Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1103

It felt like a dream.

Because it didn’t feel real.

Knight Bellinger stared at Knight Yankova’s head with a dazed expression. The head of the man who had been speaking and shouting just moments ago was now separated from his body, rolling on the floor.

Squelch, squelch.

With a strange, wet sound, blood gushed from the severed neck.

As if still unable to accept his own death, the severed artery pulsed with each beat of his heart, spraying blood.

But only for a moment.

The tremors of Knight Yankova’s convulsing body soon subsided.

Death.

Yes, it was death.

There was no one here who was unfamiliar with death. They had witnessed countless deaths. And they had caused countless deaths with their own hands.

By the standards of ordinary humans, they were murderers, having committed enough killings to be called such.

Therefore, they should be used to it.

But…

This death felt different.

For them, too, death was a realm outside of the ordinary. It was as if they, who had been in the realm of the ordinary just moments ago, had been forcibly shoved into the realm of the extraordinary, creating a sense of unease.

That terrible unease began to twist everyone.

‘When?’

What made it even more incomprehensible for Knight Bellinger was not the death of Knight Yankova itself.

It was the process by which Knight Yankova’s death had occurred.

He hadn’t seen it.

He hadn’t heard it.

He hadn’t even sensed it.

If Knight Yankova hadn’t stopped speaking, Knight Bellinger wouldn’t have even realized his death until this very moment.

Which meant…

‘If he had tried to kill me, would I not have even realized that I was dying?’

Knight Bellinger knew all too well what that meant.

Life and death were ultimately one’s own choice.

Unless it was due to the absolute law of lifespan, death was something only one could choose for themselves.

But not here, not now.

Kang Jin-ho was here, and in the space he occupied.

At least within this space, his life and death were not up to Knight Bellinger himself, but rather up to Kang Jin-ho’s choice.

What could be a greater humiliation for a warrior?

Kang Jin-ho’s hand came into Knight Bellinger’s view. A long sword was gripped in Kang Jin-ho’s outstretched hand.

He must have drawn it.

And then, he must have swung that sword, severing Knight Yankova’s neck.

Judging by the way he held the sword and the way Knight Yankova’s head fell, it was easy to deduce. But Knight Bellinger hadn’t been able to see that scene with his own eyes.

How vast was the difference in their abilities that he couldn’t even perceive a person’s head being cut off right before his eyes?

“Next.”

The gazes that had been fixed on Knight Yankova’s corpse all turned to Kang Jin-ho at once.

They had all looked at Kang Jin-ho just moments ago. But the gazes then and now could not be the same.

It felt as if the sharp teeth of a beast were half-lodged in their throats. As if their arteries would be severed with just a little more force.

Kang Jin-ho looked around at everyone once, then curled up the corners of his lips.

“I don’t like courageous people.”

“Who’s next?”

No one could answer.

The gazes that had been on Kang Jin-ho slowly lowered. In this situation, making eye contact was tantamount to showing hostility towards the other party.

Knight.

The supreme position that dominated the Round Table [a council of powerful knights].

The top warriors representing each nation.

Only such individuals were present here. But none of them dared to make eye contact with Kang Jin-ho.

‘I see.’

The Master was feeling a strange sensation.

When the Master first realized that Kang Jin-ho had cut off Knight Yankova’s head, what he felt was extreme anger.

This was something that could not happen.

No matter how powerful Kang Jin-ho was, he could not kill a Knight at the Round Table.

This was an act of completely trampling on the Round Table. Even though he was currently allied with Kang Jin-ho and opposed to the Knights, his essence was that of a warrior of the Round Table.

He could not applaud and rejoice at the death of a Knight at the hands of Kang Jin-ho.

But that anger quickly subsided.

They weren’t resisting.

In this sacred Round Table, a Knight was killed by an outsider, an absurd event, yet no one was trying to resist.

They were desperately bowing their heads, avoiding Kang Jin-ho’s gaze.

Only then did the Master truly understand what Lee Hyun-soo had meant.

‘Authority comes from the unreasonable.’

This scene was showing what that meant.

An absurd unreasonableness was unfolding before their eyes. But no one was trying to resist that unreasonableness. Rather, they were fearing the very person who had created that unreasonableness.

Then what had the Master been doing at the Round Table all this time?

What was it that he had been trying to protect?

What was it that he had been trying to respect?

An indescribable sense of futility began to weigh down on the Master.

But whether he knew the Master’s feelings or not, Kang Jin-ho, with a nonchalant expression, stared at the Knights before opening his mouth.

“Looks like there isn’t one.”

Kang Jin-ho threw the cigarette he had been holding onto the floor and took out a new cigarette, placing it in his mouth.

Then, with a leisurely motion, he lit the cigarette in his mouth. During that entire process, no one moved.

“Words are meaningless.”

Kang Jin-ho slowly exhaled cigarette smoke and then pushed the Red Spear into his subspace [a personal storage dimension].

“Master.”

“Yes, Lord.”

“Continue.”

The Master nodded with a stiff face.

The smell of blood kept assaulting his nose.

As long as they were in this place, there was no way to avoid this smell of blood. To the Master, it was just a smell that irritated his nerves, but to the Knights here, it would have a completely different meaning.

“Any Knights who have objections to this decision, please state your opinions now.”

His jaw creaked.

Like a wooden doll.

He was speaking with his own will, but it felt like he had strings attached to his entire body. Now, he couldn’t tell if he was speaking with his own will or simply moving as Kang Jin-ho ordered.

After that, the meeting proceeded smoothly.

It was as if the fierce arguments they had been having before were a lie, and it took less than five minutes for all the agenda items to be passed. When he confirmed that there were no more agenda items to be presented, the Master felt an incomprehensible sense of loss.

‘Is this what it is?’

If they had tried to handle it through a meeting as they had in the past, not a single issue would have been resolved.

Even if it wasn’t this kind of agenda, but a normal one, if they had proceeded with the Round Table method of listening to everyone’s opinions and coordinating them, it would have taken a whole day.

Those things were finished in an instant.

In the sense of loss that dominated his heart, the Master could clearly understand why humans were so desperate to seize power.

Power is, in other words, convenience.

Things that couldn’t be passed are passed.

Things that required a long time are handled in an instant.

Yes.

Perhaps it was nothing much. It was just a little more convenient.

If an agenda item couldn’t be passed, they could persuade and understand each other. Even if they couldn’t understand each other until the very end, they could find another way.

It takes time?

They could just allocate the time. Time wasn’t infinite, but it was worth investing in.

In other words, the agenda items that were handled here today could have been handled somehow.

It would have taken several months, and a lot of mental energy would have been wasted, but in the end, they would have reached an agreement somehow.

All that Kang Jin-ho had gained by wielding his power was a little convenience. But that convenience felt incredibly huge to the Master at this moment.

Humans cannot lose convenience.

Those who are used to cars forget how to walk on their own two feet. Those who are used to elevators don’t bother to climb stairs on their own.

They might temporarily push aside convenience for some reason, but they never try to completely eliminate it.

So, there was no going back.

The Master, who had experienced the convenience of a process without coordination, could never return to the tedious meetings of the past.

Because he had felt how much was wasted in that unnecessary process.

No one challenged his opinion.

Even though he had asked them to present their opinions, they were just looking at him, not even thinking about opening their mouths.

Those who held the supreme position of Knight were desperately trying not to go against him.

Watching that scene, the Master felt a strange emotion creeping up in his heart.

A base pleasure.

The emotion that humans feel when they suppress and stand above others.

That which he had been most wary of.

The emotion that he thought he should never feel was now beginning to dominate him.

‘Corruption.’

That word popped into his head.

But…

There was no going back now.

“If the agenda is finished, I will close the meeting here.”

At the Master’s words, the Knights’ gazes subtly turned towards Kang Jin-ho. As if closing the meeting also required Kang Jin-ho’s permission.

“Are there any Knights who wish to speak?”

There were none.

They were just glancing back and forth between the Master and Kang Jin-ho. Even though they had been driven to this point, there was not even one who was giving a signal to Knight Bellinger.

They weren’t even turning their heads in that direction.

They didn’t want to give the impression that they were part of Knight Bellinger’s faction by showing a clumsy signal.

The Master desperately suppressed the bitter smile that kept trying to creep onto his lips.

Knights.

These were the Knights he had been with all this time.

The Knights he had felt were more than reliable and trustworthy, the strength of the Round Table.

But now, he couldn’t see any of the things he had seen in them until now.

The Master realized anew.

In the end, people could only change depending on where they stood. The Knights, when viewed from the same position, were more than reliable and strong. But the moment he held power and looked down, even those Knights became nothing.

The Master realized that fact to the bone at this moment.

“Then, today’s meeting…”

“Wait a moment.”

Kang Jin-ho interrupted the Master’s words.

“…Yes.”

When the Master closed his mouth, Kang Jin-ho quietly looked at the Knights.

“You’re more docile than I thought.”

The Knights’ faces turned red.

“I like docile people. If you continue to be like that, you won’t have to meet me. But remember this. If you ever have to meet me again, it won’t be as easy as it is now.”

Kang Jin-ho curled up the corners of his lips and made eye contact with the Knights. The Knights who met his eyes quickly lowered their heads.

“Good.”

Kang Jin-ho got up from his seat.

Then, he left the Round Table and slowly walked towards the hallway. Wiggins and Lee Hyun-soo followed him, leaving the Round Table. As if there was nothing more to see.

Those who remained watched the backs of those who were leaving in silence.

“…I will close the meeting.”

The Master’s voice alone echoed quietly in the hall, where not even a breath could be heard.