Money Loving CEO's Detective Lover

Minho fell on the ground, sweating and panting hard. The voices were still crying for help, their pleas echoing in his mind until he felt like he was going crazy. He could hear Anyal chanting some gibberish but he did not bother to listen. The demon was inflicting psychological pain on him and Minho did not know how much longer he could bear it.

"AAAGH!" he cried in agony when a sharp pain jabbed his brain as if someone was squeezing it until it would burst. 

It's a trick! He told himself. It's all a trick! Don't give in!

The invisible hands were still pinning down his limbs and he could not move a muscle. He did not know for how many minutes, hours or days he was enduring this because he lost all sense of time and place. Eyes were following him, voices were whispering at him and the wind was slapping at him from all sides. 

Red light was glowing all around him to the point he thought he would go blind. It was not the brightness but the light was aching his pupils, dilating them and he could not even close them anymore. He felt as if the entire place was live and participating in Anyal's plan to torture him. 

The demon was unleashing years of pain and anguish on Minho, hoping to suppress him but the latter kept his senses awake.

I must not give in! Minho shouted in his mind. He felt his energy being drained from his body but he was using every ounce of his willpower to remain strong. If he gave up, then his family was going to suffer and he had no intention of putting them through anymore pain. 

I can't die here! He told himself. I'm not dying here!

Anyal was still chanting but also enjoying the pain Minho was going through. Seeing Hwang Minho at his mercy was giving him an odd satisfaction because their silent rivalry was now coming to a head. The demon watched his nemesis being tormented by the souls of hell. They had been pulled so near to the World of the Dead that the souls could not resist in using their powers to torment Minho. 

Years of living in hell made them as sadistic as the demons and they enjoyed inflicting pain on others now. They wanted the human before them to suffer the pain they went through. It rejoiced them to see how much Minho was struggling to keep himself alive and they wanted to break his spirit beyond repair.

"Save us…" they kept on whispering. "Save us...save us…"

Minho shook his head in refusal but the souls were adamant on punishing their prey. The lights were now shining more ominously, making Minho's pupils wider as they tortured him. 

Somewhere, he heard a clock chime loudly. One...two...three...four…

Minho counted until it struck eleven and as soon as it was going to strike twelve, a portal opened to his right.

He looked up as two figures stepped into the World of the Dead. One was Jina and another was a hooded figure who was undoubtedly Anna. 

"Dad…" Jina whispered and was about to run towards him but the hooded figure behind her stopped her and harshly pulled her back. Anyal was so engrossed in the spell that he could no longer distinguish between the energies of people and spirit. The atmosphere in there was heavy with hell's energy, distorting everything else. He did not even look at Anna but motioned at her to place the little girl on one side of the circle.

The clock struck twelve, indicating that it was midnight. Jina felt the hand on her shoulder guide her towards the side of the circle.

Inside the hoodie, Gayoon was feeling very weak. She had greatly overestimated her own ability to stay still in World of the Dead despite knowing that a living human like her would be sucked out of all their life if they stayed there. Her head was spinning but she kept herself awake by secretly pinching herself.

Jina could feel her mother being affected by the bad energy of the World of the Living but there was nothing she could do at that moment. They must somehow tough it out till 12:04 AM so that her grandfather could stop the demon and exorcise him out of her uncle Kanji's body.

"Sit," Gayoon said in a deeper voice than usual, attempting to mimic Anna. Jina sat down on the border of the circle. As soon as she sat, the invisible forces grabbed her as well, pinning her down on the floor.

"DAD!" she yelled. Her cries snapped Minho out of his torment and he struggled to reach his daughter.

"JINA!" he screamed but his captors would not let him go. He struggled to be free only for it all to be in vain. Jina's limbs were being stretched in an X-shape and she kept on screaming.

Seeing them in pain was tormenting Gayoon but she could not move otherwise Anyal would become suspicious. He still did not sense her and she must use it to her advantage. But Minho was in so much pain already. It achd her to see him like this and he looked as if he had been tormented for hours. The souls were hellbent on making him suffer because they sensed that he was the middleman between life and death. Those vile creatures knew he could open the gates of hell and let them loose.

Gayoon kept her cool with great difficulty. She glanced at the watch on her hand. 

12:01 AM.

Anyal slowly looked outside the window. The moon was being covered by a dark shadow. The eclipse was occurring at that very moment, slowly engulfing the blood red moon. Gayoon watched as the light began to dim and an eerie darkness fell over them.

Minho felt the whispers die down until it was silent again. The unseen forces kept a firm grasp on him but he was weakened by the ordeal. His eyes were on Jina who was also looking at him, crying. She was scared and calling for him but he could not even reach his own daughter.

He tried to reach out his hand in vain. As her cries haunted him, he was reminded of a recurring nightmare he had when she was born. It was always the same dream where he was in a dark corridor. Jina was crying out for him but he could not reach her.

"Dad…" he used to hear her whisper. "Dad...save me...dad…"

No matter where he used to look, he could not find his daughter. The fear in his heart felt so real that whenever he woke up, he used to hold Jina close to him and would not fall asleep for many nights. He was afraid that if he fell asleep, his daughter would be gone just like in his nightmare.

For the first time in many years, he felt as if his nightmare had returned. His daughter was calling out for him but he could not reach her at all.

"Jina…" he whispered. 

Gayoon heard his helpless longing for his daughter and she wanted to tell him that it was going to be alright. Peeking at Anyal, she saw that he had closed his eyes. Within a flash, she took out the ring from her pocket and flashed it secretly to Minho.

For a moment, his eyes fell on the hooded Anna who was flashing something at him but when he saw the ring in her hand, realization finally dawned on him.

Gayoon!

She immediately put the ring back and focused on Anyal again. The demon was now drawing a circle in the air and opened his eyes.

"The Gates of Hell which locks away the souls of the damned!" he declared. "I now command this Transporter to open your realm and in return, the Lord of Hell will be presented with the ultimate gift!"

Gift? Minho thought in alarm but before he could say anything, his hands moved on their own and began to draw circles in the air.

"Say it Transporter, otherwise your daughter will die!" Anyal threatened. "Open the gates!"

Minho was torn between everything and turned to Gayoon. She gave a stiff nod, silently assuring him to trust her.

He turned back to Anyal and whispered, "Patentibus."

The ceiling above them was beginning to shake and a crack was appearing. They watched in horror as a black tar-like substance was slowly dripping from it, sliding down the walls. The crack was increasing in width and a strong smell of sulfur was engulfing the area, reminding them of the awful smell which came from dead corpses.

Gayoon and Minho almost gagged while Jina was out cold. Only Anyal was unaffected by the pungent stench.

The cracks widened and liquid lava was now flowing out and several eyes peeked through the hole, as if waiting to get out of there. Minho and Gayoon could see hints of evil smiles on their faces, the souls waiting for the gate to open fully.

"Are you ready to see hell, Hwang Minho?" Anyal whispered with a smirk.