Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1211

A chilling wind sweeps across the deck. Even excluding those who couldn’t squeeze onto the deck, nearly a thousand people fill the space, yet no one dares to speak. A thousand gazes are fixed on one person. And the subject of those gazes can’t control his trembling arms.

It’s cold.

The sensation of the blade against the edge of his stomach is sharp. But even colder is the multitude of eyes bearing down on his back.

“Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!”

Rough breaths escape him involuntarily. With each inhale and exhale, the blade presses deeper into his stomach.

Sizzle.

The sharp pain as the blade cuts into his flesh is undeniable.

Blood trickles down his stomach from the shallow cut.

“Hooook!”

Kohei, sweating profusely, stared at the blade against his stomach.

He must plunge this blade in and cut open his belly.

To show the depth of his conviction, he must not be satisfied with a single horizontal cut, but also make a vertical one, forming a cross.

Proof.

Seppuku [ritual suicide by disembowelment] is proof.

Proof of his integrity and his beliefs.

Proof of a value that will not disappear even in death.

So, there is no need to waver.

He just needs to plunge this blade in and cut.

So…….

“Hoo, hoo! Hoo!”

The sweat from his forehead stings his eyes.

It stings.

The world is blurry and dizzy. He can’t understand why he’s sitting here like this. All he can see is the blade aimed at him, and…….

Click.

Kang Jin-ho lighting a cigarette.

“Hooo……”

Kang Jin-ho slowly exhaled the smoke, looking at Kohei with indifferent eyes.

Kohei’s eyes trembled as they met Kang Jin-ho’s gaze.

Indifference.

An impossible indifference.

He is now on the verge of death. Yet, how can the gaze of the one watching his death be so indifferent?

Only then did Kohei understand.

His convictions do not reach Kang Jin-ho. No matter how he chooses to end his life, Kang Jin-ho will not find meaning in his death.

Then, what is he dying for?

His convictions, his beliefs…….

At that moment, Kang Jin-ho, who had been watching silently, slowly approached Kohei.

Then, he crouched down in front of him, who was kneeling.

Kang Jin-ho smiled faintly and opened his mouth.

“What are you doing?”

“Cut.”

Kohei’s fingertips trembled violently.

They trembled so much that the blade was cutting into his skin every now and then.

Kang Jin-ho exhaled cigarette smoke and grinned.

“It’s not difficult. Just close your eyes and stab, right?”

Kohei nodded blankly, without realizing it.

“Now, prove it. Your convictions, for everyone to see.”

“Hoo!”

Kohei’s eyes twitched.

His fingertips tightened. Kohei, gritting his teeth, plunged the blade into his stomach.

Thud!

But that was it.

The blade, having pierced his stomach by about half a hand’s length, could not go any further and trembled.

“Ah……”

Kohei’s mouth fell open.

It hurts.

There is no more elegant way to put it. It is more painful than he had imagined.

Kohei’s face contorted.

He, too, had lived the life of a warrior. He had been hit by swords many times. But this pain was definitely different from any pain he had ever experienced.

The pain of a wound sustained in the midst of a battle, where adrenaline is pumping to the limit, cannot be the same as the pain he is feeling now, where all his senses are focused on one point.

The pain from the cut, the coldness of the foreign metal piercing his body, and the terrifying sensation of something moving inside his stomach.

All of it mixed together, making Kohei unable to move.

His hand, gripping the hilt of the sword, trembled. Each time it did, the tip of the blade, buried in his stomach, shook, tearing through his insides.

“Ugh……”

It felt like something was constantly rising up his throat, as if his internal organs were damaged.

‘Am I dying?’

Is this how he dies?

This was different from the death he had imagined.

His death was not supposed to be like this. It was supposed to be something more magnificent, grand, and full of conviction and loyalty.

Not trembling in raw pain and fear like this.

‘I, I want to live……’

“You can’t.”

At that moment, Kang Jin-ho grabbed his hand.

“You can’t stop here.”

He smiles.

The one in front of him is clearly Kang Jin-ho. But it wasn’t Kang Jin-ho. A demon with hidden wings was mocking him. As if ridiculing a human caught in a trap, heading towards destruction.

“If you stop here, everyone will be disappointed. You have to prove it. Your convictions, and your way.”

His pearly white teeth are revealed.

“I’ll help you.”

Kang Jin-ho, gripping both the hilt of the sword and his hand, slowly moved his arm.

An irresistible force.

“Ugh… Urrk……”

Sss

—–Shhh’、•

The sharply honed blade began to cut through his stomach.

Slowly, very slowly.

“I’ve heard it said.”

Kang Jin-ho said with a flawless smile.

“The slower and more you cut, the more you prove yourself. Is that right?”

Kohei could not answer.

Blood flowed back into his mouth. The blood that had flowed back from his stomach was flowing down his mouth and seeping back into the wound on his stomach, creating a bizarre sight that he would never see again in his life.

What could he say in this situation?

“So, there’s no need to rush, right?”

Swoosh.

Kang Jin-ho, having cut a long line from his left flank to his right, pulled the sword with force.

“And like this……”

Thwack.

Kohei’s sword pierced his sternum. Then, it slowly cut downwards.

Kohei clearly saw his stomach being torn open with his eyes wide open.

A cross.

Proof of conviction.

But who would see this as his conviction?

“Ugh……”

A pain completely different from what he had imagined washed over him. He wanted to scream and thrash about. But instead of thrashing, Kohei raised his head and looked at Akinori.

Akinori nodded with a stern face and approached Kang Jin-ho and Kohei.

“Please allow me to behead him.”

“Hmm?”

Kohei said with a stiff face.

“It is customary to behead one who has committed seppuku to relieve their pain. Although our paths have diverged, he was once under my command. It is my role to behead him.”

“Is that so?”

Kang Jin-ho smiled.

“Why?”

“……Excuse me?”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head as if he didn’t understand.

“You cut open your stomach. You prove yourself with that. Isn’t that the way of seppuku?”

“That is correct.”

“Then why would you clumsily behead him to relieve his pain? Isn’t it when you bear that pain completely that you can prove your conviction even more?”

Akinori couldn’t say anything and closed his mouth.

“It’s a ridiculous method.”

Kang Jin-ho slowly stood up.

“You talk about taking responsibility with death, yet you try to avoid the pain that comes with it. You look good on the outside, but there’s nothing inside. Isn’t the reason for taking this method in the first place to prove that you are so righteous and full of conviction that you can even accept the pain of cutting open your stomach?”

“But……”

“I’ll let you prove it.”

Kang Jin-ho kicked Kohei.

As Kohei’s body fell to the floor like a rotten bundle of straw, Kang Jin-ho picked up the sword and severed the tendons of Kohei’s arms and legs.

“Ggrrrk!”

Thud!

Kang Jin-ho threw the sword to the floor, shook off the blood on his fingertips, and smiled.

“Now you’ll have to bear it. Fully taking responsibility for the method of death you chose yourself.”

Akinori looked at Kohei with a horrified expression.

With his tendons severed, Kohei could not move his arms or legs. In other words, with his stomach cut open and his internal organs damaged, he could only lie there writhing like a worm.

And he couldn’t die.

The abnormally developed recovery power of a warrior would not let a human die even in that state. Kohei would die in endless pain until the blood that was slowly flowing out completely dried up and there was no more blood left.

‘How can a person…….’

“Is it cruel?”

“I……”

“Remember this.”

Kang Jin-ho said, spitting out the words.

“Death is just death. There is no meaning in death. Those who tell you to find meaning in death are only those who benefit from that death. You can choose death yourself. A glorious death may be better than a wretched life.

But……”

Kang Jin-ho bared his teeth.

“That’s only when I choose death and end it with that. Death is not a method of incitement. It’s just death. You all need to know that.”

Kang Jin-ho slowly walked forward. Thud, thud.

Kang Jin-ho, stepping over Kohei who was lying there writhing, spread his arms wide.

The space distorted, and Red Dew and Blue Dew [likely names of swords] were pulled out of thin air.

“Conviction?”

Kang Jin-ho smiled brightly.

But contrary to his expression, an explosive killing intent emanated from his body.

“Good. Come at me, and I’ll make you keep that conviction with death.”

No one stepped forward.

They only retreated, staggering back as if they had seen a ghost.

How could they not?

For them, seppuku is the most powerful expression of will. How could they possibly deal with a ruthless demon who kills someone who chose seppuku like a bug?

There is no communication.

Conviction has no meaning.

All that remains is choice.

Submission, or death.

“The strong don’t need to choose.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled.

“In my eyes, you are all just weaklings. The weak must choose. Choose now. Whether to bow your heads and survive, or have your stiff necks cut off.”

The thought didn’t last long.

Bator, Wiggins, Jang Min, and Lee Hyun-soo walked behind Kang Jin-ho.

The five stood side by side.

The fighting spirit they emitted was something that those present had never seen before in their lives.

It was rough, reckless, and violent.

“I’ll count to three.”

Kang Jin-ho plunged Blue Dew into the floor and raised Red Dew.

“If there are any who still have stiff necks after I count to three, I’ll take it as a sign that they want to keep their convictions by having their necks cut off.”

He doesn’t give them time to think.

“One.”

At the same time as Kang Jin-ho’s words, the executives released their fighting spirit. As if they were about to charge at any moment.

“Two.”

And the moment he counted two, a killing intent that seemed to cut flesh and tear apart the mind emanated from Kang Jin-ho’s body.

“Three.”

And when he counted the final three…….

All that came into view was the vast ocean beyond the deck.

Fear, dread, and the will to live softened the knees of the proud warriors.

They knelt and bowed their heads.

The sight of the warriors filling the deck all prostrating themselves at once was a magnificent spectacle that could not be seen anywhere else in the world.

Kang Jin-ho stared at the scene for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth.

“Remember.”

Today.

“If you forget your feelings now, you won’t even be given a chance to choose next time. Then, I’ll show you what death is like, in its rawest form.”

Kang Jin-ho turned around.

It was the moment when the long, long war came to an end.