Descent of the Demon Master-Chapter 1073. Taking Action (3)

Vroom...

Zoom-Zoom speedily scythed down the mountain road.

Even as he depressed the accelerator, Kang Jin-Ho's mind was preoccupied with the contents of the report he read earlier.

‘I can’t figure it out.’

According to the report, Seok Dong-Su was a respected economist who turned sixty-one recently. He used to work as a professor at one of South Korea's top universities. Some people evaluated him as the visionary guiding the current administration's economic plan.

One could safely say that Seok Dong-Su now enjoyed all the wealth, honor, and political power he could imagine. His life was undoubtedly a success story.

That was why Kang Jin-Ho found it so much harder to understand.

No one sane would proclaim Seok Dong-Su as a failure in life. Absolutely no one. After all, some random person off the streets wouldn't be qualified enough to fill the position of a top government minister!

Simply finishing his term without incidents would've been enough to earn people's respect. Seok Dong-Su should know this, yet he still chose to get in bed with the Chinese and oppose the current administration.

Kang Jin-Ho frowned deeply.

Opposing the administration wasn’t the problem. Kang Jin-Ho would’ve actually applauded Seok Dong-Su had the minister’s intentions been upholding his values and beliefs.

Kang Jin-Ho didn’t know much about politics. Even then, he still understood that in politics, one used their principles and beliefs as a shield to help them walk over thorny paths—even if those paths led to a problematic destination!

Kang Jin-Ho was the leader of the demon cult back in Zhongyuan. His position meant he had to engage the cultivators walking the orthodox path in a fight to the death. That didn't mean he viewed every orthodox cultivator as a tumor that must be destroyed without mercy, though!

Of course, he was disgusted by their hypocrisy numerous times, and their stuffy self-righteous acts often frustrated him to the point of almost hurling all sorts of insults in their direction. Even then, Kang Jin-Ho never once dismissed the lives they had lived as trivial or pointless.

‘I’ll find out why soon enough.’

The light in Kang Jin-Ho’s eyes grew colder, more withdrawn.

Squeeze...

Kang Jin-Ho depressed the accelerator a little harder. His blood-red supercar heeded his command and drove even faster through the rain.

***

-Minister Seok, are you really going to do this?

Seok Dong-Su snarkily replied into the phone. “I’m not quite sure what you mean, sir.”

-There’s a limit to how ungrateful you can be, Minister Seok! Don’t you know how much Mister President trusted you and valued you! How could you fall for the Chinese’s empty promises and act this way!

“Sir, I’d much prefer you refrain from criticizing me based on unsubstantiated allegations.”

-What did you say?!

“You heard me, Prime Minister!” Seok Dong-Su said with some force. However, his expression remained slimy as ever.

He leisurely brought a glass of wine closer to his face, only to savor its fragrance before putting the alcohol down on his desk. Then, he mouthed a cigarette.

Click...

After lighting it, Seok Dong-Su deliberately took a long, deep puff before exhaling loudly.

“Sir, please do know that no one has asked me to do anything. However, what you asked me to do went against my ethics. It was immoral! If you disagree with my beliefs, you are free to replace me. I won't stop you.”

-What?! Do not mess with me, Minister Seok!

“If you are not going to do that, please. I ask of you to stop pressuring me this way.”

-Minister Seok! Keep this up, and something really bad might happen to you. Do you understand!

“Prime Minister...!” Seok Dong-Su coldly replied. “Please open your eyes and reassess this situation. Humoring those thugs and lowlives is a crime, sir! And you’re brazenly telling me to become a criminal, too.”

-You...! Watch what you say!

“No, sir. I won’t do that as I still have many more things to tell you. However, I’ll hold myself back this time as I don’t want to be rude to you anymore.”

Seok Dong-Su leisurely puffed at his cigarette while reclining on his chair.

“I won’t make any more fuss about this situation if you stop here, sir. However! If you insist on bothering me like this, I’ll have no choice but to risk my position and cause trouble for everyone.”

Seok Dong-Su thought he could hear the enraged panting and wheezing coming from the phone’s speaker.

‘Hah! This geezer might pass out from high blood pressure at this rate!’

He smirked deeply.

Only until a few days ago, Seok Dong-Su had been serving this Prime Minister as faithfully as he could. He even paid careful attention to notice any and all hints of emotion contained in every word this geezer said back then.

But now? This old fool no longer held any importance to Seok Dong-Su.

“If that’s all, I’ll hang up now. Good night, sir.”

-What? Wait! Minister Seok!

Seok Dong-Su ended the call and tossed the phone on the desk, slightly annoyed.

“Hah. For an old fool who’ll be gone after his term ends, he sure can make a lot of noises, no?”

Another smirk crept up on Seok Dong-Su’s face.

The Prime Minister acted like he couldn’t understand Seok Dong-Su’s motivation but in reality? That geezer should know the truth better than anyone. After all, he must be feeling the same type of frustration as the one that had been plaguing Seok Dong-Su.

South Korea’s Prime Minister was the second-highest office in the entire country. The only person ranked higher was the President. And that was why...

‘...It’s so frustrating, being the Prime Minister!’

The career of a politician who managed to reach the position of Prime Minister was done. They couldn't go any higher from there.

Why? Because the highest office an appointed official could reach was the Prime Minister. To reach an even higher position, you'd have to escape the fetters of being an appointed official.

This story also applied to government ministers.

Leaving behind good records as a minister could open the doors to becoming the next Prime Minister. However, if that assertion was flipped around, it meant a minister couldn’t climb higher than the Prime Minister’s position no matter how excellent their track record was.

The true nature of South Korea's Prime Minister could be summed up as the final stop in an appointed official's political journey. It might seem like the Prime Minister wielded incredible power, but their true role was to serve as the President's meat shield and a fall guy in case something went wrong.

“Nope, that won’t be me!”

Some people might be satisfied by such a position. But Seok Dong-Su was too ambitious for that!

He aimed for a position even higher. A position that allowed him to learn about every secret of this massive organization called the Republic of Korea!

The position once blocked from his view by the wall called “Reality” was now visible to Seok Dong-Su. Of course, he still had to tread on this thorny path to reach his destination.

However, having a clear destination at the end of a difficult journey was infinitely better than not having one!

“Fufufu... Fufufufu!”

Seok Dong-Su could now see a bright future beckoning him from the distance.

‘If I can bring together and rally all the pro-China members in the party, I can definitely secure a powerful base for myself! Especially when China is backing me! Even if it’s unrealistic to target the next Presidential election, with China's help, I can aim for the one after that!’

The odds were on the lower side. However, Seok Dong-Su knew as well as the next guy that politics were played under the laws of the jungle.

Presidential candidates with the highest odds of victory could see their popularity plummet literally overnight, while folks nobody took seriously could wake up one morning to find that they were at the top of the list. That was how the game of politics worked!

In other words, there was no such thing as a sure bet in politics.

Even if the odds looked slim, no one could guarantee the outcome as long as the candidate earnestly pushed forward like a bulldozer on a mission!

‘Mock me all you want!’

Seok Dong-Su picked up the wine glass and leisurely sipped the drink contained within. The savory aroma of alcohol and rich grapes tickled his palette, instantly waking him up.

‘Right. So, what I should do now is...’

Seok Dong-Su’s job was pretty simple this time. And that was to humor the demand from his Chinese benefactors.

He was told to hinder the Korean Martial Assembly no matter what. As long as he could do that, the Chinese promised he'd receive unlimited and unconditional support from them.

What an easy-as-pie task that was, though!

Using physical means to hinder the Assembly would be out of the question. However, if it was within Seok Dong-Su’s sphere of influence, his task shouldn’t be too difficult to complete.

And to make his job that much easier...!

Seok Dong-Su picked up the report resting on the desk and spread it open.

“It will be a cakewalk since those idiots kindly handed in all the incriminating evidence themselves!”

A slimy smirk on his face deepened.

‘What a bunch of naive idiots!’

Immediately afterward, Seok Dong-Su realized something. He was in no position to call the Martial Assembly people naive. After all, if he hadn't received that call from the powerful Committee member, he would've been in the middle of humoring the Assembly's request right about now!

Rather than the Korean Martial Assembly being naive, wasn’t it more the case of China’s response being scarily on point?

Although, one thing still troubled Seok Dong-Su.

‘Why are the Chinese so scared of the Martial Assembly?’

Here was a topic Seok Dong-Su had never thought about when he had no idea about the hidden world. Now that he did know some truths, though, he couldn't help but worry about it.

According to the information he had gleaned, the Chinese martial society was incomparably larger and stronger than South Korea's as if to mirror the national strengths of these countries in the surface world.

In that case, why were the Chinese so hellbent on keeping the Martial Assembly in check? To the point of offering unlimited support to Seok Dong-Su?

‘I don’t get it.’

Then again, was there a need for Seok Dong-Su to figure this one out? He held zero interest in the circumstances surrounding the Martial Assembly and its Chinese counterpart, after all!

He should just focus on his life and what he could do with his own power. That is all!

‘By doing this, I can step into a new life!’

Merely thinking about it gave him spine-tingling excitement. Maybe Seok Dong-Su owed the Prime Minister an apology and a heartfelt thank-you?

He initially thought that the geezer had saddled him with an annoying and cumbersome chore, but as it turned out, it was a blessing in disguise that opened new doors for him!

The Prime Minister obviously didn’t intend that, but a favor was still a favor, no! ƒreewebɳovel.com

Seok Dong-Su leisurely got up while telling himself to purchase top-quality wild ginseng in the morning and have it delivered to the Prime Minister's residence. It was time to go to bed and dream of...

That was when Seok Dong-Su stopped moving and tilted his head.

The weather was so hot that standing still and breathing heavily was enough to make him sweat. However, for some time now, he could feel goosebumps on his skin.

As a matter of fact, his body was shivering subtly on its own as if bone-chilling coldness had seeped deep into his soul!

‘Huh. Have I left the aircon on for too long?’

The aircon was turned on during the day. Maybe Seok Dong-Su had forgotten to turn it off after the sunset.

He began rummaging around the desk to search for the aircon remote, only to realize something was off. He slowly raised his head to look up at the aircon.

‘...What? Nothing is coming out?’

No cold winds were blowing out of the wall-mounted device.

‘Hang on. Now I remember. Didn’t I turn the aircon off a little while ago?’

Just to make sure he wasn't mistaken, Seok Dong-Su double-checked. However, the aircon was totally inert, with no winds coming out.

What was going on here? How was Seok Dong-Su supposed to explain this coldness pervading the room?

‘Hang on. Coldness? Really?’

Seok Dong-Su reflexively waved his hand in the air. But what he could feel through his fingertips was stiflingly hot air. No coldness could be felt on his skin.

“...Huh. Am I coming down with something?”

The most likely explanation was that he had caught the flu or the fatigue had gotten to him. Which made sense, considering what he went through today. It would've been more strange to not get stressed out.

‘Right. Let’s call it a day and get some rest... Mm?’

That was when something caught Seok Dong-Su’s attention.

Vrrrr...

He realized his body was shivering uncontrollably!

‘What the hell is going on here!’

He couldn't make heads or tails of this situation. By now, he knew this couldn't be a result of an illness. It was definitely not fatigue, either!

The shivering coming from the center of his body quickly spread to the rest of his extremities. His limbs quaked and shook about while his jaw clattered noisily. At the same time, thick droplets of cold sweat flooded down his forehead.

“What... What the...?”

Just before Seok Dong-Su could yell for help...

“I wanted to ask you something.”

The cold, withdrawn voice suddenly registered in his hearing. Listening to it sent spooky chills down his spine. Goosebumps of dread grew on his skin!

Flinch!

Seok Dong-Su’s body stopped shivering abruptly.

He had never experienced anything like this. Even then, his instincts still told him how to conduct himself.

He held his breath and stopped moving altogether. His shoulders shrunk while his eyes opened wider.

‘Who was that?!’

Seok Dong-Su turned his head slowly, oh-so-slowly, in the direction of that voice. And that was the corner of the room. With only the dim mood lighting on, that corner happened to be the darkest in this place.

No, that wasn’t quite right, either. That corner seemed so much darker than the darkness created by the dim lighting!

Seok Dong-Su’s breathing stopped altogether for a moment just then. He could see... the darkness shifting!

The darkness so deep and unfathomable slowly wavered. And then, it wiggled and writhed while gradually swallowing up the room. As it spread...

Inside this darkness so unimaginably dark that it seemed too unnatural, a pair of crimson lights suddenly began burning brightly.

Those light balls... had to be the eyes of a creature!

When Seok Dong-Su saw those eyes, his heart momentarily stopped beating.

The devil?! The devil was in this room!