Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 898

It was a strange feeling.

Lee Sung-hwi found himself clutching his chest.

A complex emotion, something ambiguous that wasn’t quite sadness, was taking over him.

‘Damn it.’

It was ridiculous.

He had never shared any emotional connection with Kim Seok-il.

He and Kim Seok-il were not that kind of relationship.

They hated each other, loathed each other, but were like colleagues who had to work together. If they didn’t share the same goal, they would have already stabbed each other in the neck.

But what was this feeling?

Gritting his teeth, Lee Sung-hwi turned around.

The corridor of the passenger ship, where the power had long been cut off, was pitch black.

The dark corridor, where blood dripped from the deck, felt like a path to hell.

And Kim Seok-il was left alone in this hell.

Chances of survival?

There were none.

It was impossible for him to survive in this sea with that body. Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, Kim Seok-il didn’t have to worry about that.

The moment he gathered all his remaining strength to punch a hole in the floor, Kim Seok-il would die. Given his personality, he wouldn’t try to survive.

But…

Lee Sung-hwi couldn’t shake one thought.

‘What’s the point?’

Even if his plan worked out, even if he could eventually destroy Kang Jin-ho, what would it mean?

Kim Seok-il would already be dead.

What meaning could a goal achieved after one’s death have for a human being?

Was there really no other way?

Was there no other path for Kim Seok-il but to hate Kang Jin-ho and give himself to hatred until the very end?

“Tch.”

Lee Sung-hwi turned his body.

He couldn’t understand it.

Even if there was another way, it was Lee Sung-hwi himself who had dragged Kim Seok-il into hell.

Lee Sung-hwi had no right to pity or feel sorry for Kim Seok-il.

Just.

Just…

“Damn it.”

Lee Sung-hwi moved his feet roughly.

* * *

“Cough! Cough!”

Kim Seok-il collapsed on the floor, coughing repeatedly. Blood splattered from his mouth.

Kim Seok-il grinned, looking at the blood soaking the floor.

“Without hands, I can’t even wipe this off.”

It was inconvenient.

All that remained was darkness.

The bottom of the ship, where no light entered, was filled with darkness.

And Kim Seok-il thought this space was the perfect place for him to die.

His life had been like that from the start. It was all darkness, from the beginning.

Regret?

There was none.

Even if he could go back to the beginning and live a new life, Kim Seok-il would make the same choices. No, he would live even more cruelly and viciously than this life.

Because there was no other way.

He had too little to walk a good path, caring for everyone. Those who could talk about recognition and goodwill were only those who had a safety net to catch them when they fell.

For Kim Seok-il, who had to climb a steep cliff to rise, the word ‘goodwill’ was a luxury.

Look.

He was Kim Seok-il.

Kim Seok-il, who had climbed up with his bare hands in a Korea ruled by Lee Jung-geol and trash, and created the Yeongnam Association. Why should he regret it?

If he had lived a life that everyone praised, Kim Seok-il would probably be a council elder by now. No, not even that. He would have died when Kang Jin-ho purged Lee Jung-geol’s faction. That was the fate given to Kim Seok-il.

But Kim Seok-il rejected his fate.

What was wrong with that? Isn’t that what everyone does?

They want to climb higher. They want to have more.

Fair competition?

That’s a joke.

Humans have always developed by oppressing others with swords and spears.

There has never been a time in human history without war, and there has never been a single second when humans have not killed each other.

That’s what humans are.

They kill and are killed, they take and are taken from.

His mistake was not taking and killing. It was being taken from and killed.

By Kang Jin-ho.

“Hehehehehe.”

Kim Seok-il chuckled, his body shaking.

Yes, maybe it was natural. He had lived his whole life killing and taking from others. So, in the end, he would be taken from and killed.

But that fact wasn’t bad.

If that was the law of the world, it would apply to Kang Jin-ho as well. That monster, who committed so much slaughter and greedily devoured what others had created, would one day suffer the same fate.

But Kim Seok-il knew.

That wouldn’t happen.

There was no such thing as karma in the world. It was just an illusion created by the tears of those who had been robbed.

If you truly hate…

If you can’t bear the loss of your stolen wealth and life, you have to crawl back up, even if you have to flail your severed limbs.

And then you have to sink your teeth into the enemy’s neck.

That was Kim Seok-il.

That was.

“Kuh…”

Kim Seok-il trembled slightly.

‘Am I afraid?’

He seemed to be getting sentimental. No matter who he was, he couldn’t help but hesitate when he thought this was the end.

He wasn’t afraid of dying at all. He had already lived a life more painful than death.

Death was a liberation and a blessing for him.

The reason he hesitated wasn’t that.

It was because he couldn’t watch Kang Jin-ho’s destruction with his own eyes, and because he was worried that his plan might not work out.

But all of that was already out of his hands.

Now, what he had to do was clear.

Kim Seok-il rubbed his cheek on the floor.

A cold energy flowed from the steel floor. Beyond this floor was the sea.

“How luxurious.”

Even death had a certain class.

The death he was supposed to have was not like this. He was supposed to die at the hands of someone and be thrown into a garbage dump, or if not, he was supposed to die on a hospital bed, unable to live or die.

He had defied that fate and come this far.

If the price was to die in the middle of this vast sea, wasn’t it too much of a luxury?

“Hehehehehe.”

Tears of blood flowed from Kim Seok-il’s eyes.

‘There’s nothing.’

At the moment of death, nothing came to mind. All that remained was emptiness.

Looking back, he had nothing.

He had no family to be with, nor did he have any disciples to carry on his will.

The Yeongnam Association, which he had built with his blood and sweat, was already under Kang Jin-ho’s control.

None of them would miss Kim Seok-il.

“Hehehehe.”

The fact that Lee Sung-hwi and Lee Jung-geol came to mind at this last moment made Kim Seok-il laugh.

“Kang Jin-ho…”

And the most intense thing.

The thing that shone most intensely in his dark inner self was Kang Jin-ho. His hatred for him sustained Kim Seok-il.

Would he remember?

Would he remember Kim Seok-il?

‘It doesn’t matter.’

He didn’t want to be remembered. He wanted to destroy him. If he could do that, it didn’t matter if Kang Jin-ho didn’t know that his destruction came from Kim Seok-il.

What he wanted was the result.

It was always the result.

Crack, crack, crack.

The bones were distorted. He gathered all the remaining energy in his body to his spine and head.

“Cough!”

Because he had gathered even his innate energy, his internal organs burst and blood flowed back into his mouth. Pieces of his severed organs and blood kept gushing out of his mouth.

“Hehehehe.”

Even in the midst of that, Kim Seok-il laughed.

He was overflowing with power.

Only for this one moment, this one moment where he threw away his life!

He felt a fullness as if he had regained his past self.

“I am…”

Crack.

His teeth broke.

His tightly clenched teeth couldn’t withstand the pressure and crumbled.

His whole body trembled. But Kim Seok-il didn’t even feel the pain. All his mind was focused on one point on the floor.

And…

“I am Kim Seok-il! Kang Jin-hooooooooooooo!”

Kwaaaaaang!

Kim Seok-il’s head slammed into the floor. The steel floor was pierced, and black water began to rush into the ship.

Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!

The overwhelming pressure of the rushing water swept away Kim Seok-il’s body, his head shattered. Then, it rushed into the ship through the open door.

Someone died here.

But no one would know.

That someone had died here.

Kwaaaaaaaang!

‘What was that?’

Wiggins’ eyes widened.

A faint vibration.

And a faint noise.

It was a sound that you wouldn’t even hear if you didn’t concentrate. But it was clear that something had happened.

Because the vibration didn’t stop.

The ship was safe.

Even though countless slaughters were taking place on the deck, the ship had remained intact until now. But the vibration he felt beneath his feet made him realize that something was happening on this ship.

‘Is it sinking?’

It was a premonition. But it wasn’t just a simple premonition. Wiggins’ sensitive senses could clearly feel the huge ship shaking little by little.

Then the shaking grew bigger and bigger.

“Hmm.”

Wiggins narrowed his brow.

‘This is going to be a problem?’

It was not part of the plan.

The reason they had gone through so much trouble was that they didn’t want to sink this ship. If the ship sank, it would be difficult to clean up.

Besides…

‘Are they all really going to die?’

Those people?

Wiggins’ gaze turned to the people filling the sea.

Many were rushing to reclaim their ship, but because there were so many, only a small number were fighting in the front. The rest were just floating in the sea.

And this ship was sinking?

They would all die.

If they had swum to Japan from the moment they jumped into the sea, they might have had a slight chance. But those who were lured by their ship were now exhausting their strength here.

They wouldn’t have the strength to swim to the Japanese archipelago anymore.

“W-what’s going on?”

“Hmm.”

Wiggins narrowed his brow at Nobuo’s words.

“It seems we’ll have to finish the treatment later.”

“Yes?”

“I think I need to report to the Lord. We need a countermeasure.”

“R-report?”

Nobuo’s eyes widened.

What was he talking about so calmly? Kang Jin-ho was in a fierce battle with the elite of Shin’nichikai [a fictional Japanese organization].

And yet, he was talking about reporting?

“Ah, well, you might not understand. But well, you don’t need to understand.”