Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 957

There are many truths in life.

Truths that aren’t usually apparent reveal themselves as we live.

And the truth that Jo Gyu-min was realizing now was that there is always a price to pay for everything.

“…Hyung-nim [older brother or respected male figure].”

“Be quiet.”

“…No, Hyung-nim.”

“I said be quiet.”

“But our flight time is almost up.”

Lee Hyun-soo clicked his tongue, looking at Jo Gyu-min standing stiffly in the corner.

“If we had more time, I would have just!”

“Hehehe.”

“Why do you keep acting tough when you get beaten every time?”

“Hyung-nim.”

“Yeah?”

“Aren’t I a man?”

“A man’s life is about challenges.”

“Wouldn’t you be upset if you died doing that?”

“…I would be.”

Lee Hyun-soo shook his head.

‘I thought he was normal… Come to think of it, he’s someone I met through Kang Jin-ho, so there’s no way he’d be normal.’

“How did it go?”

“We’ve cleared about half the space in the cargo ship. If we pack a bit tightly, we can fit up to three hundred people without any problems. But it might be difficult to get out if there are too many people.”

“I’m not planning on taking that many.”

Lee Hyun-soo turned his head to look at the plane.

They were currently inside the airport. More precisely, inside a hangar. Since it wasn’t a passenger plane, they could avoid being exposed to others.

“But why are you going to England? And so secretly?”

“It would take a whole day and night to explain. What power do I have? I just have to do what I’m told.”

“That’s true.”

Jo Gyu-min also sighed.

It was obvious who was behind this. It was probably Kang Jin-ho causing trouble again.

In that sense, he sympathized.

Jo Gyu-min had experienced countless times how reckless Kang Jin-ho could be once he got fixated on something.

“Is it dangerous?”

“Is there anything we do that isn’t dangerous?”

“…That’s true, but still.”

Jo Gyu-min shrugged.

“But I still don’t understand. You don’t have to do such dangerous things. You’ve made a lot of money, and you can easily get social status if you want, so why do you have to live so hard, even committing crimes like this?”

Lee Hyun-soo gave a bitter smile.

He was right.

There might be a way to live comfortably while maintaining the status quo. But the Assembly doesn’t even consider looking for such a way.

‘It can’t be helped. We are warriors.’

This is how they’ve lived, and this is how they will live.

“Enough, just make sure you handle things well. Did you talk to the pilot?”

“Yes. But since he’s not our employee, I don’t know how much he’ll keep quiet. If things get big, he might spill everything.”

“…We have to take that risk.”

Even though Jae-kyung was a large corporation, they didn’t operate cargo planes exclusively. Hwang Jung-hoo’s power could smooth things over to some extent, but since he was an employee of another company, they had to accept the possibility of information leaking.

“Still, try to prevent it as much as possible.”

“Don’t worry about that. If this leaks, we’ll be in trouble too.”

“Okay.”

Lee Hyun-soo turned his head to look at the people gathered on one side of the hangar.

There were the board members led by Kang Jin-ho, the demons, the elite of the Demonic Cult, and the Chevaliers [knights]. In terms of numbers, there were over a hundred.

Normally, seeing this much power would have made him feel proud, but Lee Hyun-soo’s feelings were completely different now.

With this much power, they could crush any organization. Kang Jin-ho and the board members alone could wipe out a sect in minutes.

But now, they had to go to England.

What they had to face wasn’t just a single sect. It was the country of England, and furthermore, the massive group called Europe.

‘This better not be a crazy idea.’

If he fully trusted Wiggins’ words, it was a feasible plan. But Lee Hyun-soo knew that things in the world never go according to plan. Especially with something this big, there were bound to be variables.

The key to this expedition was how well they could control those variables.

“Then I’ll go report.”

“Yes, Hyung-nim. I’ll do one more check of the cabin.”

“Okay.”

Lee Hyun-soo patted Jo Gyu-min on the shoulder. He was annoying with his constant teasing, but when it came to handling things, there was no one as reliable as Jo Gyu-min.

Lee Hyun-soo approached Kang Jin-ho.

“Are you ready?”

“Most of it is done.”

“Okay.”

“The flight time will be about twelve hours if there are no variables.”

“That’s quite long.”

“We’re going to the other side of the world.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

‘He’s so calm.’

Even though they were infiltrating enemy territory, there was no sign of tension on Kang Jin-ho’s face. Come to think of it, had Kang Jin-ho ever shown any tension before a battle?

“Is everyone else ready?”

“What’s there to prepare?”

Wiggins joked.

“It’s not like we need to pack passports. We just need to get in and sit down. I should have brought a cushion. I didn’t think about the fact that there wouldn’t be any chairs.”

“…Master, aren’t you being too carefree?”

“I can’t help it. While others are going to a foreign country, I’m going back home, so there’s nothing to be nervous about.”

Wiggins smiled.

‘You really can’t predict what will happen in life.’

He had thought that he would have to return to England someday. But not like this. With the sudden visit of his master, the wheel of his destiny was turning vigorously.

“Then please be careful.”

“Come back?”

“Is there a problem?”

Wiggins smiled and turned to look at Kang Jin-ho.

“This guy seems to be mistaken about something.”

“I see.”

“…Yes?”

“You’re coming too.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s eyes trembled.

“Ah, no, wait a minute. I’m not a fighter. I’ll just be a burden if I go. I’d rather stay here and gather information, and then pass it on to you…”

“How are you going to get information about England?”

The fact hit Lee Hyun-soo right in the chest.

“A-at least information from outside of England…”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard that the Assembly has planted informants in Europe? Did you do something while I wasn’t looking?”

“…No.”

“Then how?”

Lee Hyun-soo closed his mouth.

There was no way.

If it were China or Japan, he could get information through the informants they had, but Europe was not within the Assembly’s reach.

In the first place, they hadn’t even thought about getting involved with them until the Round Table suddenly reached out to Korea, so it couldn’t be helped.

Even after Wiggins joined the Assembly, the Assembly’s main target of vigilance was China, followed by Japan. Europe was far down the list.

So, how was he supposed to get any information?

“I see you were planning to enjoy a vacation while others are suffering.”

“Are you cornering me like this?”

“But dreams are just dreams. We need a translator, so you’re coming too.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s shoulders slumped. With Wiggins saying this and Kang Jin-ho nodding, his fate was already decided.

‘My first trip to Europe… I never thought I’d be going on a trip to Europe, which is a dream for others, like this.’

Lee Hyun-soo was in despair when.

“You can board now!”

At Jo Gyu-min’s shout, everyone nodded and moved towards the plane.

“Please be careful, Kang Jin-ho.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

“It’s nothing.”

Jo Gyu-min smiled and turned to look at Lee Hyun-soo. The moment he saw that rotten face, Jo Gyu-min, who had caught on, twitched his lips.

“Are you going too, Hyung-nim?”

“…Don’t grin.”

“Hey, I’m not grinning. I’m just worried.”

Seeing Jo Gyu-min’s face, which looked like a weight had been lifted off his chest, made Lee Hyun-soo’s blood boil.

‘I’m going to kill that bastard someday.’

But that someday wasn’t now.

“There’s no time. Get on quickly.”

“…I’ll see you when I get back.”

Lee Hyun-soo shook his head and boarded the plane. Since it was a cargo plane and not a passenger plane, boarding was inconvenient, but it wasn’t an obstacle for the people here.

Once everyone was on board, the door slowly closed.

Jo Gyu-min nodded as he watched the scene. Now, from the outside, no one would know that there were people inside. He had done everything he could.

‘It feels like the scale of the things I’m doing is getting bigger and bigger lately…’

In the past, all he had to do was clean up the messes Kang Jin-ho made or take Kang Jin-ho from the base to Seoul. But these days, the things he was doing were getting bigger and more global.

Even when he was smuggling a small number of people into China, it felt real, but now he was smuggling over a hundred people into England.

“It’s like a movie, a movie.”

Jo Gyu-min shook his head and turned around. Now, all he had to do was watch the plane take off safely from the airport.

“It’s wider than I thought.”

“Yeah.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

He had imagined a very narrow warehouse-like space when he heard it was a cargo plane, but the cargo plane he boarded was surprisingly spacious and comfortable.

Come to think of it, a cargo plane was just a regular passenger plane with the seats removed to make room for cargo. It was natural that it was spacious.

Except for the tightly sealed cargo on one side, there was quite a lot of space left. It seemed like everyone here could lie down if they wanted to. Not that anyone would actually want to lie down.

“We’ll be taking off soon.”

Lee Hyun-soo quickly regained his composure.

It was heartbreaking to be dragged to England, but he couldn’t just keep spacing out. Now that things had turned out this way, his goal was to handle things perfectly and return as quickly as possible.

“I never thought I’d end up going to Europe.”

“Me neither. If I could have one wish, it would be that this is the last time. I don’t want to go twice.”

Kang Jin-ho curled up the corners of his mouth.

“I don’t know about others, but I think you’ll be going often?”

“…I was thinking the same thing.”

At that moment, the plane slowly began to move.

“It looks like we’re taking off.”

“Yeah.”

If ordinary people were on board, there would have been a commotion with people telling each other to hold on tight or fasten their seatbelts, but the people here were not the type to have problems with a plane taking off.

They were people who could stand without falling even if they were holding on with just one finger, so such words were unnecessary.

And so, without any special announcement, the plane accelerated. Then, a small tremor was felt along with a feeling of floating.

Lee Hyun-soo went to the corner and looked out the window.

The blue sky was the first thing that caught his eye, and below, the airport was getting farther away.

‘We’re really going.’

Whether it was intentional or not, now that the plane had taken off, there was no turning back.

It was the moment the Assembly’s first overseas expedition began.