Chapter 1416. Straightening Out (1)

Chapter 1416. Straightening Out (1)

Well, this can’t be a dream.

Although, this certainly was a bizarre, nightmarish phenomenon, wasn’t it?

Kim Myeong-Chan believed he had gotten used to surreal images and situations by now, yet here he was, still getting deeply spooked by this sight! All the hair on his body stood up, while a creepy chill ran down his spine.

That was how overwhelming the sight before his eyes was. This powerful presence that did not permit him to look away, not even for a millisecond...!

Kim Myeong-Chan gasped in shock without even realizing it.

He had experienced many colorful events boasting varying degrees of severity throughout his life. He knew what it was like to shiver in dread at the fear of death and even reveled in sheer joy the likes of which no other people could even imagine.

But none of those emotions and sensations could rival the intensity of terror spreading within his heart right now.

It felt like he was experiencing death despite being alive!

If he could pick up a knife and cut his own throat wide open right now, he would!

Griiiiit!

Kim Myeong-Chan clenched his teeth hard enough to almost break them. He pushed down on the hard, cold floor with his hands to hide his arms trembling pathetically and even forced his wildly pounding heart to slow down.

However, there wasn’t much he could do about his bloodshot eyes and quivering eyelids.

The devil smirked as if it pitied Kim Myeong-Chan. The bizarre “black flames” around where a person’s face should be wavered ever so slightly, but Kim Myeong-Chan still instinctively realized that was supposed to be a smirk.

No, maybe it wasn’t instinctive, after all? Because Kim Myeong-Chan would’ve smirked as well were he in that devil’s shoes!

The devil silently stared at the former prime minister. Kim Myeong-Chan continued to gasp under this silent but intense pressure before forcing his lips to tear open.

“I... I’ve been waiting for you.”

Even a three-year-old would have guessed the true identity of this devil.

Maybe because he had said something? Kim Myeong-Chan suddenly found it much easier to speak now.

“I... I knew you’d eventually come for me.”

Was this how one would feel while standing before King Yama in the netherworld? Or maybe when a sinful believer had finally come face to face with the Almighty?

Here was the unavoidable judgment. And no one could escape from this punishment.

The only thing a frail mortal could do when the absolute power descended on Earth was to moan pitifully and shed tears on their knees.

Kim Myeong-Chan raised his trembling hand to rub his eyes. Not because he wanted to get rid of all the tears pooling there, though; no, he wanted to do something about his blurry eyesight so that he could get a good look at this devil.

“

Fuu

-

woo

...”

The sound of air escaping leaked out of his throat. It felt like his lungs might collapse at any second now, yet Kim Myeong-Chan gritted his teeth again and stared straight at the devil, Kang Jin-Ho!

𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Shuffle...

The devil gradually morphed into the figure of Kang Jin-Ho. The black flames covering his body receded, and even the crimson light burning in his eyes disappeared. Soon, Kang Jin-Ho had regained his usual appearance and expressionlessly stared at Kim Myeong-Chan.

The former prime minister chuckled softly while sensing the cold gaze pricking his skin. This forced smile created an expression even more bizarre than when he was sobbing, however. Even so, he desperately tried to smile.

“You say I’m not insane yet?”

“...”

“How could you be so sure?”

Kang Jin-Ho smirked again. The answer to this question was simple enough.

“Because you’re trembling in fear.”

“...”

“Madmen usually don’t feel fear, you see?”

“

Heh

...”

Kim Myeong-Chan chuckled helplessly. Kang Jin-Ho had a point, didn’t he?

The terror Kim Myeong-Chan felt far surpassed that of death, after all. But an insane man shouldn’t have been lucid enough to

appreciate

the vividness of this terror.

Perhaps ironically, this terror tormenting him proved that, yes, he was still sane.

Kang Jin-Ho slowly took out a packet of cigarettes from his pocket, then took one out before tossing it toward Kim Myeong-Chan.

The former prime minister wordlessly picked up the cigarette.

Kang Jin-Ho lit up his own cigarette first, then tossed the lighter at the dazed Kim Myeong-Chan. The latter somehow caught the incoming lighter despite his trembling hands, his eyes alternating between Kang Jin-Ho and the cigarette. However, he eventually mouthed it.

Click...

After the familiar metallic noise softly echoed in the cell, the tip of Kim Myeong-Chan’s cigarette began sizzling away.

“I heard that the devil only shows a hint of mercy when his victim is about to fall to the abyss...” Kim Myeong-Chan chuckled in resignation. “...But I don’t have to worry about that, now do I? Since I’m already in the abyss.”

Kang Jin-Ho bared his fangs in an eerie smirk. “So, how does it feel?”

“...”

“How does it feel to be stuck in a living hell?”

“You want to know how it feels?”

A deep grin suddenly spread on Kim Myeong-Chan’s face.

Yes, that was supposed to be a grin, yet anyone who saw his expression right now would not find any semblance of a smile on his face. A smile more heartbroken than any wailing known to man was etched on his face right now.

“Maybe I should slice off a chunk of my own flesh?”

The grin turned eerie as he began cackling.

“Rip my skin off and pull out my own bones?”

His voice grew louder and more heightened.

“Even if I! Crush my body and feed it to dogs! Or watch with my own two eyes as my family gets ripped apart to shreds! Or even if someone pours oil into my stomach and lights it up...!”

Kim Myeong-Chan’s bloodshot eyes glared murderously at Kang Jin-Ho.

“None of it... can be as painful as this!”

“...”

“You see, me...? I...!” Kim Myeong-Chan sank back and muttered in resignation. “I naively thought that losing

things

would be painful.”

However, the true pain only began from there.

All he could do was think. When stuck in a place where nothing existed, that was all anyone could do.

In this place, even the contempt and criticism raining down on him on the outside couldn’t reach him. When everything was taken away, only a void would exist; however, Kim Myeong-Chan filled that void with thoughts he never once believed he’d think about.

It felt like his everything was being denied.

While being imprisoned in this tiny little cell, he had to watch on as everything he had built during his life got trampled on. To a man like Kim Myeong-Chan, who had risked his life on honor and staying true to his conviction... Could there be a worse form of torture than this?

“Why... Why didn’t you kill me instead?”

Kim Myeong-Chan muttered, his voice no longer sounding human.

The hoarseness voice weightily leaking out of his mouth contained every bit of pain he had been subjected to.

“If you had killed me before this event happened, at least I would’ve been spared from the sight of everything I’ve achieved turning to ashes and thrown into the trash heap... No, even if you had killed me afterward, I would’ve died without knowing this pain.”

But now, Kim Myeong-Chan couldn’t even die. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from his honor getting progressively more stained each day.

Yes, this was hell. What else could it be? When he couldn’t even kill himself and had to endure this endless torment?

“You should have...”

Kim Myeong-Chan sobbed softly.

Kang Jin-Ho silently watched the sobbing old man on the floor.

After sobbing for a long time while on his knees, Kim Myeong-Chan slowly raised his head. His eyes were still eerily crimson after all the tiny blood vessels in his eyeballs had ruptured.

Those eyes, now filled with hatred and resentment, tried to burrow into Kang Jin-Ho’s face.

“So? Did you have fun watching me?”

“...”

“Was it fun to shove me off a cliff like this?! Yes, I’m sure it was enjoyable for you. Must’ve been incredible fun! So, why don’t you tell me how it feels?! What was your impression of watching me get destroyed with your two goddamn eyes?! Because I’m all ears now!”

Kim Myeong-Chan howling away like a madman no longer resembled the wily politician of the past.

His emotions swung from one extreme to the other at a drop of a hat. His hands and eyes constantly darted around, unable to stop and be still.

Despite all these signs of madness, however, Kim Myeong-Chan was still sane.

Of course, it was still obvious that he was progressively losing his mind.

Kang Jin-Ho continued to smoke away in silence, only for the corners of his lips to curl up.

“Looks like you’re mistaken about something here...”

Kang Jin-Ho’s voice sounded low. Gravelly. Like a predator growling away.

“Don’t forget, you started this.”

“...”

Despite the beastly smirk, Kang Jin-Ho’s glare was as cold and heavy as an iceberg. No, it was as if... As if he was emotionlessly staring at an inanimate object.

Kim Myeong-Chan was too emotionally worn-out to withstand such a glare right now.

“Humans can be such strange creatures,” Kang Jin-Ho chuckled again. “They don’t mind laughing and joking while shoving other people into the abyss. But when they find themselves in the abyss instead? They start spewing all sorts of rubbish.”

While saying that, Kang Jin-Ho took a step closer to Kim Myeong-Chan.

“This here is a battlefield. Your battlefield, isn’t it?”

Kim Myeong-Chan reflexively nodded.

The battlefield? Yes, it undoubtedly was one. Kim Myeong-Chan was a born fighter, after all.

In his youth, he opposed the tyrannical military dictatorship. And later in his life, he worked as a politician to oppose the powerful neighboring countries. He shed blood and chewed on sand while surviving the political scene filled with deadly intrigue and dastardly schemes.

Since that was the case, how could this place not be his latest battlefield? Indeed, he was in a war. And this cell was where he’d fight his next battle.

“A man who wants to kill someone must resolve himself to die in the process. You should have known that what you do to other people could come right back at you.”

A derisive smirk spread on Kang Jin-Ho’s face.

“Did you start your war with me with such a pathetic level of determination?”

How amusing was this? Kim Myeong-Chan must’ve thought about the possibility of getting taken down instead by his opponent while digging a trap for Kang Jin-Ho. He wouldn’t have dared to start without that level of determination, after all.

However, what a soft... nay,

naïve

resolve that was.

Risking one’s life? That should be a given.

But Kim Myeong-Chan tried to take everything away from his victim. So, he should have thought about the same thing being done to him. He should have prepared himself to endure the insult of others spitting on his face, and enemies digging his corpse out to behead him again!

He dared to whine about suffering from things he had originally intended for Kang Jin-Ho. With that kind of mindset, he shouldn’t even have started this battle in the first place.

“And this is what you’re mistaken about...” Kang Jin-Ho grinned brightly. “What did I do to you, exactly?”

“...?”

“Did you think this, all of this... was my revenge?”

“What? But... But...?”

“Nope.”

Kim Myeong-Chan stared back at Kang Jin-Ho in sheer stupefaction.

“No, this isn’t my revenge.”

“...!”

“I mean, I haven’t done anything yet, after all. The things they were accusing you of, weren’t they your handiwork, to begin with?”

Kim Myeong-Chan’s eyes powerfully quaked.

“Other people around me were all saying some weird things, too. Such as how refreshing it was. That you’re getting what you deserve. That it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy...”

Kang Jin-Ho bared his fangs again.

“How laughable is that?”

“...”

Kim Myeong-Chan’s complexion grew deathly pale. That... That was madness!

Kang Jin-Ho’s face was now dyed in a clear sign of madness.

Was Kim Myeong-Chan gradually losing his mind? Most likely. However, as it turned out, Kang Jin-Ho had been insane for a very long time!

Only after ending up in this situation did Kim Myeong-Chan realize the horrifying truth.

“My revenge hasn’t even started yet. What happened to you until now is simply you paying for your crimes. That’s it. Since that’s the case, why should I be satisfied? Feel refreshed? Be happy? When you’ve destroyed yourself without me doing anything? Am I supposed to clap my hands like a happy camper?”

“...!”

“Don’t make me laugh.”

Kang Jin-Ho was not smiling. No, he was baring his fangs like a vicious predator unleashing skin-crawling hostility at an enemy that had dared to intrude into his territory.

The killing intent he emitted was almost intense enough to pounce on Kim Myeong-Chan and tear his limbs off.

“Soon, you’ll learn. You’ll learn what the price is for provoking me. I’ll teach you what my revenge looks like.”

Kim Myeong-Chan’s jaw fell in stupefaction as he watched Kang Jin-Ho leisurely close the distance.

A wounded devil was bound to crave bloodshed. And, as far as Kim Myeong-Chan knew, Kang Jin-Ho was closest to an actual devil out of all the creatures in existence.

Wounding a devil like that should have never been done. But Kim Myeong-Chan had realized this too late, and that was the worst crime he had committed in life.