Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 2059

The Black King abruptly rose from his seat. His eyes were intensely fixed on the white light that Wiggins had created. The remaining members of the Twelve Evils, still conscious, were not only astonished by the phenomenon unfolding before them but also by the Black King’s reaction.

Since the battle began in this underground space, this was the first time the Black King had risen from his seat.

‘Th-that…’

The Black King’s voice was clearly different from his usual tone.

Unbelievably, the end of his words trembled slightly. It was such an astonishing thing that anyone who heard it would doubt their own ears.

However, the Black King had no time to worry about his own voice right now.

An immense power.

An unprecedented force was now gathering towards Wiggins.

The density and magnitude of that power were entering a realm that even the Black King had never experienced before.

‘A human?’

Of course, that wasn’t everything.

If the size of power was all that mattered, the Black King would never have been able to wage war against the outside world. No matter how strong a martial artist became, they could never match the destructive power of a single missile.

The reason he could wage war against a world that possessed hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of such weapons was simple. The magnitude of destructive power was not the measure of strength.

But….

Even knowing that, there was no way not to be astonished by this power.

The human body.

How could such a weak and fragile human body contain such power?

‘Reckless!’

There was no way he could endure it.

To wield such energy and have the body withstand it?

That was no longer within the realm of humanity.

This match, at this very moment, began to race towards a place that even the Black King could not predict.

‘M-Master…’

Lee Hyun-soo’s face turned pale.

Perhaps he was the only one here who understood what Wiggins was doing. This was something only he and Wiggins could comprehend.

That’s why his heart felt like it was about to stop.

‘S-Stop! I said stop! Master! Wiggins!’

Lee Hyun-soo shouted at the top of his lungs. But he knew best that his voice would never reach Wiggins.

‘…Wiggins.’

Kang Jin-ho bit his lip tightly.

This was a place where everyone was fighting for their lives. He had no intention of stopping anyone from seeking victory by any means. No, Kang Jin-ho had no right to do so.

They were all fighting for themselves, not for Kang Jin-ho.

However….

‘That idiot…’

The one who always took a step back and shrugged was now stepping into the most dangerous territory.

Crack! Crack!

The sounds were vivid.

The sound of muscles tearing, unable to withstand the excessively injected mana [internal energy]. The intricately woven muscles were tearing apart, strand by strand, and his entire body was quickly turning black.

Crunch!

Even his bones could not withstand it and began to crumble.

However, the physical wounds and pain were insignificant compared to what his mind was experiencing.

It felt like his brain was burning.

Trickle.

Reverse-flowing blood spurted out through his nose. But even that blood vaporized before it could flow, turning into red smoke and scattering.

It wasn’t actually happening, but it felt like the mana surging inside his body was about to tear through his skin and flow out. It felt like mana was reversing through his throat and about to burst out through his nose.

That was a sensation far removed from the ‘fulfillment’ Wiggins had anticipated.

Nevertheless….

Whoooosh!

It was definitely surging.

An unprecedented mana, one he had never experienced before, was filling his body.

‘Cough!’

Wiggins coughed and widened his eyes. His eyes were tinged with blue. Although the light he was emitting was white, his world was entirely filled with blue.

‘Is this it?’

Wiggins gritted his teeth.

No, not yet.

Whoooosh!

He could see the batteries connected to the rune sword, pouring out mana. Clearly, Wiggins himself had filled those batteries with mana; in other words, all that mana was originally his.

However, the process of receiving that mana back was nothing short of violent.

The mana, devoid of will, did not consider whether his body’s durability or his mana circuits could withstand it. It simply pushed the mana into his body mechanically, according to a set pattern.

‘More! More!’

The limit.

Wiggins had not yet reached it.

And he could say with certainty that the only moment he could reach his limit was right now.

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that would never come again, and one he should never attempt again.

‘I don’t know.’

Wiggins smiled, revealing his white teeth.

The blood that had seeped out due to the pressure quickly stained his teeth red.

Even though he was doing it himself, he couldn’t understand the principle behind his actions. Everything should have a valid reason and a valid goal. But in his current actions, he could find neither reason nor goal.

‘In the end, I’m just another fool.’

If he was going to be a fool anyway….

It wouldn’t be so bad to be a proper fool.

‘Oooooooooh!’

Wiggins drastically increased the amount of mana he was absorbing.

The sky opened.

This was underground. The deepest underground. There was no way a sky could exist. What should exist where he was looking was not a sky but a drab concrete ceiling.

But Wiggins clearly saw it.

The world he was looking at opened up, and he saw a scene where white light poured into the world.

‘…Is this it?’

The place he wanted to reach at least once, a place where a human body transcended the human realm, a realm where only one attempt was allowed in a lifetime.

‘No.’

It wasn’t enough.

He hadn’t done everything he could yet.

It was as if he could hear someone whispering in his ear.

Wasn’t it enough now?

With this much power, wouldn’t it be enough to obliterate Baek Yeon-hong? If he stopped here, wouldn’t he be able to avoid the certain outcome of ‘death’?

‘Heh heh.’

Wiggins twisted and laughed.

Yes, perhaps it was. If he had reached this point with a human body, it might be enough. Among those who practiced martial arts of the same system as him, Wiggins would surely be the first to step into this realm.

Even the great masters of the past, the elder knights who were called greater than them, and even the hermits who abandoned the Round Table to study the extremes of magic, had not reached this realm.

It was truly an uncharted territory.

Just by stepping into this place, Wiggins deserved to be respected. Even if he withdrew now, his attempt, and everything he had achieved, would be remembered and respected forever.

But….

‘Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!’

Wiggins forced more mana into his body.

‘That’s not what I want.’

Neither honor nor achievement held any value for him. What he wanted was only to confirm. To challenge himself to see how far he could go.

Even he didn’t know.

That such a destructive nature existed within him.

‘Don’t you find me ridiculous, Baek Yeon-hong?’

He had mocked Baek Yeon-hong as a fool who pretended to be human while not being one. But despite that mockery, Wiggins, having stepped into this realm, could not abandon his human arrogance.

‘Ah…’

Wiggins twisted his lips.

‘You don’t understand, Baek Yeon-hong.’

Whether humans were all ultimately similar, or whether he and Baek Yeon-hong were terribly alike.

Whoosh!

The skin on his face burst open, scattering blood.

But the blood he spewed was instantly swept away by the mana swirling wildly around him.

‘Now, don’t disappoint me.’

His blurred vision turned towards Baek Yeon-hong, who was now just a vague shape.

Power only had meaning when there was a target to unleash it upon. The only thing he could rely on was Baek Yeon-hong’s courage.

‘…What is that?’

Baek Yeon-hong couldn’t take his eyes off the scene unfolding before him.

Clearly….

He didn’t have the ability to interpret the phenomenon happening before his eyes. He couldn’t understand how a human could create such a phenomenon.

The only thing he knew was this.

The scene unfolding before him was so violent and bizarre that he couldn’t find anything comparable to it in his entire life.

His feet wouldn’t move.

That was also something he couldn’t understand.

Regardless of the fact that he couldn’t understand what was happening before his eyes with his common sense, Wiggins was now practically defenseless. When an opponent was preparing something huge, there was nothing more foolish than waiting for them to finish.

When the opponent couldn’t fully focus on him, he could quickly approach and cut off their head, ending the whole situation.

But Baek Yeon-hong’s feet were stuck to the floor as if glued. It wasn’t his reason, but his body and instincts that were desperately warning him. The scene unfolding before his eyes was more dangerous than he understood.

‘Am I scared?’

Me?

He couldn’t hide his bewilderment.

Was he, having finally reached the realm he had desired, feeling fear towards the other?

‘What on earth is that?’

It was different.

It was too different from what he had pursued.

What he had wanted was harmony and naturalness.

But the phenomenon unfolding before him was the epitome of unnaturalness.

It was twisting.

The energies that had been swirling around Wiggins were twisting and distorting, being pushed away and simultaneously sucked into Wiggins.

Clearly, the mana they used was different from their own energy. The boundaries between things that shouldn’t interfere with each other were collapsing.

Even from a general perspective, martial arts were just bizarre. But the phenomenon Wiggins was creating was incomprehensible even to Baek Yeon-hong, who lived in the world of martial arts.

The hair on his entire body stood on end.

His body kept trying to retreat. No, to be honest, he wanted to turn around and run away with all his might.

What held him back was none other than Baek Yeon-hong’s stubbornness.

No, perhaps it was more curiosity than stubbornness.

The desire to explore that he, who had constantly sought martial arts, could never abandon.

He wanted to see.

What would happen here, what the result of that bizarre phenomenon would be, he wanted to see it with his own eyes.

‘…Perhaps I’m happy right now.’

That he could face that power.

This opportunity was not given to the Black King or the Demon Lord. Only he could face this power with his own hands.

How could he miss such an opportunity?

How could someone who had pursued the two words ‘martial arts’ his entire life ignore this?

‘Haha!’

Baek Yeon-hong laughed as if drunk.

His feet naturally stepped forward. Like a drunkard staggering under the moonlight.

‘Alright, let’s…’

‘Let’s mingle.’

His sword drew a circle.

Softly, and more softly.

Containing the essence of all the martial arts he had achieved.

‘One moment!’

‘It’s just one moment!’

At that moment, the same thought flashed through the minds of the Black King and Kang Jin-ho.

The outcome would be decided in an instant. There was no way Wiggins could withstand the release of that immense power. This would reach its end at the same time as the release.

The Black King and Kang Jin-ho stepped forward as if possessed. As if they were the only ones who could protect those behind them.

And at that moment.

A light that signified both birth and annihilation flickered.