Descent of the Demon Master-Chapter 1387. Arrested (2)

Kang Jin-Ho, now kitted out in the distinctive prison uniform, sat alone in a cell in the solitary confinement section of the prison.

Even though the correct procedure for anyone getting arrested on the suspicion of committing a crime was getting locked up in a police station’s holding cell while the investigation unfolded, then depending on the result of said investigation, an arrest warrant would be issued, and the accused would get transferred to a jail to wait for their court appearance.

However, Kang Jin-Ho had bypassed all that and got thrown into a jail straight away. Since his knowledge of Korean law was severely limited, he couldn’t tell if what happened here was illegal or not. However, even he could still tell that his enemy didn’t plan on treating him like a regular prisoner.

Something as obvious as a body search was skipped altogether. And even his cell was in the solitary confinement section of the prison instead of a cell shared with other inmates.

Only a big fish belonging to the top echelons of the political or financial sphere could expect considerations of this level, but receiving such a treatment wouldn’t make Kang Jin-Ho feel better about his current situation.

He glanced at his attire. Here was a uniform he only saw on TV news and movies. Yet he was wearing it now. Rather than anger, his current emotion was far closer to dismay. Maybe flabbergast? Whatever it was, it still made him chuckle hollowly.

What a novel experience this was.

He glanced at the cell’s exit. A bottle of water and a tray of food were resting there.

Did they expect him to gladly chow down that food?

Even someone like Kang Jin-Ho lost his appetite, so how much worse would it be for ordinary folks entering here after committing various crimes? He couldn’t quite imagine it.

Kang Jin-Ho leaned against the wall and sighed softly.

Was this rage, then? No, this emotion still wasn’t that. Rather than anger, it...

He was getting clarity on certain things. Instead of thinking that all this was a dream, something surreal, he felt more sobered-up than ever before.

So, these walls are enough to confine me?

More hollow chuckle leaked out of Kang Jin-Ho’s lips.

This place was like a sand castle to him. No, it was no better than a humorous prank where little kids drew a circle on the ground around their friend and told them not to step outside.

However, Kang Jin-Ho was willingly going along with this prank. And it was now up to him to decide how long he’d humor them this way.

He sensed people approaching his cell.

“Mister Kang Jin-Ho! You have a visitor!”

Kang Jin-Ho turned his head to glance at the doorway. A visitor?

Was there someone who would visit him after less than a day of imprisonment? Besides, was it even possible to visit someone in the prison this soon?

The metallic clunks rang out from the chunky steel door as it opened to reveal two prison guards standing just beyond the cell’s doorway.

One of them addressed Kang Jin-Ho. “If you’re done with your meals, you must wash your tray and cutlery before returning them. Please do that from now on. Come with us, please.”

Kang Jin-Ho wordlessly got up. A guard approached him with handcuffs and chains, but his companion, probably a senior guard, raised his hand and stopped his junior.

“Aren’t we supposed to restrain inmates...?”

“No, it won’t be necessary.”

“But...”

“I’m telling you, it won’t be necessary.”

The “junior” guard backed off, allowing the “senior” to address Kang Jin-Ho with a bright grin.

“Mister Kang, we’ll do our very best to accommodate your needs during your stay. In return, we’d like to ask you for your cooperation as well.”

Judging from his attitude, it seemed this guard had been informed of some things.

Rather than souring Kang Jin-Ho’s mood with useless things, which could lead to an unfortunate incident to break out, their intentions must’ve been to guarantee Kang Jin-Ho his maximum-allowed freedom in return for him behaving himself.

Seeing through their intentions was easy enough. Kang Jin-Ho figured he’d go along with them, at least for now.

“Who’s my visitor, though?” Kang Jin-Ho curiously asked.

The guard smiled again. “You’ll find out once you get there.”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded. The guard was right. He’d find out soon enough, anyway.

When he walked up to the cell’s exit, the guards stuck close to him like escorts.

“This way, please.”

Kang Jin-Ho walked in a gait that was neither slow nor fast to take in all the unfamiliar scenery.

Starting from the fading white walls to steel doors painted in blue-tinged gray, and even the bars visible through the opening of the steel doors... Everything here was unfamiliar. Foreign.

They walked past two more steel-barred doors and arrived at not the usual visitation rooms seen in movies, but a small office instead. Was this the warden’s office or some kind of kitchenette?

Kang Jin-Ho couldn’t tell, but one thing was for sure: this place was not meant for an inmate to receive their visitors. All visitations in jails happened in a room where strengthened acrylic glass separated inmates from their visitors, or at least that was what his limited knowledge on the matter told him.

Since that was the case, this could only mean...!

“Please, take a seat over here.”

The senior guard pulled out a chair from the table in the middle of this office, then kindly pointed to it.

Kang Jin-Ho didn’t bother to ask for clarification while settling down on the chair. However, before he could say something, the office door opened again, and two people stepped inside.

One of them was unfamiliar, but the other person was a man Kang Jin-Ho certainly recognized. The man greeted him first.

“It’s been a while, Mister Kang Jin-Ho.”

Kang Jin-Ho wordlessly smirked. Here was the face he wanted to see again quite badly, but couldn’t.

The man, South Korea’s Prime Minister... Kim Myeong-Chan entered the office with a face full of smiles.

Kang Jin-Ho’s body twitched all on its own. He thought he had calmed down sufficiently enough, but it seemed his body didn’t agree.

Kim Myeong-Chan must’ve noticed Kang Jin-Ho’s subtle twitch, because his smile instantly disappeared and was replaced by a frightened grimace. To his credit, however, he recovered almost right away and regained his composure.

The Prime Minister glanced at the man he showed up with. “Now, then. Can you leave us alone for a minute? We need some privacy during our chat, you see?”

The man narrowed his eyes. “Will that be fine, sir? Without the presence of guards, the inmate might try his luck and harm you.”

Kim Myeong-Chan chuckled. “Nothing will change even if you’re all here. If that man wants to, he can kill all of us in the blink of an eye. Let’s not increase the number of potential victims, shall we?”

“I’m sorry? That man can do that?”

The man accompanying Kim Myeong-Chan studied Kang Jin-Ho, his expression displaying how skeptical he was. In his eyes, Kang Jin-Ho didn’t seem all that dangerous. For one, Kang Jin-Ho’s physique seemed a little smaller than an average inmate’s. Although not short, being skinny meant Kang Jin-Ho couldn’t be one of those physically strong types.

Apparently, this inmate was in here for violating the National Security Act. Could it be that all northbound agents were like this young man?

Kim Myeong-Chan glanced at his companion. “Warden.”

“Yes, sir?”

“Don’t drag this out and do as I say. He and I need to chat privately.”

“...Understood.”

Just before the warden and the guards could leave, Kim Myeong-Chan called out to them. “Oh, hold on. Sorry about this, but can you get us two cups of coffee?”

“Of course, sir.”

Soon, the coffee was prepared and placed before Kang Jin-Ho and Kim Myeong-Chan. Then the guards left the office, leaving the two men behind.

Kang Jin-Ho stared at the cup of steaming coffee in silence.

Kim Myeong-Chan took a seat opposite Kang Jin-Ho and addressed him. “I know it’s not up to your standards, but I still recommend that you enjoy it, Mister Kang. Coffee is a rare commodity within these walls, you see?”

Kang Jin-Ho looked slightly up to lock eyes with Kim Myeong-Chan. “Sounds like you have experience in these sorts of things.”

“Indeed. There was a time when I used to frequent jails more often than my own home. The accommodation here should have vastly improved since those days, however.”

Kim Myeong-Chan smiled brightly, but that expression only made Kang Jin-Ho chuckle hollowly instead.

This encounter reminded him that the beings called politicians could be some of the most terrifying monsters around.

Kim Myeong-Chan must know that Kang Jin-Ho in a killing mood wouldn’t even need a second to end his life, yet here he was, still trying to exchange a friendly banter with the man he was trying to put away.

Ordinary people wouldn’t even dare appear before Kang Jin-Ho out of sheer fear.

That proved Kim Myeong-Chan was also a monster wearing human skin.

Kim Myeong-Chan asked, “How is your stay? Anything bothering you?”

Kang Jin-Ho stared coldly at Kim Myeong-Chan. “You’ve done something quite amusing, haven’t you?”

“I fully understand that you’re upset, Mister Kang. I’d also be furious if the same thing happened to me. But don’t blame me for this situation. After all, can you think of another way to control you than this?”

Kim Myeong-Chan chuckled while rubbing his throat.

“If we hadn't done this, my head and neck would’ve been separated by now.”

“At least you know.”

Kim Myeong-Chan smiled nonchalantly, but Kang Jin-Ho could still see it.

The Prime Minister was doing his absolute best to pretend he was calm and unaffected, but his heart still pounded away loudly in his chest. And even his breathing was ragged, too. Ordinary people might never notice such physiological changes, but Kang Jin-Ho could perceive them all.

Pretending he was fine in front of Kang Jin-Ho was rapidly draining Kim Myeong-Chan’s stamina and mental strength. Yet he still showed up. It could only mean he was just as desperate, too.

Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes. “I was curious about something...”

“Yes? You can ask me anything, Mister Kang.”

“Why did you do it?”

“Sorry?”

Kang Jin-Ho cocked his head slightly to the side.

“I can’t understand why, you see? Has my existence ever harmed your side?”

“...”

“I tried my best to respect your side’s wishes. To follow the rules of the surface world. That’s why I yielded as much as I could and cooperated as much as possible. Now that the situation had come to this, I got curious about why you wanted to kill me.”

Kim Myeong-Chan slightly pushed his glasses up his nose.

“I’ve prepared answers to many possible questions you’d have for me, but... This is surprising. Even though we’ve already reached this far, you still wish to talk about the beginning of it all?”

“That’s the most important part of this conversation, after all.”

Kim Myeong-Chan nodded slowly. “But to discuss this topic, I must first admit that I am responsible for this series of events, doesn’t it?”

“Are you going to deny it after coming this far?”

Kim Myeong-Chan chuckled helplessly. “Indeed, indeed. Yes, you’re right. This is not... related to the law, is it? Even if I destroy every bit of evidence, you’ll still try to kill me based on your suspicions alone. Because that’s what you believe. Isn’t that right?”

Kang Jin-Ho didn’t bother to reply. However, his silence was as good as him admitting to it in this situation.

“And that’s exactly why, Mister Kang.”

Kim Myeong-Chan stopped chuckling and glared coldly at Kang Jin-Ho.

“You say you did your best to cooperate and yield to us. But that’s the problem. Don’t you get it? Ordinary people must abide by the law. No ifs and buts about it. You break the law, you get punished. Simple.

“Of course, there are some criminals who try to circumvent the law in any way possible, but they will still get judged by the law if the evidence of their wrongdoing is uncovered. That applies to everyone, including the President of the country.”

Kim Myeong-Chan stopped talking there and took a quick little sip of the coffee, seemingly to quench his thirst.

“However, the law to you and your peers is like a set of rules you can uphold or break depending on your mood. You say cooperation? You say you’ve yielded to us? Yes, I fully understand that you were being nice to us. However, when you flip that notion around... The moment you choose to stand against the government, nothing can restrict you, even the law itself.”

Kim Myeong-Chan began gritting his teeth next.

“You are the ones who ignore the law of the land you call home. And you even dare to raise a private army, too. In that case, is there a reason for us to accept and overlook your willful disobedience? I can’t think of a single reason why we should be nice to you people.”

The glares of Kang Jin-Ho and Kim Myeong-Chan collided mid-air.

Kang Jin-Ho muttered disinterestedly. “You never wanted to negotiate, did you?”

It was clear at this point that Kim Myeong-Chan did not acknowledge the existence of martial artists. To him, martial artists were nothing more than a bunch of mercenaries that threatened the stability, nay, the very existence of the country itself!

...And Kang Jin-Ho was a martial artist right down to his core.

These two men were like train tracks running parallel to each other and never crossing once. They might co-exist side by side, but uniting as one was out of the question.

In other words, a crisis of this severity was bound to happen sooner rather than later.

“I see. Now I understand why you tried to kill me,” said Kang Jin-Ho, his glare getting colder. “However, this method doesn’t seem all that effective to me. Do you think a prison can hold me forever?”

Kim Myeong-Chan smirked cheerily. “Really? Even though you’re already here?”

“...?”

“Mister Kang, Mister Kang... It sounds like you don’t understand yourself. In my opinion, you find this one thing most precious to you. Would you like to hear what that is?”

“...”

“Family? Friends? Allies? Wealth? No, it’s none of those. What you hold most dear in your life is... The balance. More specifically, the status quo of your life. That means...” 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

A chilling expression rapidly spread on Kim Myeong-Chan’s face.

“You are a greedy man who doesn’t want to let go of what you already possess. Mister Kang, you don’t know what it’s like to make sacrifices.”

The Prime Minister’s words stabbed ruthlessly into Kang Jin-Ho like icy daggers.