Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1733

Invading (4)

“The Black Five Team has fallen!”

“Deploy the Blue Three Team.”

“It’s impossible at the current distance. They’ll collapse before they can reach them.”

“Then send in the Yellow Seven Team that we kept in reserve.”

“Understood!”

Cai Kecheng took a deep drag from the cigarette in his mouth.

The news coming in was all bad. Each piece of information felt like a needle piercing his heart.

But….

‘It’s within the expected range.’

He had already anticipated this much.

“He’s a meticulous one.”

He doesn’t bite.

In animal terms, this is more like a nibble. It’s a light touch of the teeth to gauge the opponent’s reaction and decide what to do next.

It must be unsettling.

He might have forcefully bitten down, only to find a steel needle stuck in that seemingly fragile forearm.

Cai Kecheng took another hard drag of his cigarette.

His eyes curved into a subtle arc for the first time in a while.

‘Unsettling, is it?’

He knows.

He is still in Sky King’s palm. No matter what he does, he cannot escape Sky King’s grasp.

But there was definitely a change happening.

Even if something is placed in the palm of a hand, not everything can be the same. If what’s placed in the palm is a toy that cannot resist, it can be manipulated easily, but what if it’s a venomous snake?

Can one be sure of complete control just because it’s in the palm of their hand?

‘That’s impossible.’

This is that process.

Perhaps Sky King is also flustered that the toy in the shape of a venomous snake in his palm has started to breathe.

So, he’s testing it.

Just enough to see if the snake will suddenly come alive and bite his hand.

A light tap, tap.

‘The problem is that those light attacks feel like they could kill me.’

Cai Kecheng grabbed his face. Then, he pulled at his skin until it hurt.

It was chilling.

He had never felt this sensation before.

He was definitely communicating with Sky King now. The one who had thoroughly trampled and mocked him. The one he hadn’t dared to even imagine sitting at the same table with was now sitting across from him.

‘How pathetic.’

The corners of Cai Kecheng’s mouth curled into a bitter smile.

‘That guy is definitely crazy.’

Cai Kecheng had tried to climb to where Sky King was, no matter what. Even though he knew it was almost impossible.

But Lee Hyun-soo’s direction was completely different.

Instead of climbing up, Lee Hyun-soo chose to drag Sky King down. If a fair fight was impossible anyway, then he would drag his opponent into the mud.

In a battlefield where mud reaches your ankles, even the nimblest footwork becomes a mess, and you can’t put proper strength into your waist.

He would grab his opponent’s waist and roll around in the mud.

Then he would shout.

‘You’re just a human rolling in the mud too, aren’t you?’

It was terrible and pathetic.

But….

Isn’t it funny?

How can one explain the pleasure felt in the process of grabbing the feet of a dignified opponent and dragging them into the mud?

It was spine-chilling.

“So, I’m not a good guy either.”

“Pardon?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Cai Kecheng composed himself and looked at the monitor.

‘I see it.’

In the past, he hadn’t understood what Sky King’s attacks meant. No, he thought he understood, but it wasn’t understanding at all. He had simply been drawn in by Sky King’s intentions.

But at this moment, Cai Kecheng was vividly feeling Sky King’s intentions.

Taking the initiative.

Drawing the opponent into a battlefield he had created and shackling them.

“This feels amazing.”

Crunch.

Cai Kecheng bit down on the cigarette filter.

Then, he started smoking the raw cigarette with the filter torn off. The unrefined, harsh smoke ravaged his lungs.

“Cai Kecheng, the Red King has….”

“I’m going now.”

Cai Kecheng turned away without hesitation. There were plenty of people who could handle such simple commands. It wasn’t something he needed to do.

He had other things to do.

“Did you call for me?”

Cai Kecheng bowed before the Red King with the utmost reverence.

The outstretched fingertips, the bowed head, and the firmly braced waist… every part of him was filled with respect.

And yet….

Something was different.

‘Me?’

No, it wasn’t.

His faith was as firm as a religion. If anything had changed, it wasn’t him, but rather….

Cai Kecheng raised his head.

And looked at the Red King.

Since it wasn’t the palace near Beijing where he used to be, the Red King was standing at the same level as him, not on a platform. And the place where he was sitting was just an ordinary chair, devoid of any extravagance.

Was it because of that?

Because their eye level was the same?

The majesty he had always felt when facing the Red King was not particularly present at this moment.

Was this a positive thing, or….

“You seem confused.”

Cai Kecheng bowed his head even lower.

Of course.

The Red King was looking at him. There was no way the Red King wouldn’t feel the doubts and anxieties in his heart.

“There’s no need to worry so much.”

Cai Kecheng subtly raised his head to look at the Red King.

The Red King’s expression, which had been as hard as if carved from stone, was now relaxed. He didn’t look like someone about to engage in a life-or-death battle.

“Cai Kecheng.”

“Yes, Red King.”

“There is a contradiction in this world.”

The Red King continued in a low voice.

“Victory allows you to gain everything. But defeat makes a person stronger. So, which one is the right choice?”

Cai Kecheng couldn’t bring himself to answer.

If it had been him in the past, he would have said victory. He would have said that the idea that defeat makes a person stronger was just a lie made up by those who had never achieved victory.

But how could he say such a thing now, in front of the Red King?

“I must become stronger.”

“Strength is the power to lead someone. Strength is also the power to accept everything. The fact that you hesitate to answer in front of me means that I am weak.”

“That is not true, Red King!”

“What do you think?”

The Red King quietly looked down at Cai Kecheng.

“Am I weak?”

“Your Majesty….”

The Red King smiled and shook his head.

“I am not weak.”

“I was merely weak.”

The Red King slowly rose from his seat. Then, he leisurely walked towards the window.

The Red King’s eyes, looking at the sky outside the window, were relaxed. It was as if he had lost all of his past vigor.

That’s why all of this just sounded like an excuse.

An excuse, and the Red King, two words that seemed like the least likely to go together, were now being combined in Cai Kecheng’s mind.

‘How blasphemous.’

Faith is always challenged in unexpected places.

But….

“Do you understand?”

“……Yes?”

Cai Kecheng flinched and lowered his head again. To question the Red King’s words, something that would have been impossible for him in the past.

‘Am I wavering?’

At this moment? At this crucial moment?

“……Good.”

Cai Kecheng raised his head sharply.

Because of the Red King’s words?

No, it was because of the strange sincerity hidden in the Red King’s words.

“Cai Kecheng.”

“Yes, Red King.”

“Do you trust me?”

“……Of course, Your Majesty.”

The Red King smiled subtly.

“Then I will ask you, who do you trust more, the past me or the present me?”

Cai Kecheng closed his mouth.

He already knew the answer. But he couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud.

He couldn’t insult the Red King, nor could he lie in front of him.

“I will tell you the answer.”

The Red King curled up the corners of his mouth.

“You trust the present me more than the past me.”

Cai Kecheng raised his head sharply to look at the Red King.

This was….

“It’s a strange thing to say. Even though doubt has already taken root in your heart, I say this.”

“I….”

“But what I say is not wrong. You trust the present me more than the past me. Do you know why?”

“I do not know.”

“Because you doubt.”

The Red King said firmly.

“The reason you trusted the past me was because you did not doubt me. That’s what faith is. It’s blind. Yes, it’s just blind. But that blind faith originates from the absolute nature of the other person.”

The Red King would not crumble.

The Red King was the strongest in the world. Only the Red King would lead them to the future.

That firm belief had sustained Cai Kecheng. He could simply believe without a single doubt.

But what about now?

“You doubt the present me. But you believe. Which faith is stronger, the one that believes without doubting, or the one that believes despite doubting?”

“……The latter.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The Red King nodded.

“The Demon King’s words were not wrong. It’s not that I wasn’t afraid of defeat, but that I simply didn’t know defeat. I don’t fear what I don’t know. You can’t fear what you don’t know.”

The Red King’s face became a little harder.

“It’s the same for you, Cai Kecheng. Those who do not know doubt cannot discuss faith. It is said that the Buddha fought against countless doubts and temptations before attaining enlightenment. When the Buddha was meditating under the Bodhi tree, it is said that countless demons tempted him.”

The Red King clenched his fist.

“Then I ask you, is the Buddha’s enlightenment incomplete because he knew temptation?”

“No, it is not.”

“Is the Buddha inferior to those who were born with divinity because he was originally human?”

“Rather, that is why he is greater.”

“Yes. That is so, Cai Kecheng.”

The Red King closed his eyes.

“I have etched two defeats into my body. One was denied, and one was forced. Therefore, I can no longer run away, and I cannot deny it in any way. So….”

The Red King’s eyes, which had opened again, were filled with unparalleled vigor.

“Now, I will simply confront it.”

His voice was not as powerful as the Red King’s voice in the past. But it resonated with something more than the voice the Red King had thrown out in the past.

“Red King.”

“Doubt, Cai Kecheng. Doubt me, and constantly be wary of your faith in me.”

The Red King muttered quietly with a resolute and vigorous face, just like he had in the past.

“I will prove all of it. Just as those who doubted eventually reach a realm of faith that is more resolute than those who did not doubt, just as those who have been defeated eventually reach a higher place than those who have never been defeated, I will lead myself.”

Thud!

Cai Kecheng slammed his head on the floor.

Doubt….

It was ridiculous.

How could he use the word doubt for that person?

He was the Red King.

He would place the world under his feet.

“I will not doubt you, Red King!”

“The start is with Sky King. Is everything ready?”

“Yes, it is perfect!”

“Good. Then let’s begin. I will start everything anew by taking revenge on Sky King!”

“It will surely be so!”

With a face filled with firm determination, Cai Kecheng nodded.

‘It’s not over yet, Kang Jin-ho. And Lee Hyun-soo!’

The one who will stand at the end will ultimately be the Red King.

Cai Kecheng would make it so.