Descent of the Demon Master

According to what you said, some bastard shows up every night and drags you to the boiler room.
Am I right so far?”

“…Yes, sir.”

“Okay, listen up.
I've personally locked the boiler room entrance.
I have the key, and I ordered the others not to check up on the boiler tonight, too.
Did you hear me?”

Kim Hack-Cheol wordlessly nodded his head.

“The night watch will check up on you every two hours while I'm going to stay up tonight.
With that much, we should be able to confirm whether you have been having bad dreams or not, right?”

“Dreams…
No, sir! I, I wasn't dreaming! That…
That! That was not a dream! Not a dream, sir!”

“Argh, you dumb piece of sh*t!”

Slap!

Noh Su-Bong forcefully slapped Kim Hak-Cheol right across the latter's face.

The spectators were left stunned by this development, and they stared at Sergeant Noh and his underling in a daze.

Noh Su-Bong glared at the stupefied Kim Hak-Cheol and growled angrily.
“Didn't I tell you I'd confirm whether you're dreaming or not, you bastard?! If we get through this tonight, we'll find out the truth! Won't we?!”

“…Y-yes, sir.”

“As long as it's just you dreaming some sh*t, it'll all be fine, right?”

“Y-yes, sir.
It is.” Kim Hak-Cheol nodded slowly.

Noh Su-Bong groaned and turned his head toward his squad members.
“Hey.
Get the bedding ready.
We gotta let this brat sleep.”

***

The night was deepening, but Kim Hak-Cheol hadn't fallen asleep yet.

Noh Su-Bong glanced at him and tutted inwardly.

'Uh-whew, that moron…'

He wanted to get angry, but he also knew not to push Kim Hak-Cheol any further than this.
Despite seeing Kim Hak-Cheol as nothing more than his underling, Noh Su-Bong couldn't help but pity him a bit.
Maybe he had developed a soft spot while going through all this nonsense or something.

'…Sh*t.
I'm getting sleepy.'

Noh Su-Bong quickly shook his head.
He was only a sergeant, but his body had already adapted to the military routine.
Getting sleepy at ten in the evening was an inevitable outcome.
Trying to stay awake throughout the night was also getting really boring.

He opened his locker and took out his handheld gaming console that he had smuggled in some time ago.
He figured playing video games should do wonders in chasing away his sleepiness.

As for Kim Hak-Cheol, he was staring at the patterns in the ceiling.
He lay on his back dead-straight, an opaque layer of moisture gradually blocking his view.

'He'll soon come…!'

Yes, that shadowy being should show up soon.
Soon…

This inevitability could not be stopped by mere humans.

'He's coming…'

Kim Hak-Cheol's hands began to tremble like leaves caught in a storm.
Knowing he had to see that creature again caused heart-stopping terror to flood his mind.

That shadowy creature was gradually gnawing away at Kim Hak-Cheol, slowly killing him.
The devil's actions were leisurely, methodical, and unhurried.
If only Kim Hak-Cheol's life had been reaped in one fell swoop, he wouldn't have been crushed by the weight of the unspeakable terror like this.
Yet, the shadowy devil didn't seem to be in a hurry at all.

Slowly. Oh-so slowly… As if he was enjoying the sight of a struggling insect that could be crushed at any time while pulling off its legs, one at a time, the shadowy devil was gradually killing Kim Hak-Cheol.

'N-no, wait.
It… It could be just a dream.
Yes!'

Noh Su-Bong was awake, after all.
Besides, the night watch should also check up on him periodically.
As long as he found some confidence in himself that his experiences hadn't been real, then maybe…!

Kim Hak-Cheol's eyes slowly closed.

Even Noh Su-Bong had fallen asleep while holding his gaming console.

Unfortunately for them…
the night was not their domain.

***

Drip…

Who would have thought that the sound of a falling waterdrop could be this loud?

Kim Hak-Cheol was no longer flustered by his situation.
He had been expecting it, after all.

No matter how shocking it was, experiencing a similar thing for five days straight would allow most people to acclimatize to their situation.
Of course, that didn't mean Kim Hak-Cheol had gotten used to the terror strangling his heart.

Kim Hak-Cheol squeezed his eyes shut.

'So, this is supposed to be a dream, huh?'

He would have laughed out loud if his mouth was functioning as it should.
Everyone said he was going crazy.
And maybe they were right.
He could really be going crazy here.
No matter what it was, experiencing it for five days would drive anyone bonkers mad now, wouldn't it!

However, what was happening to him was real regardless of whether Kim Hak-Cheol was losing his mind or not.
This was definitely no illusion.
He was sure about it.

Kim Hak-Cheol's dazed eyes stared at his front, knowing 'he' should soon appear.
And 'he' would start torturing him in a horrifying, gruesome fashion once more.

“Hoh? Your expression has gotten better.”

Sure enough, he was here.

Despite hearing that voice so, so many times by now, the shadow still sounded bone-chillingly ominous.
Kim Hak-Cheol stared at the shadow's figure wavering in front of him, and his quiet stare eventually prompted the shadow to tilt his head slightly to the side.

Surely, he should know.
This shadow seemed to know what was on Kim Hak-Cheol's mind every time, after all.
So, he should know what Kim Hak-Cheol wanted to say and act accordingly first.

Kim Hak-Cheol had been so terrified of this moment—terrified that this moment would come to haunt him again.
Somewhat ironically, though, his fear forced him to think of a way to survive this terrifying moment.

“Huff, huff…”

The shadow watched Kim Hak-Cheol's shallow, heavy panting, and then an unreadable smile crept up on his creepy face.

“Haaaaah…
Ah?” Kim Hak-Cheol gasped, realizing that his mouth was finally open.
In fact, he could even speak now.
Before he could properly digest his shock, however, he urgently said what was on his mind.
“I… I'll turn myself in!”

The shadow tilted his head and silently stared at Kim Hak-Cheol.

Kim Hak-Cheol urgently cried out.
“I… I now know why you're doing this! You, you said that I was also doing this, right?! T-that's why…
I'll turn myself in and confess to everything! I swear!”

Tears flooded Kim Hak-Cheol's eyes.
This situation remained so sorrowful and terrifying to him.

“Turn yourself in, is it?”

“Yes! I'll tell them I was responsible for making Yeong-Gi that way! I'll turn myself in! That's why, that's why…! Please, please forgive me.
Please…”

“Turning yourself in…” The shadowy devil suddenly began to cackle, and the silhouette of his lips bizarrely distorted.
“What's that got to do with me?”

“…I'm sorry?”

“I'm asking you, what does turning yourself in got to do with me?”

“…?!”

“Do you see me as some kind of an apostle of justice? Is that it?” The shadowy devil's cackles echoed ominously within the boiler room.
Kim Hak-Cheol suddenly felt mystified by how he still hadn't gone insane from this situation.
The shadow leaned closer.
“Do you want to know who I am?”

Kim Hak-Cheol nodded in a daze.
Of course, he didn't hold much expectation.
Surely, this should be yet another one of the shadowy devil's tricks to torment him even further.

But then…!

The black fog-like things enveloping the shadow suddenly scattered to reveal the figure of an actual human being.