Descent of the Demon Master

hat new part-time job I got.
After all, it wasn ’t an accident, you see.”

Jo Gyu-Min ’s expression grew somber at that revelation.
It was not an accident?

“Does that mean someone was aiming for your life, Mister Jin-Ho?”

Kang Jin-Ho quietly nodded.

“But who would do that?” Jo Gyu-Min narrowed his eyes.

“That ’s what I can ’t figure out,” said Kang Jin-Ho with a groan.
He knew it had to be a cultivator, a Martial.
However, individual Martials or factions Kang Jin-Ho had come in contact with so far shouldn ’t have a reason to kill him.

’…No, wait. ’

Kang Jin-Ho ’s eyes sharply gleamed.
There might be no one among the Martials, but plenty of people still wanted to see him dead out of pure resentment.
For one, there was that thing he had done back in the military.
And how about that dust-up in China? It wouldn ’t be so strange to see the people involved in those incidents trying to kill him.

Kang Jin-Ho nodded slightly, then looked at Jo Gyu-Min.
“I have a favor to ask you.”

’

“Please speak…”

“There was an unknown man on the rooftop.”

“The rooftop, you say? In other words, someone had severed the safety wires?”

“I ’d like you to secure the footage of that unknown man.
CCTV cameras must have recorded his face as he made his way to the roof.
And when the cleaning crew regains consciousness, get their testimonies to figure out what happened on the rooftop.”

“Understood.
Leave it to me.”

Kang Jin-Ho settled back in the car ’s seat with withdrawn eyes.
The cleaning crew that should have been on standby on the roof was found unconscious in the top floor ’s bathroom.
That was a good-enough piece of evidence that the assailant was only aiming for Kang Jin-Ho ’s life.
If that unknown man had been a bloodthirsty murderer, he would have no reason to keep those cleaners alive.
To a martial artist capable of throwing daggers with such accuracy and speed, killing a few civilians was a piece of cake.

“Mister Gyu-Min, mobilize every person you can on this case, please.”

“Understood.” Jo Gyu-Min bowed deeply.

Kang Jin-Ho said he was asking for a favor, but his tone of voice this time was markedly different from his past requests.
This was an order disguised as a request.
For the first time during their interactions, Kang Jin-Ho issued an order to Jo Gyu-Min.

Jo Gyu-Min ’s expression hardened with fresh determination.
“You can leave it to me! I ’ll definitely find out who that man was!”

He had already instinctively figured out that his ’success ’ in Jaegyeong didn ’t depend on Hwang Jeong-Hu, but on Kang Jin-Ho.
No wonder he was burning in the fierce determination to give his all and resolve this ’request ’ at any cost.

***

“That ’s what I said, but now…” Jo Gyu-Min mouthed a cigarette as a hollow expression filled his face.
“Was he a ghost or something?”

Kang Jin-Ho wasn ’t the type to lie, so someone suspicious had to have been present on the rooftop.
However, the CCTV cameras hadn ’t captured anyone suspicious going in or out of the rooftop.

“What a thorough ghost our guy is…”

Of course, Jo Gyu-Min knew they were dealing with a person, not a ghost.
The cleaning crew got ’transferred ’ to the top floor ’s toilet while every single CCTV camera on that floor was out of commission.
That couldn ’t have been a mere coincidence.
Especially when considering how those cameras had been physically knocked out of service—a person had to be responsible for that.

“But then…
Just how did our perp get to the top floor in the first place?”

Obviously, Jo Gyu-Min had checked the camera feed from the stairwell and the elevators.
But no suspicious person was filmed heading to the rooftop.
It was as if Jo Gyu-Min had walked into an episode of the Twilight Zone or something.

“Even though I said I ’ll definitely find them out…”

He hadn ’t even gotten started yet, but Jo Gyu-Min had already found himself facing an insurmountable obstacle.
He couldn ’t help but groan weakly at his predicament.
He needed a trace, a hint.
Anything, really, if he wanted to get his investigation going.
But now…
Wasn ’t this just too much?!

Vrrrr…

Jo Gyu-Min ’s smartphone suddenly vibrated.
When he saw the name ’Hwang Jeong-Hu ’ on the phone ’s screen, he scrambled to stub the cigarette out before answering the call while standing at attention.
“Yes, sir! Jo Gyu-Min speaking!”

His complexion quickly became pale at the voice coming from the phone ’s speaker.

“Yes, sir! I ’ll be right there!”

’

Jo Gyu-Min heard how enraged Hwang Jeong-Hu sounded, so he didn ’t dare to waste any more time and rushed straight toward his car.
He couldn ’t help but feel that his luck today may get even worse.

***

“Someone aimed for Kang Jin-Ho ’s life?!” Hwang Jeong-Hu growled like a scary beast.

“…Yes, Chairman.” Jo Gyu-Min nodded.
He was working quite hard right now to calm his pounding heart.

’Right, I forgot that the Chairman is this kind of person. ’

Maybe they had grown pretty friendly over the last few years, or Jo Gyu-Min simply had become too lax these days.
Either way, he couldn ’t tell why he thought Hwang Jeong-Hu was like a kindly neighborhood grandpa.
Having seen the rage flooding out of the Chairman, though, Jo Gyu-Min was rudely reminded of just who his boss was.

Simply put, a giant of this era was unleashing his fury.
“Who! Who dares to target Jin-Ho?!”

“Sir, I still haven ’t…” Jo Gyu-Min faltered slightly.

“Find them, now!”

“S-sir?”

“Find them out, no matter what! I don ’t care even if you have to utilize Jaegyeong ’s full power! Find out who was responsible! I ’ll grant you full authority!” Hwang Jeong-Hu roared like an enraged lion, forcing Jo Gyu-Min to simply nod away in a daze.
“You can do this, right? Right, Gyu-Min!?”

“Y-yes, sir!” Jo Gyu-Min replied affirmatively before he could catch himself.
He knew he had made a mistake just then, but that ship had already set sail.

“Find those bastards! And report back to me pronto! Prioritize this matter above all else, understand? You can leave now!”

“Yes, Chairman!” Jo Gyu-Min hurriedly bowed.

“And Jo Gyu-Min!”

“Sir!” Jo Gyu-Min stood at attention like a frozen statue and waited for Hwang Jeong-Hu to finish.

“Find out who was responsible, no matter what!”

“I ’ll do my best, sir.” Jo Gyu-Min bowed again, this time at an angle of ninety degrees, then cautiously slipped out of the chairman ’s office.

’Damn it, what…
What did I just do?! ’

Now that he had exited the oppressive chairman ’s office, the realization struck Jo Gyu-Min like a brick wall.
Combing through the CCTV footage hadn ’t yielded even a single hair of the assailant, never mind a solid piece of evidence! So, why did he say he would find out who the culprit was?!

’I… I better go back inside and… ’

Before this situation could get any worse, he had to come clean and tell the chairman that this task was impossible.
Jo Gyu-Min turned around and reached out to the door handle only for some strange noises coming from the office to stop him dead in his tracks.

Bang! Crash! Shatter!

The noises of things breaking and shattering took Jo Gyu-Min by surprise, and he tried to open the door.
However, a secretary manning the doorway quickly walked closer and stopped him.
“Chairman sometimes breaks stuff like that whenever he ’s angry about something, Chief.
Entering the office now will only lead you to a disaster.”

“…Seriously?” Jo Gyu-Min ’s shoulders slumped lower in dejection.
He trudged to the stairwell, and once he arrived at this deserted location, he pulled out his phone and called someone.

“…Mom? It ’s me, Gyu-Min.
How are you? Is everything alright on that side?” Jo Gyu-Min muttered into the phone in a sorrowful voice.
“…By the way, Mom? Can ’t I, like, quit this company?”