Descent of the Demon Master

“Wow! Come take a look at this!”

“It’s a huuuge fish tank!”

The interior of Sea Paradise Aquarium was slightly dim, with massive water tanks to the left and right sides of the passageways. All sorts of colorful marine creatures lazily swam around inside these tanks.

Kids ran around while shouting at each other.

“Look, this one! Look at that one!”

“You mustn’t touch the glass, though! They told you to only look, didn’t they?”

“I know! It’s just that the fish are so strange and stuff, you know!”

“Hah! Don’t you know that you look even weirder to fishes?”

“It’s the same story with people, too.”

It was plainly obvious that these kids were excited to be here. Very excited. Boys ran around here and there to look at the variety of fish species that caught their interest. Meanwhile, girls mockingly pointed at the boys but still curiously gazed around the aquarium's interior.

“Well, it is pretty strange in here, that's for sure,” said Han Jin-Seong while grinning at this situation.

Living in an orphanage didn't mean a child had to give up on things other kids their age enjoyed. Educational programs for orphans these days were even better than regular schools, which meant they were pushed into experiencing a lot more things than children from normal households.

For instance, Han Jin-Seong would dearly love to get some much-needed rest on Saturdays, but the caregivers would drag him and other kids on field trips to traditional folk villages or attend some random concerts, and that 'sometimes' annoyed him to no end.

Despite all that, though, Han Jin-Seong still had never been to an aquarium before.

He called out to Kang Jin-Ho. “Hyung! I think this trip is a big hit with everyone. Don’t you agree?”

“...Sharks.”

“Huh?” Han Jin-Seong stared weirdly at Kang Jin-Ho. The latter was scanning everywhere with a pair of burning eyes. His intense will to find a shark no matter what could clearly be seen in those eyes.

“Hyung… Have you never seen a shark before?”

“No.”

“I didn’t think you’d be interested in animals, though?”

“Well, I’ve seen all the other animals already.”

“Is that so?” Han Jin-Seong slowly nodded in acceptance. He suddenly remembered that this big bro could sometimes act like a bit of a moron.

However, from Kang Jin-Ho's perspective, he was being perfectly reasonable here. Humans tended to show more interest in things they hadn't experienced or witnessed before, after all!

Most people would be mystified by animals like bears, tigers, or even elephants. However, to Kang Jin-Ho, tigers were nothing more than big cats playing around in the mountains near the demon cult's home base. As for bears, they were more like big but slightly dumb dogs to him.

This mindset wasn’t unique to Kang Jin-Ho, either.

In the past, quite a few demon cult members enjoyed wasting time playing with tigers in the back mountains of the demon cult's base. Some even leisurely went on strolls with a pack of wolves accompanying them. In their perspective, there wasn't much difference between tigers and cats.

There was an incident this one time when a thoughtless idiot of a demonic cultivator hunted a tiger down. The complication arose when that tiger turned out to be the favorite pet of one of the demon cult elders, which ensured the whole cult was flipped upside down in the search for the culprit responsible.

The elder loudly declared in anger about how he’d hunt the culprit down and kill the fool. Thankfully, though, that incident wrapped up more or less painlessly… After Kang Jin-Ho beat up the elder half to death!

In any case! With his history being what it was, there was no way Kang Jin-Ho would be too interested in land-bound animals. He had seen plenty of them often enough in the past, after all.

However, sharks were a totally different story!

Kang Jin-Ho never got anywhere near an ocean during his second life. Even if he did get to see it, he obviously wouldn’t have had the opportunity to dive deep underwater to encounter sharks. No wonder he was looking forward to seeing a shark today.

On land, lions and tigers! Under the water, sharks! Witnessing those creatures in their natural habitat was what all men romanticized about, wasn't it!

Kang Jin-Ho curiously asked Han Jin-Seong. “How big are the sharks in here?”

Han Jin-Seong helplessly shook his head while spreading open the aquarium’s pamphlet. “Hmm. This place has whale sharks.”

“Whale shark?” Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head.

“Yeah. Apparently, they are big sharks.”

Kang Jin-Ho’s expression brightened. “Oh? Big enough to devour people?”

“Hyung?”

“Mm?”

“You can't put man-eating sharks in an aquarium, don't you know that?”

“Huh? Why not?”

“Because it’s dangerous.”

Kang Jin-Ho frowned slightly. “Huh? Then, why do they keep tigers in a zoo?”

Han Jin-Seong couldn’t think of a clever rebuttal to that.

Kang Jin-Ho had this uncanny ability to hit people sometimes in places they least expected, like right now.

Han Jin-Seong groaned. “I don’t know. Anyways, there are no sharks like that in here.”

“Really?" Kang Jin-Ho's shoulders slumped forward slightly in dejection.

‘Just who is chaperoning who here?’

Han Jin-Seong could only frown in worry. Kang Jin-Ho was supposed to be the supervisor today. So, shouldn’t the roles in this conversation be swapped around?

This sense of disharmony was strong in Han Jin-Seong’s mind, but he still decided comforting Kang Jin-Ho was the right thing to do. “Hyung, I hear they have orcas here.”

“Orcas?”

“Yup. You know, killer whales. Apparently, they are the most vicious of all whale species.”

Kang Jin-Ho’s eyes visibly quaked when the words "killer" and "vicious" registered in his hearing.

‘That’s some serious illness, right there.’

Han Jin-Seong had a hunch that he should omit the fact that killer whales had no record of harming humans out in the wild… In a way, this would be the same as a father not telling his little boy that Santa Claus wasn't real.

So what if it was a lie? As long as no one was hurt, and everyone had fun, it should be fine, no?

“I see. Let’s go, then!” Kang Jin-Ho firmly nodded.

“Sure, hyung.”

Han Jin-Seong could only shake his head at how energetic Kang Jin-Ho’s steps were.

***

“Shut down?”

“Yes, sir!”

The president of Sea Paradise Aquarium, Yun Mun-Sik, stared in dismay at his subordinate standing resolutely before his eyes.

Yun Mun-Sik asked again. “Run by me that again. We have shut down?”

“Yes, sir. We need to shut the aquarium down.”

Yun Mun-Sik chuckled hollowly. “Look here, Chief Bak.”

The subordinate, Chief Bak, stood before Yun Mun-Sik with a determined expression on his face.

“A man should think before opening his trap, okay? Not everything coming out of your mouth can be considered words, get my drift?”

“But, sir!”

“Shut down?! It's been only three days since we opened, okay? Three days! But you want to shut down the aquarium after only three days? Don't you know the financial knock we will suffer by shutting down the operation so soon?! Even if you work nonstop for the rest of your life, you can never repay that amount! But what was that? You want to shut the aquarium down?!”

Yun Min-Sik stopped talking there while roughly scratching and rubbing his head.

“Dammit! Are you trying to destroy me or something, Chief Bak!”

“Sir, not closing the aquarium will definitely destroy us.”

“What was that?!”

“If there's an accident and people die from it, things won't end as us merely getting destroyed, sir! President, making money is a good thing. However, that money is only useful when you're a free man. Even if you have millions in your bank account, you'll still be eating prison food when you're incarcerated, sir!”

“What the f*ck?! Watch what you say!” Yun Mun-Sik shot up to his feet. “You trying to curse me or something!?”

“No, sir. You know I’m trying to tell you what will happen if we don’t shut the place down. Have you forgotten that I’ve told you numerous times that that water tank cannot withstand the weight!”

“What are you on about?! Don’t you know how thick those acrylic walls are?! How come they can’t endure the weight?! Why!” Yun Mun-Sik yelled while sitting back down on his cushy chair.

“I’ve already told you the design was all wrong, sir.”

“But we already passed all the safety inspections! The bloody government gave us the okay to open our doors, so what’s the problem?!”

“President, sir…” Chief Bak stared coldly at Yun Mun-Sik and spoke in a flat tone. “Do you think everything will be resolved by saying you passed the safety inspection… after there's been a fatal accident?”

“…!”

“Let me remind you that my neck is also on the line here, sir. I'll also go to jail if an accident happens in this place. If you still can't make up your mind on this, I'll have no choice but to act on my own, sir. I'll either call the cops or lodge a civil complaint to the local government office. At least I'll get to keep my head that way!”

“What the f*ck, Chief Bak! Listen here!” Yun Min-Sik roared while shooting up to his feet again. He panted heavily, but when Chief Bak showed no signs of backing down, he groaned loudly and plopped down on his chair again. “...Let’s discuss this first. Okay?”

“We have nothing to discuss, sir.”

“Listen, dammit! I get what you're saying, okay? So, let's talk about this first! Tell me what our situation is!”

“The central water tank cannot withstand the weight, sir. We need to evacuate everyone and take appropriate measures right away.”

“What kind of measures are we talking about here?”

“First of all, we attach the foam barrier all around the water tank’s exterior, then drain all the water out, sir. And then, we reinstall the tank.”

“And how long will that take?”

Chief Bak grimaced a little. “It will take around three months…”

Yun Min-Sik wordlessly leaned his head against his chair. He squeezed his eyes shut, but his eyelids still trembled powerfully.

“Three months?!”

“Yes, sir.”

“That's just the estimate, eh?” Yun Mun-Sik slowly massaged his face. “Fine. Fine! Then, how long can that water tank last in its current state? When will it rupture?”

“No one knows for sure, sir.”

“What? You don’t know?”

“Yes, sir. We don't know. Unfortunately, it's not something anyone can predict. It might rupture today or three months from now. Or… It might not rupture at all.”

“In that case, are you telling me to shut down the entire aquarium to repair a tank that might not rupture any time soon?!”

“President, can you live with a loaded gun pressed to your head, not knowing when it will go off?”

Chief Bak remained resolute. “Sir, please do not be mistaken. That tank merely hasn’t ruptured yet. However, the result will still be one of the two things. Either it’s not ruptured yet, or it has ruptured already. It’ll be too late to do something after the tank has ruptured. When that happens… I promise you, you will beat yourself up for not shutting the place down when I told you.”

Yun Mun-Sik dazedly stared at the ceiling of his office.

‘God… dammit!’

Chief Bak was unequivocally correct. And Yun Mun-Sik was not some greedy idiot who'd willingly discount Chief Bak's warnings for petty reasons. Unfortunately, his situation meant he couldn't just follow the recommendations.

Was it because Yun Mun-Sik was a moron with no concept of safety in mind? Of course not!

“I get what you’re saying, Chief Bak. But… We can’t shut the aquarium down.”

“President!”

“Listen to me first, damn it!” Yun Mun-Sik yelled loudly. “I’m not saying we’ll keep the place open forever, okay! Just this weekend! Let’s just survive this weekend first. According to what you said, we should be able to survive three days, right?

“We can’t shut the place down now. Remember, it’s been only three days since we opened our doors. Imagine what people will say if we kick everyone out on the first weekend of our operation. Any rumors of safety issues in this place will bury us for good. If that happens, not even the most extensive repairs will save us!”

Chief Bak’s head faltered.

“Chief Bak, Chief Bak…! Please help me out here, okay? You think I'm that rich? How much of my money do you think I spent on the construction of this place? I'm the president in name only, okay?”

Yun Mun-Sik held his head in despair.

“Do you have any idea how many people have invested in this project? If the rumors of safety issues drive punters away, those vulture-like bastards will descend on us like madmen to recover the money they invested into this place! When that happens… I'll be finished! And you'll lose your job, too! Do you think anyone's gonna hire you after this fiasco? You want us to be homeless buddies sleeping in the Seoul train station together?”

Chief Bak bit his lower lip. He had to admit that Yun Mun-Sik was making a valid point here.

“That’s why… Let’s keep the doors open for the next three days,” said Yun Mun-Sik, his attitude adamant. “So that we can give ourselves enough time to find excuses and maybe alert the public or something! I might be one luckless bastard, but that tank surely won’t rupture in three days, right? If it does… Either way, I’ll be finished anyway!”

Chief Bak wordlessly stared at Yun Mun-Sik before sighing loudly. “Very well. Three days, sir.”

Yun Mun-Sik animatedly nodded. “Yes! I only need three days. In the meantime, I'll find a way to fix this situation. No matter what!”

“However, if nothing happens after three days, I will report this in. You know I don’t have a choice here, sir. I need to live, after all.”

“Yes, I hear you. I get you. I get that a safety-related accident will finish us all. Don’t lump me in with those greedy bastards, okay? I’m more desperate than you to fix this place up properly and get the operation going again!”

“Yes, I’m sure that’s the case.” Chief Bak slowly nodded. A salaryman like him had different priorities compared to a businessman, after all. He turned around to leave the office. “Now that’s settled, I’m going to inspect the situation one more time, sir.”

“Got it. I’ll leave it to you.”

After Chief Bak left his office, Yun Mun-Sik powerlessly plopped down on his chair.

Click! Click!

He tried to light up the cigarette dangling between his lips, but his lighter seemed to malfunction and resolutely refused to produce a single flame.

Click! Click!

After desperately trying several times, Yun Mun-Sik angrily chucked the lighter at the wall.

“Uwaaaaaah! F*ck!”

His frustration finally erupted. Yun Mun-Sik roared and screamed for a long time before finally calming down. While panting and wheezing away, he shot a glare at a calendar on the wall.

‘We… We need to get through this weekend!’

Right now, the aquarium was filled with an unprecedented number of visitors. Survive this weekend, and this place could make enough money to help Yun Mun-Sik convince the investors!

‘Yes! Just make it through this weekend. Please!’

Yun Mun-Sik squeezed his eyes shut and began praying.

***

Han Jin-Seong looked back. “Mm? Hyung?”

Kang Jin-Ho turned his head. “Yeah?”

“What are you doing?”

“Oh, uh…” Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head slightly. “I thought I heard something weird just now.”

“Weird? Like what? Did someone call out to you?”

“No, not like that. It was a weird-sounding noise.”

“Really? I didn’t hear anything, though?”

“Hmm…?”

Han Jin-Seong chuckled slightly. “Let’s hurry, hyung. Your sharks are supposed to be around the corner over there.”

“Let’s go, then!” Kang Jin-Ho firmly nodded.

However, even as he watched Han Jin-Seong take the lead, Kang Jin-Ho frowned slightly and scanned his vicinity again.

‘What was that noise?’

Something didn't quite feel right. Even so, Kang Jin-Ho slowly shook his head and followed after Han Jin-Seong. Since there were a lot of visitors in this aquarium, it was possible that he heard a weird noise made by someone somewhere.

Even so, Kang Jin-Ho continued to glance behind him several times.

He couldn’t stop worrying about something.