Descent of the Demon Master
Chapter 1117. Responding (2)

Chapter 1117. Responding (2)

“Hmm...?”

Lee Hyeon-Su frowned deeply.

“This coffee, it’s a bit...”

The agents tasked with monitoring him all scowled deeply.

“You insane motherfu...!”

There were no two ways about it, their ‘guest’ was definitely insane!

At least the agents were prepared, somewhat, to humor their hostage’s demands for a cup of coffee. Wellinger told them to accommodate the Korean as much as possible, after all!

So, they didn’t mind serving him a cup of coffee. But to think he’d complain about the coffee’s taste in this situation, too!

Unless his balls were cast out of forged steel, how could he remain so unperturbed by this development?!

Lee Hyeon-Su frowned while pushing the coffee cup away. “I’m sorry, but I can’t drink this. Do you have Cola, instead? I think that’ll be better than this coffee.”

“What? You think this is a room service or something? You crazy bastard...!”

“Oww, come on, now. No need to be so stingy. Surely you must have a can of Coke or something.”

One of the agents glaring at Lee Hyeon-Su groaned loudly before trudging toward a nearby mini fridge. He yanked the door open and took out a can of cola. While grimacing, he tossed the can at Lee Hyeon-Su. “Knock yourself out.”

“Thank you kindly.”

Lee Hyeon-Su lightly knocked on the top of the can a couple of times before pulling on the tab.

Pshoooweee...!

A refreshing noise escaped from the can, and Lee Hyeon-Su unhesitantly gulped the dark liquid down.

“Oh, wow. Now I feel alive,” Lee Hyeon-Su grunted while wiping his mouth.

“Hah...?”

The agent, Hans Wilhelm, glared at Lee Hyeon-Su while scowling deeply.

He was supposed to be an honorable warrior. So yes, he knew holding someone hostage and threatening them with violence was a dishonorable act. And he also knew that he must maintain the minimum level of decorum around the hostage.

The situation had forced his side to do something dishonorable, but he didn’t want to forget that he served the honorable Teutonic Knight Order. He certainly did not enjoy perverse hobbies like tormenting someone captured as a prisoner of war.

However, this situation was somewhat unique. Rather than unfazed, this hostage’s attitude was more like... He was looking down on his captors? Something like that?

“I did not know you Orient bastards could be this impudent...”

“Tsk, tsk. Even after the whole world taught you a harsh lesson, you still casually throw around a lightly racist slur? Saying Oriental this and Caucasian that is pretty stupid, don't you think? After all, it's not race but people who are individually different. I thought your country's education system was strict about this. Maybe I was wrong?”

“...”

“Besides, don’t try to lump me in a generic category like ‘Oriental.’ At least say I’m Korean.”

“You are indeed very impudent.”

“Why, thank you very much. People often say that about me.”

Wilhelm glared coldly at Lee Hyeon-Su. “You think you can walk out of here alive?”

“I wonder. I’d say my odds are about fifty-fifty?”

“Really? That’s not what your attitude says.”

“Aha, my attitude? Yes, indeed, my attitude.”

Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled wryly.

“I'm genuinely reflecting on myself, actually. I don't think I'm acting any differently from how I usually am every day, but you guys keep saying I'm impudent, arrogant, etc, etc. I guess that's as good a proof as it can get.”

“You...!”

Lee Hyeon-Su gulped more cola while ignoring the murderous glare.

‘Hah. I’ve turned into a chatterbox, haven’t I?’

These babysitters seemed to think Lee Hyeon-Su was totally unperturbed right now, but that was far from the truth. He was so tense that his throat was about to crack apart in dryness! The proof of his nervousness was how he was talking nonstop.

‘Escape is a no-go.’

Lee Hyeon-Su couldn’t believe that the kidnappers would ‘guard’ him to this extent.

As far as he could tell, he was confined in an ordinary hotel room. Of course, there was no guarantee of this room being in a hotel since he was unconscious when they brought him here. At least he was certain about there being no restraints in this room.

The real issue was the trio of guards before his eyes, though. Three martial artists, to be exact, who must've been members of some knight order. And they were monitoring him by being in the same room!

Just one martial artist sticking very close would have made it impossible to escape for Lee Hyeon-Su, yet there were three of them! At least he now knew how much the enemy valued him, which was nice.

In short, escape was totally unfeasible.

What if he relied on his smarts and escaped like a hero from a spy thriller?

‘Well, I guess I can try.’

Unfortunately, though, escaping from this room wouldn’t be the end of his troubles.

These martial artists boasted better mobility and speed than most cars. And their perception was as sharp as ultra-precise sensors.

Even if Lee Hyeon-Su successfully escaped from this room, they'd apprehend him again before he got past the one-hundred-meter mark.

Realistically speaking, Lee Hyeon-Su had no way of escaping from these three.

“Hah-ah...”

Lee Hyeon-Su sighed under his breath before lying down on the bed.

He managed to take over the sole bed here only because it was located in the deepest part of the room. Rather than worrying about Lee Hyeon-Su’s welfare, though, the kidnappers probably wanted to make their job of monitoring him a little easier by arranging the furniture this way.

However, it seemed the trio wasn't happy with Lee Hyeon-Su's attitude.

“Hey, you. Get up.”

“Sure, sure...” Lee Hyeon-Su raised his hands slightly in mock surrender while sitting up. He then sourly grunted at the trio. “In that case, can I watch TV?”

“No.”

“Then, at least give me a book to read. You aren’t going to give back my phone, anyway.”

“No.”

“...Are you saying we’ll just sit here and look at each other’s ugly mugs for god knows how long? Us four grown-ass men?”

“Yes. Something like that.”

“Gimme a freaking break...” Lee Hyeon-Su groaned loudly again.

He remembered feeling this way while dealing with the Chevaliers in the past. Why did it feel like all these knight order bastards had flushed their flexibility down the toilet?

Such was the inflexible nature of these idiots that Lee Hyeon-Su even felt guilty for calling the older Korean martial artists stuck-up boomers. As it turned out, the real boomers were in Europe!

“Sure, sure. Whatever you say.”

Lee Hyeon-Su tutted. He knew these people wouldn’t listen, anyway. In that case, no need to waste his mental energy.

These three were merely tools. Puppets that followed the order from the above to the letter.

They didn’t care to decide for themselves if the order was right or wrong, or if it was made in error. Lee Hyeon-Su had no way of knowing if these men were born this way or if the strict training regime had successfully brainwashed them into this state, but would knowing the truth change anything about this situation? Of course not!

‘The real problem is how they aren’t even bothering to cover their faces...’

The trio hadn’t hidden their faces under masks or balaclavas. That could not be a good sign.

Kidnappers planning to release the hostage alive always hid their faces to prevent their identities from being exposed. But these three hadn't done that. Either they thought their identities being exposed wouldn't matter even if the hostage was released, or...

‘...Or they think they can just get rid of the evidence altogether.’

Not a good sign, indeed! Especially for the current Lee Hyeon-Su!

He sneakily tried to shake these people up by talking to them. However, they were extremely cautious about saying anything unnecessary in front of him. Lee Hyeon-Su guessed that somebody must’ve warned them beforehand, that they shouldn’t talk to him as his specialty was his silver tongue.

‘How boring.'

It might be better for everyone involved if the resolution was decided sooner rather than later.

Just as Lee Hyeon-Su drifted deeper into his thoughts...

“Aren’t you scared?”

“I’m sorry?”

One of the guards cocked an eyebrow. “You heard me, didn't you?”

Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled wryly. It seemed these men weren’t some unfeeling machines, after all!

“Of course I’m scared.”

“That’s not what your attitude says.”

Lee Hyeon-Su wordlessly showed the guard his hands.

“...”

Wilhelm saw Lee Hyeon-Su’s hand trembling and furrowed his brow. “I see. Then, how can you maintain that attitude of yours?”

“Hmm...” Lee Hyeon-Su shrugged casually. “It’s because of the situation itself.”

“I don’t get it.”

Lee Hyeon-Su lazily extended his hand, then folded his fingers in such a way to resemble a gun before pointing at Wilhelm’s head. “It’s because you guys can’t kill me regardless of what.”

“...”

“Bang!” Lee Hyeon-Su pretended to fire his finger gun. “I’m the type who won’t hesitate to do whatever it takes to survive. If you tell me to crawl on the floor and bark like a dog, I will do that... If you had the power to kill me, that is. But you don’t. You are only authorized to monitor me.”

“What if I get angry and kill you?”

Lee Hyeon-Su snickered derisively. “That will make your master an incompetent dumbass, then. He messed everything up by entrusting this task to a bunch of trash who couldn't even control their emotions properly, after all!”

“You bastard...!”

“You don’t have to make that face, though. Once the master holding your leash shows up, I’ll flip onto my back and pant like an obedient dog, after all. Or maybe even lick his shoes. But not toward you. I'm not shameless enough to grovel before a tool, you see?”

“Hmph!” Wilhelm grunted sharply but stopped rising up from his chair. His butt returned to the cushion below.

Lee Hyeon-Su subtly narrowed his eyes.

‘Huh. He’s not shaken up.’

Then again, he expected this outcome, didn’t he?

Lee Hyeon-Su found people like Wilhelm tricky to deal with. After all, they didn't get swayed by their emotions and always handled their tasks by the book. That was probably why they were asked to keep an eye out on Lee Hyeon-Su, though.

Wilhelm grunted again. “If he permits it, we will kill you in the most painful way.”

“Sure, whatever you say,” Lee Hyeon-Su tutted, then subtly licked his lips. “However, I’m pretty sure now isn’t the right time to threaten me. You should be worried about your boss right now.”

“No. He isn't fragile enough for me to worry about.”

Even his faith in his boss was unshakable. Although he deserved some praise for his belief...

Lee Hyeon-Su lay down on the bed again. Wilhelm didn't bother to stop him this time.

‘Well, at least I got over one hurdle.’

He had been subtly but diligently implanting the idea of 'According to the order you received, you can't touch me' in these people's heads for a while now. And they had started to subconsciously accept that idea.

Strongly arguing about it would've made them question and ultimately reject that idea, but when their minds were occupied by something else? Subtle-enough suggestions like that stood a better chance of taking root in their heads in such a situation.

‘For now, I’ve secured some level of safety. For now.’

With that out of the way, Lee Hyeon-Su’s next task was to wait. His odds were half-half. Either he died or got out of here alive.

Unfortunately...

Wilhelm suddenly spoke up. “Your situation is laughable, is it not?”

Lee Hyeon-Su looked back at his guard. “Hmm?”

This guy was provoking him first?

“If you had stayed in Korea like a good little man, your life would have been nice and safe. But you didn't know what fear was and foolishly stepped inside the Round Table. And now, you're stuck in a dangerous situation where you might die soon. This is why humans must know their place. If you die now, it will be a dog’s death, no?”

“Nope, it won’t be a dog’s death as you say.”

“Mm?”

Lee Hyeon-Su smirked while still lying on his back. “A dog's death implies it'll be a meaningless death. A death that doesn't mean anything and doesn't hold any value. However, that won't be the case with my death.”

“How so?”

Lee Hyeon-Su slowly sat up. “Simple. You will all die.”

“...”

“Not just you three in this room, but all of your knight orders, your fancy Knights, and even the Master himself. I’ll be taking all these people with me to the grave, so calling it a dog’s death is a bit... You know?”

“Huh? You think nonsense like that is even possible?”

“Let me tell you something about some people, okay? Those people have something called a reverse scale. Something that’s totally off-limits.”

“...?”

“Sure, you could say this is a bad, bad situation for me. But what’s bad for me isn’t necessarily good for you, either. You guys did something you shouldn’t have. Right about now... Your masters summoned to the Round Table should be experiencing hell on earth.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Don’t worry, you’ll know soon enough.”

Lee Hyeon-Su chose to stop talking there.

‘I’m sure he’s going berserk right about now.’

He had witnessed far too many times how Kang Jin-Ho responded whenever others intruded into his territory. If Kang Jin-Ho viewed Lee Hyeon-Su as one of his, then right about now...!

Lee Hyeon-Su shuddered in dread.

‘Well, that’s not necessarily good news for me, though.’

After analyzing the situation objectively for a bit, he could more or less predict the outcome. However, the world didn't always operate according to logic. When pushed to the extremes, humans always lost themselves in madness and unhesitantly waltzed right into their own destruction.

‘I’d say around a day or so...’

Within twenty-four hours, Lee Hyeon-Su’s fate should be decided. And along with it...

‘The Round Table’s fate will also be decided, eh?’

Wilhelm noticed a bizarre crooked smile on Lee Hyeon-Su’s face and turned his head away.

‘He’s definitely insane!’

The German agent of the Round Table no longer wanted to talk to this Korean if he could help it.