Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 989

‘W-what is this?’

The surging black flames rose like the licking tongue of a demon.

Tristan felt a chill run down his spine as he witnessed the surreal scene.

It was almost comical when he thought about it.

Among those present, the most absurd existence was Tristan himself. A man who should have died, yet lived on hundreds of years later, wielding a sword.

He wasn’t agonizing over his identity, but he was well aware that, from the perspective of the Elder Knights, he was nothing short of a monster.

But now, before his very eyes, stood a true ‘monster.’

An existence that even they, monsters resurrected from death, could not comprehend or accept.

‘Just what in the world is this!’

He knew.

No matter how unfamiliar it might seem, what he was seeing was ultimately a form of aura. The powerful energy emanating from those flames could only be explained as aura.

But how could a person emit an aura spanning over ten meters from their entire body?

And how could they so naturally envelop themselves in such an aura?

No matter how he looked at it, it defied all common sense.

However, this was not a time to simply marvel or tremble in fear.

The ominous black flames were clearly targeting Tristan. If he failed to resist properly, he would die. Absolutely!

“Kuh!”

Tristan’s sword was imbued with a silvery-white aura.

Mana surged from his heart, coursing through his fingertips and into his sword. It then began to spin rapidly along the blade.

“Taaah!”

“Hap!”

Shouts of exertion came from his left and right.

Percival and Bedivere were responding to his attack. They were so in sync that they could anticipate each other’s thoughts without exchanging a single word.

‘I’ll break through!’

A strike imbued with aura was unleashed. A long, silvery-white aura shot out from his sword, forming a massive crescent. The manipulation of aura was precise and flawless.

The crescent-shaped aura, flowing as beautifully as silk, was his signature move, once praised as the Silver Moon, now recreated in the modern era.

The breathtaking crescent-shaped sword energy clashed with the raging black flames.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of metal scraping against metal tore through the air.

The crescent-shaped aura was beautiful and powerful, but it could not cut through the ominous black flames.

Spears were thrust, and maces were swung, but the black flames absorbed everything, only recoiling slightly, never collapsing.

‘Damn it!’

What in the world was this?

The living, flickering flames possessed a strength greater than steel. No, what was steel? They, who could tear through steel like paper, could not penetrate these flames.

Flames that possessed both intense activity and an impenetrable strength.

It was truly a demon’s fire.

And now, those flames were raging and surging upwards.

He pumped his mana as if his heart would burst. He had to somehow cut through the flames that seemed to be glaring at him. But before he could even swing his sword, the flames surged up with terrifying speed and wrapped around his legs.

Crack! Snap!

“Kuh-uh!”

He managed to avoid screaming pathetically. But that didn’t mean the situation was good. His magically enhanced armor was tearing and breaking as the flames dug into his legs.

“Tristan!”

A loud cry came from behind him.

“Aaaah!”

“Damn it!”

Those who had jumped in with him seemed to be in similar situations. He could sense the panic from his left and right.

But he couldn’t afford to be distracted by that.

A terrifying pressure was crushing his legs.

It felt as if a giant’s hand was gripping and crushing his legs. Before the burning pain could even subside, he felt his bones being crushed. And then…

A different kind of pain.

A pain different from his legs breaking and being crushed bleached his mind white. It was as if he had swallowed an unquenchable fire, a terrible pain that burned his insides and made him tremble.

“Tristaaaan!”

Just as everyone was about to rush to Tristan’s aid, a piercing shout rang out.

“Get out of the wayyyyyy!”

Those who felt the explosive surge of mana retreated to the left and right.

“Galahad!”

A knight wielding a massive bow, larger than a man, gritted his teeth and drew the string.

Thwack!

The moment he released the string, an arrow thicker than a grown man’s arm tore through the air. No, it was more like a spear than an arrow.

Thwack!

Thwack! Thwack!

As if one arrow wasn’t enough, Galahad’s bow was fired repeatedly. Each arrow tore through the air with enough force to shatter a fortress wall.

The massive arrows, shot at an invisible speed, pierced through the flames that Kang Jin-ho had created.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

With a sound like a high-speed cutter slicing through metal, the arrows embedded themselves into the flames. The flickering flames visibly recoiled.

“Bedivere!”

“I know!”

Azure mana surged from Bedivere’s entire body like a heat haze. It was being used so excessively that it was piercing through his flesh.

After muttering a rune and completing his casting, Bedivere extended both hands forward with bloodshot eyes.

The mana that erupted formed the shape of a giant beast’s mouth.

And then!

“Dieeeeeee!”

Dense flames erupted explosively.

Like activating a massive flamethrower, a violent torrent of flames surged towards Kang Jin-ho.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The sound of the fire demon’s surge was chilling. The condensed and compressed flames pierced through the gap created by Galahad.

Kang Jin-ho’s black flames recoiled for a moment.

At the same time, the flames that had been gripping Tristan’s legs vanished with a pop.

Thud!

Tristan, who had fallen to the ground, gritted his teeth and clutched his legs. Since it wasn’t real fire, he wasn’t burned. But the injuries were so severe that he wished he had been burned instead.

The bones below his knees were shattered into pieces. His armor was crushed, digging into his bones.

But Tristan didn’t even groan once as he stood up. This was not a time to whine about injuries. The enemy was overwhelmingly powerful.

If even one of the eleven were to fall, they could be unilaterally slaughtered.

“Are you alright?”

“…If I wasn’t?”

Gawain’s face hardened.

“Right, this isn’t the time to ask that.”

A hint of fear flickered across Gawain’s face.

He was strong.

Stronger than they had imagined.

Kang Jin-ho, whose power they had sensed, was also incredibly powerful. But the Kang Jin-ho they were facing was even stronger than they had anticipated.

“…What kind of martial art is that?”

“I don’t know. But…”

Gawain didn’t finish his sentence.

It was incredibly destructive and terrifying.

But there was no need to say it now. It would only demoralize them.

At that moment, the recoiled flames seemed to gather in the center, then completely sucked into Kang Jin-ho’s body. Kang Jin-ho, having dispelled the black flames, stared at them with sunken eyes.

It was chilling.

He wasn’t even looking at them with any particular threat.

Yet, those who met his gaze felt a chilling sensation that made their hearts pound.

“Do you see it?”

“…He still seems to be human.”

Even amidst that chilling sensation, they didn’t miss the drops of blood flowing from Kang Jin-ho’s fingertips.

Bleeding meant he could be injured.

And being injured meant he could be killed.

They were so desperate that they were relieved to confirm that obvious fact.

“Listen.”

Gawain spoke in a low voice.

“That demon’s defense is too solid. We can’t break through with sweeping attacks. We’ll focus on piercing him at one point. Percival!”

“…You’ll have to handle the impact.”

“It’s a burden, but I have no choice.”

The man called Percival tapped the ground lightly with his massive lance.

Gawain took a deep breath.

The strategy was roughly set. If they didn’t make any mistakes, they could somehow inflict damage.

But there was one thing that bothered him.

‘If that’s all his power, then maybe.’

But what if he hadn’t used his full power yet?

Could they really defeat him?

A sense of unease filled his heart.

Then, Kang Jin-ho calmly opened his mouth.

“I have a question.”

Who should answer?

Normally, someone would have answered without hesitation, but now, they only looked at each other, and no one spoke. Gawain, feeling a sense of dread, gritted his teeth and responded to Kang Jin-ho.

“What is it?”

“Are you strong?”

It was a sudden and difficult question to understand. But Gawain could clearly understand what Kang Jin-ho was asking.

“At least, as far as we know.”

“I see.”

They didn’t know where Kang Jin-ho’s power came from. They vaguely thought it was some kind of Eastern martial art, but they didn’t know how the East worked.

And that was probably the same for Kang Jin-ho.

Kang Jin-ho was asking if they were the pinnacle of Western martial arts history.

“And you?”

This time, Gawain asked back.

“Can you claim to represent the East?”

Kang Jin-ho slowly shook his head.

“No.”

No?

Gawain’s face hardened.

“I’m not enough yet. This isn’t enough. I’m still…”

Kang Jin-ho slightly raised his gaze.

Could he claim it now?

The answer was too easy.

He had become incredibly strong. After returning to the modern era, he was regaining his former power several times faster than expected. But not yet. He couldn’t yet say he was equal to the power of the former Heavenly Demon Lord.

“I can’t claim it yet. But…”

“But?”

“It’s enough to face you.”

Gawain gritted his teeth.

“You talk big.”

The Elder Knights began to form a formation around Gawain. Kang Jin-ho smiled faintly at the sight.

‘They’re below my expectations.’

They were strong.

Among those Kang Jin-ho had faced, excluding the Red King, there was no one stronger than them. Even Bator seemed a step below them.

Then, if one of them fought Bator, would Bator lose?

No.

That wasn’t the case.