Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 2029

Chai Ke-chang clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking.

‘Oh, Crimson Monarch.’

The figure of the Crimson Monarch slowly taking his stance came into view.

He didn’t like it.

No, to be honest, it made his stomach churn.

He didn’t like that the Crimson Monarch had already appeared when this match wasn’t even at its climax, nor did he like that his opponent wasn’t the Black Monarch.

It even made him sick to his stomach that the Crimson Monarch, who could be called the ruler of the vast Central Plains, was standing there without any attendants.

‘Damn it.’

He knew.

This wasn’t because the Crimson Monarch’s status was low.
Sometimes, there are unavoidable battles for martial artists.

Chai Ke-chang also knew that the Divine Spear had lost to the Crimson Monarch before. Even if he had challenged him earlier, the Crimson Monarch would never have refused the fight.

That’s the kind of person he was.

Yet, Chai Ke-chang couldn’t easily accept this fact, perhaps because of his inferiority complex towards the Crimson Monarch faction, which had been pushed aside by the General Assembly.

Was the Crimson Monarch faction inferior to the General Assembly?

No. Absolutely not.

If you compared the power of the Crimson Monarch faction and the General Assembly, the Crimson Monarch faction still held an overwhelming advantage.

It was a matter to consider if the Round Table and the United States, which had ties with the General Assembly, openly sided with them, but…

‘That’s just an excuse.’

Power is just a number.

The wars of the martial world were closer to ancient battles than modern warfare. No matter how much stronger the Crimson Monarch faction was, the moment the Crimson Monarch fell, the number of remaining martial artists wouldn’t matter at all.

They would all scatter. And to be blunt, the Crimson Monarch faction didn’t have the power to protect the Crimson Monarch against the General Assembly right now.

Even if the Demon King and the Crimson Monarch were equal in skill, the elders of the Crimson Monarch faction couldn’t handle the directors of the General Assembly.

If the leaders of the General Assembly abandoned their defenses and moved as a group to capture the Crimson Monarch, Chai Ke-chang would have only one option: to help the Crimson Monarch escape so he wouldn’t be captured.

But there was no way the Crimson Monarch would accept such a choice.

The calculations had been done long ago. All that remained was the process of accepting those calculations.

And perhaps the Crimson Monarch knew that as well. He didn’t know where the gap had widened, but the moment the directors of the General Assembly all entered the realm of the superhuman, the match between the Crimson Monarch faction and the General Assembly was as good as over.

That’s why he didn’t like this situation.

He couldn’t accept this situation.

No.

Perhaps what he couldn’t accept wasn’t the situation the Crimson Monarch faction was in, but the situation the Crimson Monarch was in.

The Crimson Monarch, whom he had believed would surely overcome the other three monarchs and become the king of the world. The Crimson Monarch, whom he had no doubt would prove himself to be the greatest martial artist in the world.

But now, the Crimson Monarch had become just one of the martial artists representing the martial world.

It felt like needles were scraping at his insides.

The unpleasantness that surged up from his throat seemed to be staining his entire body black.

Yet, the reason Chai Ke-chang couldn’t voice his resentment was because he knew that no matter how rotten his insides were, it couldn’t compare to the mental anguish the Crimson Monarch was experiencing.

‘Oh, Crimson Monarch.’

Chai Ke-chang bit his lip tightly and looked at the Crimson Monarch.

Even so…

Yes. Even so, he was the Crimson Monarch.

‘I believe in you.’

At this moment, countless martial artists from the Central Plains would be watching this scene.

Chai Ke-chang only wanted one thing.

For him to shake off the turmoil in his heart and show everyone exactly who he was.

Because he was none other than the Crimson Monarch.

The Crimson Monarch quietly took a breath.

Tension?

He didn’t particularly feel any tension. His body maintained perfect composure.

But…

To be honest, his mind wasn’t so calm.

‘What have I been living for?’

He felt that he had lived his life to the fullest. He prided himself on having shouldered many burdens and having worked hard without a moment of laziness.

That’s why he thought he would soon be able to obtain everything he desired.

Until Kang Jin-ho appeared.

His appearance completely shattered the Crimson Monarch’s world. And at this moment, what the Crimson Monarch saw was the high ceiling.

A ceiling that seemed impossible to reach no matter how high he climbed. The ceiling, which he thought was quite close, was much higher than he had imagined. A height that he could never reach with his current methods.

The Twelve Divine Blades had taught him.

That the dream he had was just an illusion.

He had learned that the world he had fought so fiercely in was actually in the hands of the Black Monarch. In the end, there was no ending where he would rule the world from the beginning.

That fact brought an immense sense of emptiness to the Crimson Monarch.

But…

The Crimson Monarch slowly clenched his fist.

‘So, am I disappointed?’

No.

He might even be a little happy.

Because he had learned that the world surrounding him wasn’t so small that he could wield it as he pleased.

‘The king of the Central Plains…’

The Crimson Monarch chuckled softly.

Perhaps this outcome was inevitable from the moment he limited the center of the world to the Central Plains and thought that if he could rule that place, it would be the same as ruling the world.

Perhaps even if the Black Monarch or Kang Jin-ho didn’t exist, he wouldn’t have been able to obtain what he wanted.

So, how could he not be happy?

He had gained an opportunity to break free from his own mold, and he had learned that even after reaching the absolute realm by overcoming the wall, there were still so many paths left to take.

As a martial artist, how could he not be delighted?

And that’s why…

The Crimson Monarch looked at the Divine Spear with cold, arrogant eyes.

He wasn’t enjoying this match with this man.

‘It might be great courage to stand before me.’

It was certainly commendable that someone who didn’t enjoy challenging stronger opponents had come forward to avenge his defeat.

But that was all.

“Come.”

The Crimson Monarch slightly folded and unfolded his hand.

Seeing his confident gesture, the Divine Spear’s face hardened.

Thud!

His spear, which had pushed off the ground, flew towards the Crimson Monarch like a ray of light.

A simple, fast strike.

It didn’t contain an explosive vortex, nor did it push in a formidable inner force.

Just a basic, faithful upward thrust.

But even if it was just a thrust that had nothing more or less, the Divine Spear was proving that it could become the best technique in the world depending on whose hands it was used in.

Whoosh!

The Crimson Monarch twisted his head to avoid the flying spear.

At that moment, the spear, which had been pulled back slightly, pierced the Crimson Monarch’s head, chest, and abdomen in succession.

The Crimson Monarch extended a palm imbued with inner force to block his spear.

Three explosions erupted.

But the spear, which was pushed back as if it had been bounced, naturally rotated as if it were performing a choreographed dance, creating more than a dozen spear shadows and pressing in on the Crimson Monarch.

‘Hmm?’

The Crimson Monarch’s eyes changed slightly.

‘This is?’

It was different.

The Crimson Monarch kicked off the ground and stepped back slightly. The Crimson Monarch rarely moved his body backward, but now he needed to check something.

The moment the Crimson Monarch moved back, the Divine Spear narrowed the distance exactly as much as the Crimson Monarch had retreated, creating dozens of spear shadows and piercing the Crimson Monarch’s entire body.

He didn’t rush in just because he had gained the upper hand. This spear wasn’t aiming for the Crimson Monarch’s life. It was just a thrust to break his stance and gain even the slightest advantage!

It was clear.

It hadn’t been that long ago. The memory of fighting the Divine Spear was clearly etched in the Crimson Monarch’s mind. That’s why he could clearly feel it. The spear technique the Divine Spear was using now was clearly different from what he had faced before.

In their previous match, the Divine Spear had tried to overwhelm him with speed and power.

But now, that spear technique didn’t show the same speed or the same power as before.

It was just…

‘Solid?’

A spear technique that was perfectly faithful to the basics.

He created openings by launching short, concise attacks in succession. And even if he saw those openings, he didn’t rush, but pressured them to widen the gaps.

The archetype of a spear technique that seemed like it could be in a textbook was now unfolding at the tip of the Divine Spear’s spear.

“Hmph!”

Thud!

The Crimson Monarch stepped forward and threw a punch.

His hands shot out like a gale, creating dozens of golden fist auras in the air.

The flying spear shadows and the fist auras created by the Crimson Monarch intertwined in the air.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The two people, who had stopped breathing, firmly planted their feet on the ground and unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks.

The spear and fist clashed with each other dozens of times in the air, even in a fleeting moment.

They weren’t particularly great attacks.

They were just quickly thrusting the spear and quickly swinging the fist.

But the aftermath of the collision of those simple movements was truly enormous.

Whoosh!

The aftermath of the collision between the fist and the spear swirled like a storm inside the large hollow space.

Crack, crack.

The floor, unable to withstand the shock of the continuous collisions, began to crack and crumble.

It was literally the archetype of martial arts.

Swing the fist faster to strike the opponent’s body.

Thrust the spear more to pierce the opponent’s flesh.

A primal will that had no martial principle.

Fist and spear.

Those who had reached a level where it was difficult to find a higher place in their respective fields thrust their spears and swung their fists as if they were demonstrating what they had built up.

Whoosh!

The pushed-out air became a blade and swept through the hollow space. As the collisions that occurred dozens of times in an instant continued, the floor began to shake as if an earthquake had occurred.

And in that chaotic world…

The Divine Spear and the Crimson Monarch, as if all of that had nothing to do with them, only focused on each other and continued their attacks.

Bang!

The spear, which had been knocked back by a powerful punch, bent like a reed and then shot out with even greater momentum than before.

Whoosh!

A sight like hundreds of snakes writhing and baring their fangs all at once.

But the Crimson Monarch, who was facing that formidable thrust, didn’t back down at all.

Whoosh!

Hundreds of palm shadows that were extended in an instant created a huge wall in the air.

A wall that was so solid that it seemed like nothing in the world could penetrate it.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The Divine Spear’s spear collided with the wall and bounced back.

Grind.

The Divine Spear, who had been thrusting his spear relentlessly, bit his lip until it bled.

“Haaah!”

The Divine Spear let out a huge shout and gripped his spear as if he would break it.

Whoosh!

And the hundreds of spear shadows he created began to pour towards one point on the wall in an instant.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of the collisions that occurred so quickly sounded like one huge roar.

And at the end of that collision, a tiny gap was created in the Crimson Monarch’s wall, which seemed like it would never collapse.

At that moment, a bright blue light flashed in the Divine Spear’s eyes.

Whoosh!

His spear, like a poisonous snake hunting its prey, skillfully penetrated the tiny gap created in the wall.