Descent of the Demon Master

Yi Myeong-Hwan tilted his head. “Sir? What happened? You don't look so good.”

“Really?” Lee Hyeon-Su rubbed his face which featured a distinctive pair of dark circles drooping all the way down to his chin.

“Were you... having a nightmare or something, sir?”

“A nightmare, eh... Yeah, you can say that. A really, really bad nightmare.”

Lee Hyeon-Su rubbed his face even harder. He finally hit the bed after a tiring day at work and was about to fall into a deep, relaxing sleep... Only for Kang Jin-Ho's sudden phone call to rudely wake him up and blow away any hopes of getting some decent shut-eye!

No wonder his whole body felt like a wet sponge.

'I was smart to cultivate diligently in the past. Even if I didn't have any talent for it...'

If it wasn't for his cultivation, Lee Hyeon-Su might have collapsed from overwork and been taken to the nearest ER by now.

“Yup, it sure was a terrible dream,” Lee Hyeon-Su groaned loudly.

“...Maybe it's because you've committed too many crimes, so your mind is punishing you?”

“Mm? Did you say something?”

“Ah, no. It's nothing.” Yi Myeong-Hwan shook his head. 'I can't even joke with him today, huh...'

Judging from how Lee Hyeon-Su couldn't even hear other people well, his condition seemed quite serious.

“Branch director, sir... Shouldn't you get more rest?”

“Eh?”

“I know it's weird for me to say this to you, but...” Yi Myeong-Hwan groaned loudly. “People who excel in stuff tend to make things even more difficult for themselves. Don't you think so, too?”

“Huh? Make things... more difficult?”

“Yup. So, like... It's a bit like a university group project, right?”

“...” Lee Hyeon-Su slowly nodded. He understood what Yi Myeong-Hwan was trying to say here.

Yi Myeong-Hwan continued to speak. “Things like this are common, right? Everyone in the group is doing the same job, but you are not happy with what others are doing, so you tell them to do those things again, but the results are even worse, and you can't use them anymore. So you end up thinking that you should've done everything yourself, which would've been more efficient, to begin with.”

“Stop right there,” Lee Hyeon-Su grunted in pain and held his chest. “Being violated with facts will always give people serious heartburns, okay? So, let's stop it before it goes too far.”

Unfortunately, Yi Myeong-Hwan decided to continue. “Sure, you taking care of everything might be better, at least as a short-term measure. We will get better results that way. However, if you insist on doing things like that long-term... I'm sure you can already feel the impact with your body, can't you?”

“Indeed. What a discerning criticism that is...” Lee Hyeon-Su helplessly scratched his head.

Due to various circumstances, Lee Hyeon-Su had no choice but to maintain this state of things, but he agreed that Yi Myeong-Hwan was on point.

Lee Hyeon-Su had to view Yi Myeong-Hwan in a renewed light.

'Huh. I guess he wasn't a rock-for-brains, after all?'

Yi Myeong-Hwan deserved acknowledgment and praise for his adaptability on the basis of how he managed to survive while stuck in-between Kang Jin-Ho and the Demon Flames. On top of that, his ability to suss out the overall picture wasn't too bad, either.

Lee Hyeon-Su was even tempted to bring this man under his wings instead of letting him 'rot' in a combat unit and dump a bunch of administrative tasks on him. That seemed like a better use of Yi Myeong-Hwan's talents.

Maybe... Yi Myeong-Hwan could be the solution to Lee Hyeon-Su's problem he mentioned just now. Although, wouldn't Yi Myeong-Hwan feel the urge to rip his own mouth off if Lee Hyeon-Su forcibly took him in and dumped a whole load of administrative work on his shoulders?

Lee Hyeon-Su did get this mischievous desire to witness that spectacle, but...

'Nope, let's not.'

Lee Hyeon-Su hurriedly covered his mouth and stifled the laughter threatening to break free. That sounded like an attractive solution, but Yi Myeong-Hwan had a different role to play.

Lee Hyeon-Su's skill set meant he couldn't assist Kang Jin-Ho on-site. His place wasn't the battlefield but inside an office. There was a clear limit to how much physical assistance he could provide when Kang Jin-Ho loved standing at the forefront of a battle.

That was where Yi Myeong-Hwan came in.

Although there was a bit of a downside of Yi Myeong-Hwan going blind with the desire to kill once the demonic qi filled his brain, he could still objectively assess the situation before entering the berserk state.

He also knew how to voice his opinion without pissing people off. That might not sound like a big deal, but for a man who needed to serve big shots? Such a skill would be indispensable.

No matter how good the advice was, it'd ultimately be pointless if the person being advised couldn't care less. However, if the advice was provided in a more... palatable manner, the odds of it being accepted would go up, at least by a little bit.

Especially in a situation like this one right here; that would be when Yi Myeong-Hwan's friendly way of talking shone the brightest.

Lee Hyeon-Su grunted. “Let's forget about my situation for now, okay? That's not important, anyway.”

“Well, I don't want to see the person giving me orders taken to a hospital right after we reach China, you know.”

“...I'm not stupid enough to do that, okay?” Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled dismissively.

In his opinion, Yi Myeong-Hwan was a strange character. Not many people in the Assembly willingly engaged Lee Hyeon-Su for small talk. No, make that almost no one! Mister Wiggins was a solid exception, but the English gentleman was ranked higher than Lee Hyeon-Su, so talking to him like friends was out of the question.

None of Lee Hyeon-Su's peers or subordinates dared to chat with him unless they had to. Of course, Lee Hyeon-Su was fully cognizant of this problem.

He was aware of how, objectively speaking, callous and prickly he was as a person. To make matters worse, he possessed the power and willingness to ensure his callousness wouldn't just end with that, being callous.

Simply put, dealing with Lee Hyeon-Su was burdensome and/or a scary affair to other people.

However, Yi Myeong-Hwan was actually cracking jokes with Lee Hyeon-Su. Now that wasn't something anyone could do just because they were acquainted. For instance, the Yeongnam Branch workers saw Lee Hyeon-Su every day, but they still wouldn't dare casually crack jokes with him.

'Well, being brazen is also a talent, I guess!'

Now that Lee Hyeon-Su thought about it... Didn't Yi Myeong-Hwan ruin his life, in a way, by running his mouth in front of the Assembly Master? It seemed Yi Myeong-Hwan thought of himself as an unlucky bastard, but the truth was that he invited all the bad luck through his own actions.

“Okay, so. Are you guys done with preparations?” Lee Hyeon-Su asked.

Yi Myeong-Hwan proudly nodded. “I've selected the members like you told me.”

“Sounds like the selection process was relatively trouble-free?”

“Yes, sir. It was pretty straightforward. Quite a few folks among those who didn't get selected were injured, but they should recover soon enough.”

“...Injured? What?”

“The thing was, I told them to fight if they wanted to go, you see? That's how we got lucky and selected the above-average members without people getting hurt too much.”

“...Huh.” Lee Hyeon-Su slowly nodded while revising his evaluation of Yi Myeong-Hwan a bit. As it turned out... This bastard was not normal, too!

Then again, not many people could be called 'normal' in Kang Jin-Ho's circle of acquaintances. Anyone with a sane mind and a regular set of values wouldn't approach someone like Kang Jin-Ho in the first place. Not many people in the world would emit such ominous vibes as Kang Jin-Ho, after all!

Lee Hyeon-Su frowned slightly. “What about the remaining ones, then? Their dissatisfaction must be considerable.”

“Yes, but what can they do about it, sir? Unless they are planning to swim across the Yellow Sea, they should just sit tight and train obediently at home.”

“I guess so,” Lee Hyeon-Su nodded slowly.

He no longer cared, anyway. By now, he had already learned the important lesson of keeping his distance from those cultivating in the demonic arts.

“I'll get the plane ready, so get to China ASAP. The situation on that side doesn't look so good.”

Yi Myeong-Hwan narrowed his eyes. “Did something happen, sir?”

“It sounds like the Japs tried to ambush our Assembly Master.”

“I see. Did they survive, though?”

Lee Hyeon-Su cocked an eyebrow. “...Shouldn't you be asking about the Assembly Master's well-being in a situation like this?”

“Why? We know they can't even leave a scratch on the dude, anyway. Our Assembly Master won't get hurt by the random Japanese riff-raff sneaking into China, you know. The story might be a little different if he has been clashing against Chinese experts, though.”

“Huh. Listen to this guy...” Lee Hyeon-Su tutted in dismay.

Should he think of Yi Myeong-Hwan's attitude as absolute faith? Or hopelessly optimistic faith instead? Regardless of which, it certainly was some kind of faith, alright!

Lee Hyeon-Su got a sneaking suspicion that his loyalty toward Kang Jin-Ho was fundamentally different from the Demon Flames' loyalty.

'I better pull my socks up, then.'

It might be difficult to imagine this scenario now, but... If Yi Myeong-Hwan continued to grow and improve at the current rate, Kang Jin-Ho might not see a reason to keep Lee Hyeon-Su around anymore. The presence of an excellent, super-smart subordinate was always accompanied by the threat of betrayal. However, Yi Myeong-Hwan possessed blind, unyielding loyalty to Kang Jin-Ho.

If Lee Hyeon-Su was in Kang Jin-Ho's shoes, even he'd have trusted Yi Myeong-Hwan a bit more than himself.

Still, he had no plans to wage a war of 'Who's more loyal?' with this guy. Such a thing didn't suit Lee Hyeon-Su's disposition, anyway. If he wished to keep his job, then all he needed to do was display his unique advantages that Yi Myeong-Hwan could never replicate.

However, there was another threat looming, and that was...

Clunk!

The office door was abruptly flung open without a knock. Which forced Lee Hyeon-Su to rub his tired eyes.

'Damn it! I think it must be an ulcer. It freaking hurts down in there...!'

Martial artists might chuckle at the notion of getting gastric ulcers, but what could Lee Hyeon-Su do about it since it had happened to him? A corner of his stomach ached as if something sharp was stabbing him down there.

Lee Hyeon-Su was living proof that gastritis caused by neurosis was an incurable disease not even martial artists could escape from!

The sudden entrant to Lee Hyeon-Su's office, Lee Hyeon-Ju, directly addressed the pained man. “I've finished everything you've assigned me.”

“Good. Very good. Very, very good, but...” Lee Hyeon-Su muttered with a constipated expression. “Couldn't you have sent a messenger or waited outside for a bit before charging into my office? How can you barge into my office every time you're done with something? Can't you respect my privacy or something? I might be busy with some other work, you know?”

Lee Hyeon-Ju tutted, obviously unmoved. “I didn't want to waste time, that's all.”

Lee Hyeon-Su's stomach was hurting. More than usual, too! His expression cramped even more as he scanned Lee Hyeon-Ju from top to bottom.

'Even if she's one crazily-skilled lady...'

He might as well come out and say she was a re-discovery of the century. Back when Lee Jung-Geol was ruling over the Martial Assembly with an iron fist, Lee Hyeon-Ju was in charge of most of the administrative tasks. When Lee Hyeon-Su learned about that, he suspected the granddaughter of the former Assembly Master must be pretty good at her job, but she still managed to exceed his imaginations by a wide margin.

As a matter of fact, Lee Hyeon-Ju acted as if she was starving for more work. Of course, it wasn't as if Lee Hyeon-Su couldn't understand why.

Her current assignment was basically what she majored in the past, after all! Since she was burning with the desire to prove her usefulness through work, Lee Hyeon-Ju would obviously 'attack' her assignments with as much enthusiasm as a starving wolf jumping on a juicy slab of steak.

If there was a problem, then well...

Lee Hyeon-Su turned his head and stared at Yi Myeong-Hwan. “My bad, but can you leave us for a minute? I know this isn't right, but that lady can get a bit unreasonable, you see...?”

“Hang on a minute,” said Yi Myeong-Hwan. “She's working here, too?”

“...Ng?”

Clear signs of displeasure quickly appeared in Yi Myeong-Hwan's expression. “Lee Jung-Geol's granddaughter is still working for the Martial Assembly? What kind of situation is this, sir? Does everyone know about this?”

'What's gotten into you all of a sudden?'

Lee Hyeon-Su groaned inwardly. Wasn't Yi Myeong-Hwan someone who lived by the mantra of 'Let's just go along with the flow and deal with what's asked of me somehow'? Yet, he was displaying this much displeasure? It could only mean he was quite furious right now.

However, was there a need to feel this way when he didn't have any bad blood with Lee Hyeon-Ju?

“Lee Jung-Geol dared to oppose the Assembly Master, sir. We should be erasing all traces of that man out of existence, but to think you've actually hired his granddaughter! Sir, I'm having a difficult time understanding your decision. I must immediately report this problem to the Assembly Master.”

“What the... Now hold on for a minute, okay?” Lee Hyeon-Su groaned and searched for a suitable excuse. “Assembly Master won't mind this arrangement, you know?”

“Even if that's true, this is still not right, sir. If we accept this woman just because the Assembly Master won't mind it, then wouldn't that imply nothing is now off-limits in the Assembly? I mean, let's be real, sir. If you suggest we should demolish every building here and move the HQ to Gangnam, you know he'll do as you say. If we don't willingly censor and control ourselves, the Assembly will break down in no time at all.”

“Huh...”

Why was Yi Myeong-Hwan on point today, saying all these sensible things? Lee Hyeon-Su was being pushed to the back foot here.

Lee Hyeon-Ju stopped observing this exchange and glared at Yi Myeong-Hwan. “Who are you, and why are you butting in when it's none of your business?”

“What does it matter who I am?” Yi Myeong-Hwan shot right back. “Let’s get this one thing straight. Practically everyone in the Assembly will have something to say about your presence here. Tell me, who was responsible for the crap state of affairs in the Assembly until now, again? Don't you have morals, lady?”

“What did you say?!”

Lee Hyeon-Su leisurely reached out toward his coffee cup. He cautiously sipped a mouthful of still-warm coffee while spectating the fierce verbal match between these two people.

A strange smile slowly formed on Lee Hyeon-Su's lips.

'Hah. Hahaha... What a mess.'

Yup, I give up. For real now.

I don't care anymore.

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