Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 441

The word ‘eliminate’ came out too easily.

“If we trust Elena’s information, eliminating him won’t be easy either.”

“Hmm.”

Wiggins made a low sound. Certainly, Elena was a high-risk individual and not a preferred talent, but he didn’t distrust the information she had gathered.

While he might question her judgment, he acknowledged her keen eye. Otherwise, the moment he learned that Elena had gone to Korea, he would have recalled her to headquarters no matter what.

What was happening in East Asia was that significant.

“It won’t be easy. Yes, even if it’s coming from the mouth of a young and immature person, the fact that he’s being compared to a Master means we can’t ignore this Kang Jin-ho.”

Wiggins said coldly.

“But that’s why we shouldn’t hesitate to eliminate him even more.”

“What about the suggestion that it’s better to try and control him?”

“That’s impossible.”

Wiggins adjusted his mask nervously.

“If that were possible, would we be doing this like madmen? Japan is one thing, but the Three Kings of China are beyond our control. They are true kings existing in this world. We should be grateful that there are three kings. If there was only one king, the world would already be under his control, and if there were two, a great war would have broken out, staining the world with blood.”

Purvis nodded silently.

They were also people who lived with pride in themselves, but the kings of China were beings that transcended their pride. They were more like disasters than people.

“Kang Jin-ho himself might be strong, but Korea is weak. No matter how strong Kang Jin-ho is, there’s nothing he can do leading Korea in its current state. If he wasn’t such a provocative presence, I wouldn’t even bother with him. We’re not trying to persuade a lion. We need to chase away a bee buzzing around and irritating a sleeping lion. If the bee doesn’t listen, we have to use insecticide, don’t we?”

“Elena says he’s not a bee, but an eagle.”

“Even so, nothing changes.”

Wiggins said firmly.

“We have to eliminate him, even at the cost of sacrifices. No one wants to see lions and wolves running wild.”

“Do the other Knights think the same way?”

“Look, Purvis.”

Wiggins said in a slightly weary voice.

“Even I have feelings, you know. It’s not that I don’t want to respect my daughter’s opinion.”

“Yes, I know that.”

“But isn’t the state of the world more important than my daughter? Why does the Round Table exist? Our role, our reason for living, is to stabilize a world where heretics and demons run rampant. Me and the Knights have no choice but to choose the best course of action.”

“I understand.”

That was his answer, but Purvis couldn’t shake off the heavy feeling in his chest.

‘Kang Jin-ho…’

He trusted Elena.

She wouldn’t have evaluated Kang Jin-ho so highly without a reason. It wasn’t just ‘he’s more dangerous than I thought,’ but rather ‘he’s someone you should never touch,’ or ‘Kang Jin-ho isn’t the fuse of a powder keg, he’s the bomb itself.’ Just those statements alone showed Elena’s fear of Kang Jin-ho.

According to her, she hadn’t been assaulted or confronted by Kang Jin-ho. Yet, such statements meant that the Kang Jin-ho she saw was truly a monster beyond common sense.

‘You shouldn’t mess with someone like that.’

In his long experience, there were people who would definitely cause trouble if provoked. They usually lived quietly without showing any particular reaction, but the moment someone provoked them, they would go berserk as if they had become a different person.

If Kang Jin-ho was one of those types, the Round Table might be making a huge mistake.

Purvis shook his head.

‘That’s overthinking it.’

If Kang Jin-ho wasn’t Korean, and if he wasn’t active in Korea, it would be a reasonable thought. But Kang Jin-ho was Korean, and he had taken control of the Korean martial arts world.

The Korean martial arts world was so weak that it didn’t even need to be considered. No matter how strong Kang Jin-ho was, he wouldn’t be able to stand against the Round Table leading such people. Unless he gained a force that he could properly utilize.

‘So it’ll be fine.’

A lone wolf who acts on his own will eventually hit a wall.

“Will you be leaving now?”

“I’ve already sent out the summons, so we should be able to have a video conference by this evening. The results will be out soon.”

“I’ll prepare for it.”

“I’m counting on you.”

As Purvis left, Wiggins took off his mask and rubbed his face.

‘This headache won’t go away.’

Wiggins tossed the aspirin on the table into his mouth, chewed it roughly, and sighed deeply.

He was not ignoring Elena’s words.

‘I need to insist on a hard stance.’

They needed to deploy twice the force they deemed necessary. To ensure that not even the slightest problem arose. He was willing to accept the criticism and ridicule that would come with it.

“This is not a job for humans.”

He felt sorry for Kang Jin-ho, who had become someone who had to die just for being strong and a provocation to those around him. But it couldn’t be helped. What they saw was the world, not individuals.

If they had to sacrifice a few for the sake of the many, they would not hesitate to do so.

Wiggins stared at the map of East Asia spread out on the table before closing his eyes.

“What should I do?”

At Gong Young-gil’s words, Lee Myung-hwan shut his mouth. Usually, he would try to answer anything, but now he had nothing to say.

Words come out when they are organized in your head. But his head was in complete chaos, and hoping that something would be organized was impossible.

“Is it really life-threatening?”

He thought he could answer this.

“I’m not sure about that.”

“Uh…”

“Kang Jin-ho doesn’t seem like the type to lie about something like that. Honestly… why would he go around scaring people with lies? He’s not someone who needs to do that.”

“I guess so?”

Gong Young-gil also looked very troubled.

And everyone else here had the same expression, sighing repeatedly.

Kang Jin-ho had already left, saying he needed an answer by this time tomorrow, but no one had left. Even those who had gotten up several times couldn’t leave and sat back down.

‘I guess so.’

This wasn’t a matter of choice.

Risking your life in exchange for getting stronger.

It was easier said than done.

Usually, risking your life was just a figure of speech. But now they were being asked to apply that figure of speech to reality.

“…Maybe he’s just trying to scare us?” At Gong Young-gil’s words, Lee Myung-hwan’s face contorted.

“Did you not hear what I said? He’s not the type to scare people with words. Damn it, we’re already scared, what’s the point of scaring us more? We’d piss ourselves if Kang Jin-ho just coughed!”

“Maybe he just means we need to be fully prepared before we start.”

“Are you watching a shonen manga [a genre of Japanese comics and animation aimed at a young male audience], you idiot?”

“You saw it with your own eyes too. He doesn’t think about death as seriously as we do. He’s someone who can turn hundreds of people into a bloody mess in one place. Do you think he’d take death as seriously as we do?”

“Probably not.”

“Then why the hell would he scare us? He’s someone who can just kill us.”

Gong Young-gil nodded with a serious face.

“Don’t try to interpret his intentions, just think about it as it is. He told us very simply. Half will die, half will survive… a fifty percent chance of dying or getting stronger.”

After saying that, he realized how terrible it sounded. A fifty percent chance of death.

It was like putting three bullets in a revolver and pulling the trigger while pointing it at your head.

Would anyone be able to gamble with a fifty percent chance of their head being blown off?

Of course, there would be some who could. There were crazy people everywhere.

But Lee Myung-hwan prided himself on being a sane person. He had no intention of proving his courage with a gamble that only crazy people would take.

“I’m quitting.”

As Lee Myung-hwan shook his head, Gong Young-gil’s eyes began to look uneasy.

“Hey, you really wanted to learn from Kang Jin-ho.”

“That’s only if I’m alive. Damn it, what’s the point if I die while learning?”

“You wanted to get stronger, right?”

“I don’t want to die.”

Lee Myung-hwan said, tilting his head back.

“If someone else had said that, I would have tried it no matter what. But that person is Kang Jin-ho. If he said half would die, then half would really die. And… and damn it, what kind of guts do I need to take that gamble?”

Lee Myung-hwan’s grumbling drew everyone’s attention.

“Even if you’re rolling in shit, this life is better. Why should I risk my life to get stronger when I’m not even suffering that much? I’m not going to do it. I won’t.”

People started nodding in agreement.

Those who sensed that Kang Jin-ho’s words were not just a threat were realizing how precious their own lives were.

“Are you really not going to do it?”

“Yeah. I’m not doing it, damn it!”

Lee Myung-hwan jumped up from his seat.

“What is this, the Stone Age? It’s the 21st century. Let’s be honest, in an age where people fly in airplanes, does it make sense to risk your life just to get better at punching? That’s it. I’m just going to live a weak and comfortable life.”

As Lee Myung-hwan stormed out, the atmosphere in the hall became even more gloomy.

“…Where are you going?”

A voice called out to the person getting up.

“I’m going home.”

“Home?”

“We only have to come back by this time tomorrow anyway. I’m going to crack my head if I keep thinking here. The atmosphere is so awful, I’ll get infected. I’m going home to think.”

“…Okay.”

As people started to get up and leave the hall, Gong Young-gil looked at them with a bewildered expression.

‘Oh, this isn’t good?’

Those like Gong Young-gil, who didn’t have the confidence to handle this situation alone, couldn’t bring themselves to leave the hall.

Each person, with various thoughts in their heads, moved to organize their own thoughts.

And the person who had created this situation was looking out the window of the meeting room. Kang Jin-ho smiled subtly as he watched the people leaving the general meeting to go home or to a quiet place.

“Um, Master Bang Jin-hoon.”

“What is it?”

“I feel a bit strange, could you make me a mix coffee?”

“…I swear, I’m going to throw you out the window.”

As Bang Jin-hoon grumbled and went to make the mix coffee, Kang Jin-ho smiled.

But his eyes, as he watched the people leaving the general meeting, were not smiling at all.

Those who were weak didn’t deserve to get stronger.

Tonight would be the longest night of their lives. Thinking about that, Kang Jin-ho curled up the corners of his mouth in a smirk.

“Your personality is really perverted.”

Unable to find an excuse, Kang Jin-ho turned his head to the window and sipped his coffee.

The sun was setting in the distance.