older male figure.]

[What?]

“How many people can you send here right now?”

[What time is it now?]

“Within 10 minutes!”

[Tell me exactly. What’s the problem?]

Lee Hyun-soo’s voice dropped. Seeing that reaction, Cho Gyu-min was sure that calling Lee Hyun-soo was the right choice.

“Excuse me for a moment! Just let me pass for a moment. Excuse me! Ah, thank you.”

Cho Gyu-min, who was still pushing through the crowd while on the phone, spoke urgently.

“I’m not sure, but it seems like there’s going to be a problem. Judging by Kang Jin-ho’s reaction, it seems like the tank is going to burst.”

[The tank? Are you talking about the central large tank?]

“Yes! That tank.”

[What about the kids?]

“I’m evacuating them right now.”

[Is it difficult for the kids to get out?]

“No. I can get the kids out somehow. But the other people don’t even know what’s going on here.”

[So, you’re asking me to send our guys to save the civilians?]

“Yes! Only the people who can come right away!”

[Cho Gyu-min.]

“Yes!”

[If the kids get hurt, Chairman will go ballistic, so make sure they all get out without a scratch, no matter what.]

“Yes. Then when will the support arrive?”

[There is no support.]

“…Yes?”

Cho Gyu-min stopped in his tracks. Han Jin-seong, who was following closely behind, bumped into Cho Gyu-min’s back.

“There’s no support?”

[That’s right.]

“No, Hyung-nim. I don’t think you know the situation here. The situation here is…”

[It doesn’t matter what’s happening there. We’ve never sent our people to save civilians, and we never will.]

“Hyung-nim!”

Cho Gyu-min shouted, but the voice that came back was calm.

[You don’t understand what I’m saying because you don’t know this world well. But if we start getting involved in such things, the boundaries will collapse. Not interfering with the outside world is our principle. I can’t grant that request, no matter who asks.]

“No, damn it, that!”

[I have nothing more to say. I’m hanging up.]

The phone hung up with a click.

“Hey, you son of a bitch!”

Cho Gyu-min cursed without realizing it.

“The outside world, damn it! Aren’t they people too?!”

People were about to die, but what kind of frozen principle was that?

Cho Gyu-min gritted his teeth.

‘What should I do? What should I do?’

He knew in his head. What he had to do was ignore all these people and take the kids out. Whether the remaining people died or not was a problem to think about later.

But his body wouldn’t move.

It felt like he was leaving people who knew nothing in a death trap.

‘But I can’t send the kids separately either.’

Normally, he would have entrusted the command to Han Jin-seong. But the situation now was not normal. He couldn’t leave the kids, who weren’t even adults yet, unattended in such an urgent situation.

This was a matter beyond trust in Han Jin-seong. It was an adult’s duty.

“How…”

“Team Leader!”

Han Jin-seong called out to Cho Gyu-min urgently.

“Huh?”

“That! That!”

“Huh?”

Cho Gyu-min’s gaze followed Han Jin-seong’s hand.

The wall.

There was something red on the wall that Han Jin-seong was pointing at.

‘Fire hydrant!’

Cho Gyu-min’s eyes lit up.

‘How much time is left?’

His mind was racing.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought of the fire hydrant. But there was a reason why he couldn’t just press the fire hydrant button. If people reacted violently when the emergency alarm went off, this place would turn into chaos.

He wasn’t confident that he could get all the kids out safely in that situation. At least after the kids had gotten out, or when they were almost out, he had to sound the fire alarm.

‘Pamphlet!’

Cho Gyu-min hurriedly took out the pamphlet he had received when he entered and stuffed into his pocket.

Cho Gyu-min checked the map and bit his lip.

‘It’s ambiguous!’

They were almost there. But the inside of the aquarium was so large that he couldn’t be sure that it was okay at this point.

The remaining distance was about 700 to 800 meters. They had to go through that much more of the winding viewing path.

It wasn’t difficult when one person was getting out, but considering that more than thirty kids had to get out, the distance felt incredibly far.

‘Should I press it?’

Or should they go on like this for now?

As he was agonizing over the decision, Han Jin-seong pulled on his side.

“What are you doing, Team Leader!”

“Huh?”

“We need to press it quickly!”

Cho Gyu-min stared blankly at Han Jin-seong.

“That’s how people will evacuate!”

“…That’s right.”

He felt a surge of emotion.

Han Jin-seong wasn’t stupid either. He wasn’t just a kid. He wasn’t a kid who wouldn’t know that they would be in danger if people rushed to the entrance.

Knowing all that, Han Jin-seong was saying that they had to sound the alarm quickly. He felt like he was being too calculating, considering what he had been agonizing over just a moment ago.

‘Damn it, what was I even thinking about?’

An adult didn’t know what even the kids knew. He was ashamed.

Cho Gyu-min, having made up his mind, looked at Han Jin-seong with determined eyes and said,

“Jin-seong.”

“Yes!”

“Even if it’s tough, push forward.”

“Yes!”

“I’ll follow behind and make sure no one falls behind. Do you understand?”

“Yes! Don’t worry!”

As Han Jin-seong nodded vigorously, Cho Gyu-min grabbed Han Jin-seong’s shoulder tightly. Cho Gyu-min, who was holding Han Jin-seong’s shoulder hard enough to hurt a little, pushed Han Jin-seong’s back.

“Okay. Go! Quickly!”

“Yes!”

As Han Jin-seong started running forward, pushing through the crowd, Cho Gyu-min ran towards the fire hydrant without looking back.

Cho Gyu-min, who had reached the fire hydrant, frowned as he examined it.

‘Damn it, what do I do with this?’

If he had known this would happen, he would have paid more attention during fire safety training. Did he know this would happen to him?

‘Can I just press this?’

As his ragged breathing subsided and his vision began to focus, he saw the words ‘Press firmly in case of fire’ on the transparent acrylic panel.

‘Here it is!’

The moment Cho Gyu-min was about to press the button!

Kwaaaaaaang!

With a huge sound like something collapsing, the entire aquarium shook as if there was an earthquake.