Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1913

The Demon Lord’s Descent into the Mortal Realm – Volume 78 (1)

Chapter 1: Shattered (1)

KWA-AAAAANG!

Blood surged up my throat.

I tried to swallow it down, but the force of the reflux was far too powerful to contain.

“Kkeureuk…”

The shock was enough to make my mind reel.

An immense demonic energy crushed my body.

It was clear that I had been struck by the incoming demonic energy, but the impact felt as if an explosion had occurred right in front of me.

‘Pushing away’ and ‘exploding’ should be two distinct types of attacks.

However, the Demon Lord’s attack seemed to combine both. Demonic energy, spread out widely, specialized in pushing people away.

The moment that demonic energy touched my body, it swept over me as if to tear it apart.

Pakwon bit his lip until it bled.

Each moment, his consciousness faded, but knowing what would happen if he lost it, he couldn’t afford to let go.

Crack! Crack!

His fingertips were crushed.

Black demonic energy seeped into the split and torn wounds. His entire hand throbbed as if it were on fire, and soon, the excruciating pain engulfed his arm up to his elbow.

KUUUUNG!

Despite that, Pakwon somehow managed to land on the ground. Desperately holding onto his body, which was bent backward as if about to break, was his last shred of pride.

“Kkeueu…”

The hand that touched the ground trembled.

One blow.

Yes, just one blow.

With just that one blow, he could feel the difference in power between himself and the one standing before him.

He thought he already knew, but the gap he roughly estimated in his head and the gap he felt with his flesh and bones were completely different sensations.

The blood flowing from his nose and mouth dripped down his chin. Even though the attack was over, his arms and legs, struck by the demonic energy, ached as if they were on fire.

‘This is the Demon Lord…’

I understand.

They too had fought their way through countless battles to reach this point. He thought that he was second to none when it came to experience in battle.

But this man had plunged the world into a vortex of war and lived at the center of that battlefield. While Pakwon drank water, this man drank blood, and while Pakwon ate rice, this man tore into raw flesh.

He was someone who rejected the existing rules even more than Pakwon, and someone who had lived with the scent of blood from the battlefield even more than Nangon.

No…

‘It’s meaningless.’

The important thing is that he has to face this absurd being. An absolute being who doesn’t seem to have any intention of letting him go until his life is extinguished.

He walks.

Kang Jin-ho, covered in black flames, slowly approached Pakwon.

With each step he took, Pakwon’s heart began to beat faster. Even though he wasn’t releasing any demonic energy, his body felt crushed, as if he would sink into the ground.

There are those who are like this.

Those who have earned the right to sit on the throne.

Pakwon is strong. Of course, he is strong enough to have his name etched in the history of the martial world. But he did not possess the same stature as the Hong King [a legendary figure of immense power].

Even a martial artist who commands the world, or a general who leads millions of troops, cannot become a king.

Only those like this, who overwhelm their surroundings and inspire awe in those who watch, are qualified to be called kings.

“Obsessing over methods…”

A voice like scraping metal pierced Pakwon’s ears.

“Is proof that you are still weak.”

“Do you want to prove that you are right?” The black flames surrounding his mouth flickered. Anyone could tell that it was a smile.

“Right, wrong, proving, validating worth.”

“Those are things that only those with time to spare would say.”

Demonic energy flared from his lowered fingertips. As if giving a signal in advance.

In a battle between masters, showing the prelude to an attack is no different from begging to be spared.

But…

An attack is an attack in its own way.

WHAA-AA-AAK!

With a sound like a fire suddenly flaring up, demonic energy spread from the fingertips of Kang Jin-ho’s outstretched hand.

It was a sight like darkness growing and devouring the world. The visible space was being consumed by black darkness. Not just any darkness, but a black, burning darkness!

From the size of a fist to the size of a house, the black demonic energy that soon covered everything in sight engulfed Pakwon in despair.

‘Where to?’

Where on earth could he escape to?

There was nowhere to run, neither in front nor to the side. Only behind.

But Pakwon knew. That retreating was impossible. The speed at which this demonic energy was flying was clearly faster than the speed at which he could retreat.

Pakwon’s feet slammed into the ground.

His feet dug into the ground up to his ankles.

“UAAAAAAAH!”

Pakwon, who had planted both feet into the ground as if driving in nails, let out a scream-like shout and unleashed countless fists forward.

If he couldn’t avoid it, he would face it.

If he couldn’t block it, he would break it.

That choice wasn’t wrong.

Logically, it was impossible for every part of the widely spread demonic energy to be powerful. If he concentrated his attack on one point where his body could pass through, there was no way he couldn’t win.

KWAKWAKWAKWAKWA!

Fist energy poured out like blood.

Before the first fist energy could even touch the demonic energy, a new fist energy followed behind it, and then another fist energy followed that one.

“HWA-AAAAAAAP!”

Countless fist energies struck the demonic energy.

The sweat that flowed out scattered into the air before it could even trickle down, and even the internal energy that should have been recovered and circulated through his dantian [an energy center in the body] was all pulled out and pushed into his fists.

An all-out attack that didn’t look back.

The saying that attack is the best defense must be used in times like this!

And his all-out attack clearly had results. The demonic energy that was rushing in began to crumble as it collided with Pakwon’s fists. The demonic energy that was flying towards his front was pushed back and twisted by the fist energy.

‘More!’

He put more power into his fists.

‘Just a little more!’

Facing despair was not about strength, but courage. What he needed now was the courage not to run away, and the firm legs to stand against this overwhelming despair!

“UAAAAAAAH!”

Pakwon, with his mouth torn open, squeezed out the last of his strength and put it into his fists. He felt as if his blood was flowing backward, and as if his dantian was being slashed by a sharp knife, but Pakwon did not stop his fist strikes.

And finally!

KWADDEUDDEUDDEUK!

With a sound like roughly tearing flesh, the demonic energy that had been covering his front was torn apart and scattered, disappearing.

It was an awe-inspiring sight, like a ray of light shining through the darkness.

A clear path in front.

Beyond it, Kang Jin-ho’s figure was clearly visible.

He knew.

That blocking the attack didn’t mean he had gained the upper hand, nor that he had landed a blow.

But the moment he faced Kang Jin-ho head-on, Pakwon felt an indescribable sense of accomplishment and pleasure.

It was the ultimate pleasure that only those who had achieved the impossible could taste.

The excessive endorphins that flowed out eliminated the pain throughout his body and brought his condition back up.

But at that very moment.

‘Why?’

Pakwon’s eyes shook.

The corners of Kang Jin-ho’s mouth flickered again.

Smiling?

Why?

At that moment, Pakwon saw it clearly.

Kang Jin-ho, the Demon Lord, lightly bending the hand he had calmly extended forward.

And at the same time…

KAAAA-AAAA-AAAA-AAAA-AAK!

With a ghostly cry that seemed to freeze his very soul, the demonic energies that should have passed him by all turned at once and covered him from all sides.

Pakwon’s eyes widened.

‘This… this is impossible…’

But his thoughts couldn’t continue. The speed at which the demonic energy covered him was faster than his thoughts.

KWADDEUDEUK! KWADEUK! KWADDEUDDEUDDEUK!

The demonic energies that covered Pakwon, as if they were alive, seethed and burned, devouring their surroundings.

The demonic energies held a feast, like ghouls greedily tearing apart a beast.

And…

Soon, like a candle whose wick had burned out,

In the place where the demonic energies had disappeared, only Pakwon remained, so broken that he was unrecognizable.

His strong martial arts had given him a tenacious life.

But anyone who saw Pakwon now would have to admit that his tenacious life was not necessarily a good thing.

His left arm was completely torn off, and his upper body was covered in rough wounds, as if a large beast had bitten him with its teeth.

Wounds so deep that bone was visible.

But those deep wounds were nothing compared to his head, half of which had been blown away.

The only fortunate thing was that his two legs were still intact, so he didn’t have to crawl on the ground, but whether that would be any comfort to Pakwon was unknown.

“You…”

Pakwon opened his mouth.

He wanted to make a sound, but his voice didn’t seem to come out properly, and he closed and opened his mouth several times.

“You are…”

Pakwon’s eyes shook.

This couldn’t be, it couldn’t be.

Of course, he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes. But… right now, the Demon Lord’s power should only be around the level of the Hong King at best.

Doesn’t the fact that he was injured to the point of almost losing his life in the battle with the Chang King [another powerful figure] prove that? How could someone who was struggling against the Chang King just a short while ago be so overwhelmingly crushing him now?

Step, step.

Kang Jin-ho slowly approached him.

The black flames flared up spasmodically. To guide him to hell.

The moment he saw that sight, Pakwon realized.

‘It’s not wrong…’

Nothing is wrong.

In that short time…

In the short time of just a few months, Kang Jin-ho had become this strong. Incomparably stronger than before.

Only then could Pakwon understand why the Black King was so wary of Kang Jin-ho. This man could not be measured by the foolish yardstick of common sense.

This man was a ghoul who grew bigger by devouring everything.

Eventually, he would devour the entire world.

‘The Heavenly Demon Lord.’

He had believed that he was unfortunate not to have lived in the same era. But now, Pakwon faced reality. He was merely a weakling who had been able to survive because he had not lived in the same world as this man.

So…

At least one thing…

“I…”

Pakwon’s jaw trembled.

“I was strong…”

The corners of Kang Jin-ho’s eyes emitted a faint crimson glow.

“Not really.”

A sound like scraping metal came from Kang Jin-ho’s mouth.

“You weren’t impressive.”

Kang Jin-ho, who had approached Pakwon, grabbed his neck.

“Whether it was you in the past, or you now.”

Pakwon’s eyes burned with anger.

“You!”

Crack.

But his anger couldn’t reach Kang Jin-ho.

Because those who die with their necks broken cannot be angry.

Thud.

Pakwon’s body fell to the ground. Kang Jin-ho, who had been staring down at the fallen Pakwon with indifferent eyes, twisted the corners of his mouth.

“You must have laughed at those who live in a peaceful world.”

A low chuckle was heard.

“But you too are living in a peaceful world. The past is just the past. Just because you had it once doesn’t mean it’s forever.”

CRACK!

Kang Jin-ho’s foot stomped on Pakwon’s fallen corpse. The black demonic energy that had bloomed covered the corpse and burned it.

Soon, his body, which had turned into fine dust, scattered in the wind.

“Remember. If you have a next time, that is.”

But perhaps the luck to live again would not exist.