Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 820

“Aaaaaaah!”\n\n”Uwaaaah! Save me! Save me!”\n\nJo Gyu-min was in a panic.\n\n‘This is insane!’\n\nThe aquarium had instantly turned into a scene of utter chaos.\n\nA huge explosion shook the building, and then people started running towards the entrance like a horde of zombies from a movie.\n\nThe floor was thumping, and the building felt like it was shaking from the sheer number of people running frantically.\n\nThe screams of people and the sound of sirens were ringing madly in his ears, and he could feel hot air rushing towards his face.\n\nIt was only then that Jo Gyu-min understood why the number of victims increased during major disasters.\n\nPeople lose their lives because they can’t see the obvious exits, and they can’t take the obvious actions. He had never been able to understand it. He always wondered why they moved so irrationally when they could have all survived if they had just remained calm.\n\nBut now he knew why.\n\n‘Calm my ass!’\n\nIn this situation?\n\nEven Jo Gyu-min, who was quite far from the epicenter of the incident, couldn’t keep his composure. Even though he knew this was going to happen, he was still flustered.\n\nAnd those people?\n\nWhat about those people who were suddenly struck by lightning, something they couldn’t even imagine? Maintain their reason?\n\n‘You pathetic bastards.’\n\nIf he could, he wanted to shoot his past self in the head with a gun, the one who had subtly looked down on them.\n\nYou don’t know when you’re on the outside.\n\nYou don’t know unless you experience it yourself. There were so many things like that in the world. Jo Gyu-min forcefully suppressed his heart, which was beating at an unbelievable speed, and his increasingly rapid breathing, and turned his head sharply.\n\n‘The kids?’\n\nHe came to his senses.\n\nThen he knew what he had to do now. He had done all he could. Now, his priority was to get the children to safety.\n\nAs Jo Gyu-min frantically turned his head to find the children, things got worse.\n\nPeople were surging towards him like a tidal wave, and to make matters worse, the lights illuminating the building flickered on and off repeatedly.\n\n‘Short circuit?’\n\nThose bastards.\n\nThey made the aquarium with the wiring prone to short-circuiting in the water!\n\nI knew it when I saw how they cut corners on construction costs.\n\nBut now was not the time to curse. Jo Gyu-min threw himself into the crowd of people surging towards him.\n\nThey’re up ahead.\n\nHe had sent the children ahead and came to press the fire hydrant, so the children must be closer to the entrance.\n\nSplash!\n\nAt the same time as he moved, he felt the sensation of cold water. The water had already risen to his ankles. And with each step, he could feel the water rising little by little.\n\nThe coldness that he had first felt below his anklebone was already above his anklebone before long.\n\n”This is insane!”\n\nThe water was rising rapidly.\n\nJo Gyu-min turned his head sharply and looked back. The water was already above the knees of the people rushing out. This water would rise in an instant.\n\n‘Is it this bad even though Kang Jin-ho is holding it back?’\n\nIt was only natural when he thought about it.\n\nThe water that had filled the tank several stories high was rushing into this narrow space. If no one had blocked it, a torrent would have rushed in here by now, sweeping people away and filling the space up to their heads in an instant.\n\nSwim? Dive?\n\nThat’s ridiculous.\n\nIf that were possible, people swept away by the rapids during the rainy season could just hold their breath and come out when it calmed down. Rapids don’t drown people. They beat them to death.\n\nThe water pressure is one thing, but the things swept away with the water destroy people’s bodies.\n\nAre there such things here?\n\nPlenty.\n\nBecause there are so many people.\n\nIf so many people are swept away at the same time,\n\nthey will get tangled up and die. People’s heads will crack against other people’s heads, and people’s arms will twist other people’s legs.\n\n”Damn it!”\n\nJo Gyu-min pushed through the people blocking his way and moved forward. But it wasn’t easy. Until just now, people would make way when pushed from behind, but in this situation, who would give up their spot?\n\nHe was burning up inside, anxious.\n\nThud!\n\n”Aaaaaaah!”\n\nAt that moment, Jo Gyu-min staggered and fell forward. Someone had stepped on his Achilles tendon from behind. His leg gave way, and his body fell forward.\n\nAs soon as his body started to fall forward, it happened in an instant.\n\n”Ugh! Aaaaaaah!”\n\nHe was being trampled.\n\nAs soon as the people in front fell, those following behind started stepping on Jo Gyu-min’s legs and back, using him as a stepping stone.\n\n”Agh!”\n\nHis hand, which he had used to brace himself on the floor, was crushed by a shoe, and someone stepped on his head as they jumped over him.\n\n‘I’m going to die.’\n\nLooking at the dark water in front of him, Jo Gyu-min felt an extreme sense of crisis. If he fell completely, Jo Gyu-min would be trampled to death without even being able to lift his head.\n\nOr he would drown in the rising water while lying face down.\n\nEither way, he would die. It was just a matter of how he would die.\n\n”You damn!”\n\nA curse word came out naturally. He must have bitten his tongue in the process of falling, as he could taste the metallic taste of blood in his mouth.\n\nHe couldn’t die here.\n\nAs adrenaline surged, the pain subsided.\n\n”Uwaaaaaaaah!”\n\nJo Gyu-min gritted his teeth and stood up. He could vividly feel someone who had been stepping on his back lose their balance and fall to the floor.\n\nThat person would probably experience the same thing that Jo Gyu-min had just experienced. But he didn’t have time to worry about that person right now.\n\nOr he would die.\n\n‘The kids!’\n\nHis body couldn’t be okay. It was probably a mess. But before taking care of his own body, Jo Gyu-min looked for the children first.\n\nHe, a healthy adult male, had experienced this crisis. How much more would the children be pushed around by now? The male high school students were mostly grown, so it wouldn’t be a big problem, but the female high school students wouldn’t be able to withstand this situation.\n\n”Damn it! You’re bringing out my true colors!”\n\nJo Gyu-min gritted his teeth and rushed forward. With bloodshot eyes, Jo Gyu-min jumped into the wall of people blocking his path.\n\nHe stepped on the waists of those who were awkwardly bent over, and like diving, he jumped over people’s heads, stepping on and pulling on anything he could grab as he swam forward.\n\n”Get down, you bastard!”\n\n”Get out! Get out, before I kill you!”\n\nCurses poured out.\n\nA hand that came out of nowhere grabbed his leg, and a hand with sharp nails clawed at his face. Someone punched him in the stomach and chest. But Jo Gyu-min pushed through all those obstacles and moved forward.\n\nHe slipped and fell down once in the middle….\n\nHe pushed away the flying fists and climbed back up as if he was climbing over them.\n\nAnd that brought disaster.\n\nSeeing Jo Gyu-min moving forward like that, others started climbing over people as if they were competing. In an instant, the crowd surged forward and bunched up.\n\n”You’re going to die! You’re going to die! You’re going to die, you bastards!”\n\n”Uwaaaaaaaah! Get out of the way!”\n\nHell was unfolding.\n\nIf the crisis had come a little slower, they might have been able to maintain their reason. They might have been able to think of a way to calmly escape and find the best way, considering the sacrifices that had to be made.\n\nBut this was something that had happened too suddenly.\n\nThe blaring sirens, the flashing lights, and the huge vibrations and noises coming from behind.\n\nAll of those things were cruelly robbing people of their reason.\n\n”Aaaaaaah!”\n\nSomeone was biting his leg.\n\nJo Gyu-min kicked away those who were grabbing his leg and moved forward again and again.\n\n”Team Leader!”\n\n”Team Leader Jo!”\n\nThen, he heard voices calling him.\n\nJo Gyu-min, with a beast-like face, turned his head sharply and found the children waving their hands.\n\nChanging direction, Jo Gyu-min moved forward and dove down.\n\n”Are you okay?”\n\n”Look at the blood! Team Leader, blood!”\n\n”I’m fine!”\n\nThere was no time to ask each other how they were doing. There was no time to worry about what he looked like now. One of his arms felt like it was broken, as he felt a terrible pain, and the pain from his bitten thigh made him grit his teeth.\n\nBut now was not the time to feel such pain.\n\n”Are you all here?”\n\n”W-well, I’m not sure.”\n\n”Check! Now! If everyone is here! Raise your hands! Quickly! Raise your hands!”\n\nThe children raised their hands in a flurry.\n\nJo Gyu-min and Han Jin-sung quickly counted the children.\n\n”Yes, they’re all here!”\n\n”Are you sure?”\n\n”Yes! They’re all here!”\n\n”Good!”\n\nJo Gyu-min reached out and grabbed Han Jin-sung by the back of his neck and pulled him close.\n\n”Jin-sung!”\n\n”Yes!”\n\nHan Jin-sung answered as if he was screaming.\n\n”The guys are last. You have to take care of the kids from behind. Got it?”\n\n”Yes!”\n\n”If we get out of here alive, I’ll treat you to something really nice. So don’t let a single one of the kids get lost! Got it?”\n\n”Yes!”\n\nJo Gyu-min, with bloodshot eyes, made eye contact with Han Jin-sung, gritted his teeth, and turned his head.\n\n‘I have to get out.’\n\nMaybe it would be wise to wait for the people in front to get out of here. No, that would be wise. It was strange that they were making such a fuss when the water wasn’t even up to their waists.\n\nBut his head and body were different.\n\nIt felt like he could hear a warning.\n\nGet out of here now, get out of here as quickly as possible.\n\n”Let’s go!”\n\nJo Gyu-min charged forward. He pushed the people who were struggling not to be pushed back forward, and moved one step at a time, dodging left and right. In the meantime, he turned his head several times to check if any of the children were falling behind.\n\n”Follow me! Hold onto my waist! Don’t let go! The person behind grabs the person in front! Keep the person in front from falling! If you fall, you’ll die! Got it?”\n\n”Yes!”\n\nThe answers came in unison.\n\nEven in the space filled with noise and screams, the children’s voices could be heard clearly.\n\n‘Let’s stay calm.’\n\nJo Gyu-min raised his hand and wiped the blood that was dripping down his face. He must have been scratched on the face earlier, as his skin was torn.\n\n‘Let’s stay calm. Let’s stay calm, Jo Gyu-min. We’re almost out, we must be at the entrance now. We have to stay calm. If we rush too much, the kids might get hurt.’\n\nGet them all out without losing a single one. Protect the kids as much as possible and get them out.\n\nThose two thoughts filled Jo Gyu-min’s head.\n\n‘People must be flowing out like water in the front too. It will take at most 5 minutes for the people in the front to get out. In 5 minutes, it would be better to wait….’\n\nIt was at that moment.\n\nRumble.\n\nThe sound of thunder rang out.\n\nNo, it wasn’t the sound of thunder.\n\nThe building shook, and then the lights that had somehow been maintained went out all at once. At the same time, the materials that had been decorating the ceiling fell down, hitting people on the head.\n\n”Kyaaaaaaaaah!”\n\nJo Gyu-min widened his eyes and tilted his head back.\n\n‘Could it be?’\n\nIs it collapsing?\n\nThis building?\n\n”Damn it, hold on a little longer! Uwaaaaaaaah!”\n\nIn the dark, he could clearly see the ceiling falling towards him.