CH 371

“...This is not a job meant for humans, now is it?” Lee Hyeon-Su groaned under his breath.

The Yeongnam Group HQ building was deserted. After guiding his subordinates hiding in the basement outside, Lee Hyeon-Su did the same with those who he thought still had a chance at survival despite their grave injuries. However, those without hope... He personally put them out of their misery.

Of course, he knew he didn't have the qualifications to decide who lived or died. However, Lee Hyeon-Su still thought the humane thing to do when a fellow human was slowly dying under intense agony was to help end their suffering as quickly as possible.

When everything was said and done, Lee Hyeon-Su found himself alone in the building. No, wait...

Actually, there were two other people inside this building for a grand total of three. But that number should reduce to two soon enough.

'Maybe, it'll be more correct to say only one...'

Kim Seok-Il was as good as dead, judging from his screaming that sounded horrifying enough for Lee Hyeon-Su to want to tear his own ears off. The one responsible for all that screaming would never let Lee Hyeon-Su off, either. So, Lee Hyeon-Su was basically a dead man walking.

He was the architect of all the schemes that enraged Kang Jin-Ho. And Kim Seok-Il's death alone wouldn't be enough to satisfy Kang Jin-Ho's hunger, anyway...

Lee Hyeon-Su could tell he'd soon end up in the same wretched state as his former boss. And then...

'No, wait. Maybe...'

A man who was practically a corpse already. Another man soon to become a corpse. And then, there was Kang Jin-Ho.

In that case, no human existed inside this building. Corpses were not 'humans', while Kang Jin-Ho didn't seem to fit that label, either!

When he thought about how a trio of still-breathing men who couldn't be called 'human' was the only ones left in the building, a hollow cackle automatically leaked out of Lee Hyeon-Su's lips.

That laughter didn't last for long, though.

“Kuwaaaah... Aaaaah... Sob, sniff…”

A mixture of screams and sobbing echoed eerily in the deserted building. Lee Hyeon-Su began shuddering from that noise.

'Dammit, that's Kim Seok-Il, man! THE Kim Seok-Il!'

Just who was Kim Seok-Il! Wasn't he a self-made man who raised the Yeongnam Group from the ground up all the while opposing the mighty Martial Assembly? Sure, there was no denying that Kim Seok-Il received some outside help. However, assistance would mean something to only those who knew how to fully utilize it.

If someone else other than Kim Seok-Il received the assistance of the Chinese, would they be able to create another Yeongnam Group? No, utterly impossible.

Lee Hyeon-Su despised Kim Seok-Il's inhumane and devious side. However, he also acknowledged that that side was what made Kim Seok-Il a formidable man in the first place.

Kim Seok-Il was the living proof of the old adages 'Pricking with a needle still won't draw blood from him' and 'You have to be driven and cold-hearted to succeed in this life.' However, someone like that was sobbing like a little kid!

Lee Hyeon-Su was spooked beyond words by what was happening. The 'Kim Seok-Il' he knew wouldn't even bat an eyelid even if his limbs were chopped off and his torso was being sawed off. He might even ridicule his torturer as his body was being ripped apart!

That kind of man was begging, screaming, and sobbing right now!

Just how horrendous the pain must be for Kim Seok-Il to sob like a little kid?!

Lee Hyeon-Su knew he didn't dare see it with his own two eyes. He simply did not have the courage to enter the chairman's office and watch Kim Seok-Il getting tortured. And he certainly didn't have the balls to go in there and confirm how sadistic the devil was, either!

Imagining about the devil was already enough for Lee Hyeon-Su. It wouldn't be only him, though. No one would want to see the devil at work with their own eyes if they could help it!

'Kang Jin-Ho...!'

The individual named Kang Jin-Ho had exceeded Lee Hyeon-Su's expectations in various ways. From when Kang Jin-Ho crashed through the Yeongnam Group's front door until resolving the 'grudge' between the two sides, none of Lee Hyeon-Su's expectations and predictions came true.

Lee Hyeon-Su preferred, nay, enjoyed, laying traps while predicting the enemy's responses. To someone like him, Kang Jin-Ho was the worst enemy imaginable.

'Then again...'

Even if Lee Hyeon-Su was able to anticipate Kang Jin-Ho's actions... What would that change in the end?

The entirety of the Yeongnam Group tried and failed to stop Kang Jin-Ho. In other words, schemes and strategies couldn't stop him. Despite Lee Hyeon-Su and Co. utilizing every available method, Kang Jin-Ho deftly overcame them. By himself, no less!

The chilling screams continued to echo in the empty building. However, even that was gradually losing steam.

Lee Hyeon-Su squeezed his eyes shut. Even though his relationship with Kim Seok-Il couldn't be called good in any sense of the word, they still had been working together for a long time. Lee Hyeon-Su couldn't stay calm, knowing Kim Seok-Il was dying only a few meters away.

He could hear a faint sobbing. Then, a weak, hoarse voice...

A scream, made with every fiber of his being but still failing to leave his throat...

And then...

Silence. Utter silence.

The silence so eerie and deep that an exhale would've sounded like a thunderclap filled the building to the brim.

Creeaak...

But then, the sharp sound of a door opening shattered that silence. Lee Hyeon-Su knew what that noise signified and steeled himself.

'I'll see him soon enough.'

The notion of seeing a grim reaper during the moment of one's death was nothing more than a superstition. However, Lee Hyeon-Su would get to see one tonight. That grim reaper was currently heading toward him.

There was only one corridor leading to the chairman's office, and Lee Hyeon-Su was standing in it, after all!

'Why am I standing here, though?'

Lee Hyeon-Su desperately suppressed the questions trying to rear their heads.

Couldn't he have been able to run away? Even if Kang Jin-Ho was an incredible martial artist, slipping out of the Yeongnam Group HQ's grounds while he was preoccupied with Kim Seok-Il wouldn't be all that difficult for someone of Lee Hyeon-Su's caliber.

The idiotic Martial Assembly bastards had lifted the siege and were too busy 'suppressing' the already-dispirited Yeongnam Group fighters, anyway.

Since that was the case, why hadn't Lee Hyeon-Su run away?

Of course, Kang Jin-Ho could still come after him. Judging from Kang Jin-Ho's ability displayed so far, it'd be a matter of time before he caught up to Lee Hyeon-Su. He now had the Martial Assembly and the Yeongnam Group under his beck and call, so escaping his eye didn't seem realistic.

Unless Lee Hyeon-Su left the country as soon as possible, that was.

However...

'Wouldn't it be worth trying in that case?'

Even if he was caught in the future, wouldn't he still be escaping from Kang Jin-Ho now? Wouldn't that mean he'd get to live for longer? In that case, wouldn't escaping now be worth the trouble?

Lee Hyeon-Su wanted to flee. Right now. He wanted so badly to run without looking back. By hiding in some nameless mountain in the middle of nowhere, Lee Hyeon-Su might never get to see that monster again. However...

Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled in dejection.

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'That... is the scariest thing, isn't it?'

Running into Kang Jin-Ho was frightening. And the notion of being subjected to his cruel torture was even more terrifying.

However, the most frightening thing was running away now only to live constantly under the fear of Kang Jin-Ho showing up on his doorstep one day.

Lee Hyeon-Su had no confidence that he'd be able to live like that. Some people might look at him and exalt his manliness for choosing to meet his maker on his own terms rather than feebly trying to extend his life. However, Lee Hyeon-Su's real motive was nothing more than his cowardice.

Eventually...

The grim reaper finally revealed himself. Kang Jin-Ho, covered from head to toe in blood, leisurely walked out of the half-open doorway.

'Gee whiz. He didn't have to go that far, though...'

Lee Hyeon-Su would've been still spooked by the clean and well-dressed Kang Jin-Ho. In that sense, Kang Jin-Ho's current appearance seemed a bit too... over the top?

The sight of a growling tiger was already frightening enough, yet this was like looking at a tiger with blood-soaked fur growling menacingly with a torn-off deer's head in its mouth!

Drip...

The noise of a blood drop falling from Kang Jin-Ho's fingers to land on the floor echoed eerily in the corridor. Lee Hyeon-Ju didn't even need to guess whose blood that was.

Drip, drip...

Droplets of blood trickled down and fell from Kang Jin-Ho's drooping hair and fingertips. Within this 'canvas' of crimson darkness, a pair of Kang Jin-Ho's white eyes slowly rose up.

“...”

When Kang Jin-Ho's gaze landed on him, Lee Hyeon-Su inexplicably felt a bizarre sensation of his body relaxing. It was as if... How should he explain this feeling?

Like a terminally-ill cancer patient, barely enduring the horrifying pain with painkillers and narcotics, suddenly finding relief from all this torture? It must be similar to that feeling.

Lee Hyeon-Su might be physically unhurt, but his mind wasn't all that different from that of a dying patient, after all. His death was unavoidable, so he should greet it with dignity and a calm heart.

And now, the death's eyes locked into Lee Hyeon-Su's gaze.

Lee Hyeon-Su had been hearing constantly about Kang Jin-Ho's name in the last few months until he almost developed a neurosis from it. Ironically, though, today was his first time meeting Kang Jin-Ho personally. And this encounter finally helped Lee Hyeon-Su realize something.

'I still didn't know...!'

It wouldn't be just him, but everyone else, too! None of them would know!

This individual could not be analyzed and understood merely by watching him from afar or listening to other people's opinions.

Unless one looked directly into Kang Jin-Ho's eyes burning in bloodlust and madness, they would never be able to understand how monstrous this man actually was! Not even 10% of the truth!

Even Lee Hyeon-Su felt hollow and empty just now. And he had been so confident of knowing who Kang Jin-Ho was after collecting an overflowing amount of information on him!

'I see. Us losing was inevitable, huh...'

Lee Hyeon-Su didn't know the truth about his enemy. He failed to properly analyze the strongest, most frightening enemy he had ever encountered, so his destruction was inevitable. Although, this realization came way too late to save Lee Hyeon-Su.

Kang Jin-Ho's cold gaze leisurely scanned Lee Hyeon-Su from top to bottom. It felt like a snake was coiling around Lee Hyeon-Su's body.

Strangely though, Kang Jin-Ho didn't do or say anything other than scan Lee Hyeon-Ju's trembling figure.

'What... should I say in a situation like this?'

Lee Hyeon-Su grimaced a little as this situation rapidly betrayed his expectations. He thought Kang Jin-Ho would pounce on him as soon as the two men met each other, but that didn't happen. Lee Hyeon-Su could only stand there, utterly suppressed by Kang Jin-Ho's glare.

It was a rather mystifying experience to feel crushed by nothing more than a person's glare, but Lee Hyeon-Su was in no position to appreciate this new realization.

“I am...“ Lee Hyeon-Su finally cracked his lips open since he thought something should be said to end his uncomfortable silence. However, what could he say when his mind was as blank as a sheet of white paper?

Lee Hyeon-Su faltered, only to watch Kang Jin-Ho wordlessly raise his hand. That hand would soon lead Lee Hyeon-Su down the path to Hell.

That hand should've chopped Lee Hyeon-Su's head off, but no. It didn't go anywhere near Lee Hyeon-Su. As a matter of fact, that hand reached up to Kang Jin-Ho's own face instead.

Kang Jin-Ho wiped away the blood trying to trickle into his eyes from his brow, then frowned slightly. “Is there a shower in this building?”

“...?” A hint of flabbergast snuck into Lee Hyeon-Su's expression.

A shower? Did Kang Jin-Ho ask for a shower?

'This man... Maybe he really has several screws loose in his head?'

How could he nonchalantly ask for a shower in this situation? After he killed so many people, no less!

Suddenly, Lee Hyeon-Su felt something hot and boiling well up inside. He failed to suppress this aimless anger and ended up shouting at the top of his voice. “Yes, there is!”

“I see. Show me.”

“...Understood.” Lee Hyeon-Su turned around toward the nearest shower, his expression distorting pitifully.

'This... This isn't what I...'

For some reason, this situation began heading in a weird direction. Lee Hyeon-Su sighed weakly under his breath while staring at the corridor leading to the shower.