Descent of the Demon Master

Pow!

Nobuo’s head slammed into a steel wall.

Bang!

...And it slammed into the same spot again.

The cruise ship's steel wall creaked and trembled from the impact. It was a minor miracle that Nobuo's skull didn't crack from the force of that impact!

Smack! Pow! Bang!

Nakata Yuji slammed Nobuo's head three more times against the steel wall, then yanked the bloodied head closer to his face. His lips twitched in a cruel, mocking smirk. “Do you know what's the best way to tame an unruly beast?”

“Urgh… Kuk…” Nobuo's jaw fell weakly, and a tooth tumbled outside. Like a broken toy, this blood-soaked tooth tumbled and rolled around on the floor. His body spasmed and quivered intermittently.

It wasn't as if Nobuo was not scared. He had no desire to pretend that death didn't faze him.

Of course he was scared. Terrified. However, after going through all this beating and torture, even those emotions became duller. Fainter.

He was already caught in an inescapable trap of death. In that case, struggling to avoid his demise would be a foolish waste of time and energy.

Those who were ready to risk their lives enjoyed fairly great odds of avoiding death altogether. However, what about Nobuo? Regardless of what he chose, death would be waiting for him at the end of the road. That was why he had already resigned himself.

However, this incredible pain didn’t let up at all. As it turned out, Nakata Yuji was scarily proficient at torturing someone.

Pain was yet another one of sensory perception. Continuous exposure to it should've eventually taken the edge off, yet Nakata Yuji ensured Nobuo's suffering would remain unabated.

Even now, Nobuo could vividly feel all this incredible pain.

“Unruly beasts need a good beating,” said Nakata Yuji.

“…”

“I’m not the biggest fan of violence. Yes, violence is a reliable method, but it also crushes all smaller details, you see? And eventually, you'll only have two options left—as in, whether the other party is more willing to listen or not. That's why I don't really favor this method. However, that story is applicable only…” Nakata Yuji whispered menacingly into Nobuo's ear. “...When the other party is willing to listen.”

SLAM!

Nobuo’s head slammed into the wall again. His nose broke. His eye sockets didn’t fare any better.

Slam! Slam!

After slamming Nobuo’s head against the wall several times, Nakata Yuji yanked the unmoving man away before viciously throwing him on the floor… And then, he stomped on Nobuo’s ankle.

CRUUUNCH!

The horrifying noise of bones breaking resounded from Nobuo’s leg. However, that noise was buried away by an even louder sound.

“Aaaaaaaahk!”

Unable to endure the pain, Nobuo screamed at the top of his lungs.

“Shut up!” Nakata Yuji growled, the tip of his loafer slamming into Nobuo's jaw. After feeding his shoe's leather into Nobuo's mouth, Nakata Yuji let his irritation known by shouting at his victim. “You can't even handle this level of pain, yet you dare do this stupid thing and cause me trouble?! Are you insane, boy?”

“Heuh…” Despite his earlier scream, a smile still sneaked onto Nobuo's face covered in spit and blood.

“You little…!” Nakata Yuji growled again, his blood rushing to his head. He raised his fist high up and got ready to kill this traitor with a powerful strike. However, he changed his mind at the last second and slowly lowered his fist. “Fuu-woo…!”

He slowly shook his head before pulling his foot out of Nobuo’s mouth.

‘Now isn’t the time to vent my anger on this bastard.’

Nothing would change even if Nakata Yuji killed this traitor right now. The milk had already been spilled, after all. It wouldn’t be too late to torture Nobuo to his heart’s content later on, anyway.

Nakata Yuji turned around to leave. He learned all he could learn from this bastard, anyway. No need to waste more time on this traitor, in other words.

“If what you did was effective… Well, I guess you might somehow survive this ordeal. You better pray, then. Pray that your message doesn't fall on deaf ears.” Nakata Yuji grunted, then walked outside the room before powerfully slamming the door shut.

BANG! Clunk!

The room went dark, and the sound of the door being locked echoed eerily inside this darkness.

“Urgh…”

Nobuo weakly held his jaw. This indescribable pain didn’t want to go away. In fact, he would’ve gladly cut half of his face off with a knife if doing so could end this torrent of pain.

“Heh… Hehehe…”

However, rather than pained moans… Nobuo was cackling away instead.

‘You goddamn lunatic…’

Why! Why did he have to go and pull this insane stunt?!

Just what was he expecting to gain from doing this crap!

Nobuo had no reason to assist the Koreans. Sure, South Korea was his mother nation, but a mother nation that gave nothing to her children didn’t deserve any loyalty whatsoever.

That was the law of the jungle, the way of the world, now wasn’t it?!

It was the equivalent exchange of give and take. Nobuo's Korean heritage got him absolutely nothing. So why should he care about Korea?

That wasn't all. What would change because of his one measly warning?

Something like that only happened in movies. And there was no guarantee that Nobuo's message would reach the Martial Assembly's executives, anyway. From the get-go, who would believe a warning from a random person?

Even if Nobuo sent that warning to a personal friend, would that person blindly believe a message of grave importance arriving at their inbox without any warning? Besides, even if such a Hollywood-like series of events did happen and the warning reached the ears of the Martial Assembly higher-ups… What would change, anyway?

‘How will the Koreans even stop this ship full of Japanese warriors?!’

Nobuo was well aware of the standard of South Korean martial arts. If his memories weren't faulty, the warriors on this ship should be more than enough to wipe the Koreans out.

An unstoppable army of warriors was using an unstoppable mode of transport to reach Korea. What would change for Koreans by knowing this truth?

Did Nobuo want them to flee as soon as possible? So that one more person might survive?

“Heh… Huh…”

Hollow chuckles leaked out of Nobuo’s mouth. It had to be reckless bravado. Nothing else could explain his behavior.

Just how hard did Nobuo work to move up his gumi’s hierarchy? Just how much did he have to swallow his pride and grovel before those stinking Japanese sons of b*tches and do their dirty work?

He barely managed to reach his position after going through all that crap. And he was finally given an excellent opportunity. He didn't have long to go before shrugging off all the discrimination for being a Korean-Japanese. He could've stood tall for the rest of his life… Yet he kicked all of that away with his own feet?

“...Kek. Kekekek.”

Nobuo couldn’t stop cackling. Because he found himself so pathetic. So, so damn pathetic!

While stuck inside this dark room, where not a single speck of light existed, Nobuo continued to stew in regret. Again… and again.

***

“Did something happen, sir?”

Nakata Yuji briefly shook his head. “...No, not really.”

“Then…?”

“Oh, that. It’s just that some brat got on my nerves. That’s all.”

“Oh, I see.”

Nakata Yuji used his gentle-sounding laughter to brush aside the gaze of subtle suspicion aimed at him. The Japanese warrior asking that question bowed his head a little and walked away.

‘Hah. You sure have a sharp intuition.’

It looked like that man, and a few others like him, had cottoned on to the fact that a problem had reared its head. At least, to some extent, anyway. However, it ultimately didn't matter.

There was an enormous gap between the problem those people were thinking of and the problem Nakata Yuji was experiencing right now, after all!

Indeed, they wouldn't be able to even imagine the scope of the problem. And that scope would be… that their movements had been exposed to the enemy already! Then again, even Nakata Yuji was caught unawares by it, so…

‘…Right. I’ve been too lackadaisical.’

Nakata Yuji genuinely didn't expect a situation like this to occur. Of course, he did worry about the information on the invasion leaking out, so he had all the warriors loiter around on deck until the ship left the range of mobile networks.

However, he had never expected the bloody cruise ship to have onboard Wi-Fi, of all things. No one would've even considered such a thing.

Nakata Yuji belatedly tried to do something about it, but it was too late by then.

If he knew this might happen, he would've confiscated everyone's phone from the get-go. He couldn't help but be rueful about not thinking of this measure sooner.

‘Maybe I got too excited?’

That sounded like the most likely explanation. Nakata Yuji in his usual setting would’ve never missed such a small detail.

He was currently leading a united Japanese expeditionary force to invade South Korea as its undisputed commander. Anyone would agree that it was a history-making event, so Nakata Yuji couldn't blame himself for being too excited.

Even though he thought he had covered every angle, this event proved how wrong he was. This was undoubtedly an oversight on his part.

Irritation flooded Nakata Yuji's heart, but this milk had been spilled already. So, he must focus on fixing this situation instead.

‘For now… I shouldn’t tell anyone about what happened.’

Without a doubt, a spark of agitation would be lit once word got around that the Koreans were aware of the Japanese's movements. What was so troublesome about that scenario was that some of those agitated people were individuals Nakata Yuji couldn't fully order around.

Those old monsters might be blinded by the idea of adding more sheen to the list of their accomplishments, but they would still demand Nakata Yuji to order their swift retreat if they learn about the current situation.

No doubt they would argue about acknowledging their failure to launch a sudden assault. And they would also argue about going back to Japan to plan a “safer” and more “foolproof” second invasion.

‘What a load of crap!’

Their argument was ultimately faulty. Once the first invasion attempt ended in failure, the Koreans would undoubtedly intensify their monitoring of Japan. That would be bloody obvious. Which meant it'd become nearly impossible to invade Korea for the foreseeable future.

However, even if another invasion attempt was feasible…

Nakata Yuji wasn’t interested in letting the others know. After all, the likelihood of someone else replacing him as the leader of the second invasion was uncomfortably high.

He had planned all this. And he sure as hell had no desire to let some other idiot swoop in and eat all the delicious food off the buffet he had meticulously arranged.

“So… How will you respond?” Nakata Yuji muttered to himself, his brain kicking into a higher gear.

Obviously, the Koreans wouldn't openly attack this ship. After all, it was a cruise ship, now wasn't it? Attacking a civilian vessel in open waters was akin to a diplomatic suicide. It didn't matter how many people survived, South Korea would still be isolated internationally.

That was not something a country surviving on exports could afford. Then… What?

‘If it was me… I’d close off all the possible harbors. And then, spread my agents over the area to kill anyone trying to swim to the shore.’

That seemed like the only method available. However…

‘That idea is shooting yourself in the foot.’

The Korean martial artists were already weak, to begin with. Scattering them like that would only turn them into delicious prey for the Japanese warriors.

So, then. Only one method was available for the Koreans, but it would assist their enemy instead.

‘Huh. Maybe I shouldn't have tortured that kid but rewarded him instead?’

Maybe Nobuo's stupid action could lead to a much simpler and smoother conclusion to this invasion. When his thoughts reached that far, Nakata Yuji couldn't help but smirk softly.

That was when Lee Seong-Hwi suddenly addressed him. “Looks like you’re in a good mood.”

“…!”

It seemed Nakata Yuji made another slip-up. He was too deep in his thoughts to notice Lee Seong-Hwi’s approach just now. He frowned and glared coldly at Lee Seong-Hwi. “I think I’ve already told you this, haven’t I? I’m into women. So, I’d prefer you stop circling around me like a stalker.”

“I'll take that into consideration. However, I'm here to give you a piece of advice.”

“Oh, really? I'm all ears.”

Lee Seong-Hwi silently studied Nakata Yuji for a little while before finally raising his voice. “Looks like we’ve got a problem on our hands.”

“Well, not really. It's not as concerning as you think. No, wait… In a way, things might finish much sooner than we expected.”

“So, you are still not aware of it, then.”

Nakata Yuji frowned slightly. “...Not aware of what?”

Lee Seong-Hwi slowly shook his head. “Not aware of the problem plaguing the smart people. They believe everything is within their calculations. Unfortunately for you, there are some people in this world capable of making a fool out of you and your carefully laid plans.”

“What are you trying to say, Lee Seong-Hwi?”

“I’m trying to say that underestimating Kang Jin-Ho or Lee Hyeon-Su with your brain will only plunge you into the depths of Hell. Your rigid way of thinking can never predict what they will do next.”

“Listen here, chosenjin! You've finally crossed the line!”

“I don't know about crossing your line or whatever. Still, I do know that it's too late.”

Nakata Yuji’s frown grew deeper. “What are you on about?”

“Take a look,” said Lee Seong-Hwi. He pointed at the distant sky with his chin.

“Take a look at what… Huh?” Nakata Yuji was about to say something, only to clamp his mouth shut.

That was because he could see something in the direction of the sky pointed out by this insolent chosenjin. And it was a small dot surrounded by the dark night sky.

‘What is that?’

That dot grew larger and larger. No, more correctly, that dot was getting closer and closer to the ship… While being accompanied by the deafening rotor noises!

Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta!

Nakata Yuji’s jaw nearly fell to the floor.

‘What?! Those insane bastards!’

Lee Seong-Hwi smirked. “I told you, didn’t I? That they are all insane? Soon, you’ll learn that painful lesson yourself.”

For some reason, there was a hint of amusement contained within Lee Seong-Hwi’s voice.