Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1111

Time is absolute. Everyone living in this world is subject to the same time. One second for me is no different from one second for anyone else. Those who live with their feet on the ground live within absolute time. But time is relative. Even if the time is the same, the human perception of experiencing that time is different for everyone. Bellinger was now feeling that fact to the bone. Tick-tock. The sound of a ticking clock could be heard from somewhere. The ticking sound is constant. According to his senses, the ticking sound he heard now was the same speed as the sound he usually heard. But…. Why is time so slow? Knight Bellinger looked down at the floor with trembling eyes. Three. Three corpses. Yes, only three corpses. What meaning do these corpses hold? It couldn’t be just one meaning. It could mean that the Round Table can no longer resist Kang Jin-ho. Looking at the faces of those corpses, it could also mean that Kang Jin-ho has already perfectly identified Knight Bellinger’s allies. There could be many other meanings. But the meaning that resonated most with Knight Bellinger right now was just one. ‘Is it my turn?’ Just? Has only four hours passed? This eternity? It took 30 minutes for Knight Zoltan to die. 30 minutes. Normally, it’s not a long time. It might be a very precious time for someone, but most ordinary people don’t feel that 30 minutes is very long. But…. What if you had to endure hellish pain for those 30 minutes? What if the pain that makes you want to bite your tongue and rip out your heart after only a few seconds lasted for 30 minutes? And yet, you can’t lose consciousness, and you have to fully experience that pain with your whole body? Would those 30 minutes still be a short time? No, absolutely not. Even for Knight Bellinger, who was only watching and not experiencing the pain directly, those 30 minutes felt like an eternity. It was so long that it felt like his soul would be weathered away and disappear. When Knight Zoltan finally died, what they felt was not sadness but relief. Because they could finally, finally escape the pain. Knight Zoltan? No, all of them. Those who suffered physical pain saw hell, but the minds of those who watched were also devastated. When Knight Zoltan’s corpse, which had become a lump of blood, fell to the floor, how could one describe the emotions he must have felt? But that was not liberation. The beginning was relief. But what followed was anxiety and impatience. Kang Jin-ho had declared that he would kill one person every hour. That meant that after 30 minutes, another person would be called out by Kang Jin-ho. The moment they realized that fact, another hell arrived. The fear that in 30 minutes, I could die in the same state as Knight Zoltan. Has there ever been a time when I was so desperate? Has there ever been a time in my life when those 30 minutes were so precious? It’s a funny thing. The time that was so slow when Knight Zoltan was dying began to flow like an arrow after Knight Zoltan died. It’s the same 30 minutes. But the time that was so slow when they desperately wanted it to pass quickly, drastically increased its speed the moment they wanted it to slow down. And again…. That process has already been repeated three times. Knight Bellinger looked around with a face that seemed to have aged ten years. Only four hours, just four hours. In those four hours, the knights are going insane. The reactions are varied. One who scratched his neck so much that the red flesh was exposed. One who keeps muttering something. And one who repeats laughing strangely and then crying. They’re going crazy. All of them. Muhak [a martial art focused on mental and physical training] is not just about training the body. Muhak is also about training the mind. Those gathered here are knights. They are second to none, both physically and mentally. Such people are turning into madmen in just four hours. It wouldn’t have been like this if only fear had persisted. But that’s not it. Fear and despair, relief and hope. And the base joy that they are not dead yet, and the sadness and despair that they can’t do anything even though their comrades are dying in front of them. All the emotions that humans can experience came to them with a magnitude they had never experienced in their lives, violently sweeping over them. And then, another emotion comes with the same intensity, making the emotion they felt just before meaningless. It’s stranger not to go crazy. ‘Am I sane right now?’ I don’t know. Maybe I’m already crazy. It’s funny to try to find calmness in this situation, but if I think about it calmly, he’s probably not normal either. Although he is a person who has gained some popularity among the knights, he is not particularly outstanding compared to them. If all the other knights are going crazy, there’s no way he’d be okay. There was only one person who was okay here right now. Even the Master is not in his right mind. His gaze moves violently from place to place. Compared to the other knights, his condition is not bad, but there are definitely signs of abnormal behavior. And Wiggins couldn’t watch any longer and went outside. It’s ridiculous. In the first place, all of this happened because he brought Kang Jin-ho to the Round Table. But why can’t he watch? He has to watch! He has to engrave it in his eyes! What the Round Table is turning into! He has to see it with those hateful eyes! Knight Bellinger’s trembling eyes turned to Kang Jin-ho. “Hoo….” Kang Jin-ho slowly exhales cigarette smoke. It’s alien. Like a person with two eyes would be treated strangely in a world where three-eyed people live. Kang Jin-ho’s appearance, maintaining a calm expression in a place where everyone is going crazy, was extremely alien. Maybe…. Knight Bellinger felt like he could finally understand what his mistake was. Kang Jin-ho is strong. Knight Bellinger was captivated by that strength. He was obsessed with it. But what he really had to be wary of was not Kang Jin-ho’s strength. This guy is crazy. He had heard similar reports about Lee Hyun-soo. But this is different. Kang Jin-ho is crazy in a completely different way than Lee Hyun-soo. If Lee Hyun-soo’s strangeness feels like he’s out of sync as a human, Kang Jin-ho is not human in the first place. No human could do this so calmly. Even the dictators who massacred countless people felt more human. That guy is a devil. Even if he’s not a devil, he’s not human. He’s something wearing a human shell. And…. Now, 3 minutes. There are only 3 minutes left. After 3 minutes, someone else will die. Then maybe…. Wouldn’t it be better if I died? Since Knight Bellinger himself was the one who started all of this? So wouldn’t it be better for him to take responsibility and be pointed out? Be pointed out? Not stepping forward himself? He has the thought that he should take responsibility with his death, but he can’t step forward and accept death? Why? Is it because he can accept death, but the pain he has to endure during the process of going to that death is too scary? Or is it just because death itself is terrifying? Or is there any lingering attachment to this life? ‘I…’ I want to live. I want to live. I want to keep living. I don’t want to die in a place like this. I want to live somehow. But I can’t live. Then what should I do? Crack. A fingernail breaks off. Looking down at his hand, he saw that three fingernails had already been pulled out. Blood was dripping from the places where the fingernails had been pulled out, soaking his clothes, but he hadn’t noticed. He’s gone crazy. He too. In Knight Bellinger’s dazed eyes, a clock comes into view. The second hand moves mercilessly. The moment that second hand points to the sky, Another life disappears. And with it, a pain like hell that cannot be experienced in the human world. Time is relative. The same one second. But that one second is never the same as the usual one second. Time begins to rush at a dizzying speed. And finally…. Tick. The moment when time slows down again has come. Everyone reflexively looks at Kang Jin-ho. Their eyes are bloodshot, and their teeth chatter and collide. Kang Jin-ho’s gaze was directed at Knight Bellinger. Kang Jin-ho, looking quietly at Knight Bellinger, curled up the corners of his mouth. If a devil were to smile, he would smile like that. Mockingly, eerily. Knight Bellinger’s heart began to pound like crazy. “Next.” Kang Jin-ho, flicking away his cigarette, slowly got up from his seat. It’s slow. Time is flowing too slowly. The way Kang Jin-ho gets up looks like slow motion. It can’t be helped. Because death is always like that. It approaches slowly and leisurely, mocking humans who cling to life. It’s as if it will never reach you, but if you come to your senses, death is already standing behind you. Just like Kang Jin-ho now. Kang Jin-ho reaches out his hand again. His finger slowly points to Knight Bellinger. That finger. How much weight is loaded on that finger. Knight Bellinger stared at Kang Jin-ho’s finger pointing at him with a vacant look. ‘I…’ What have I done? If I die now, can I say that I have no regrets? I want to live. I want to live. I want to live somehow. How…. At that moment, Kang Jin-ho’s fingertip moved subtly to the side. “Ah….” A convulsion is felt from the seat right next to him. The person Kang Jin-ho’s fingertip pointed to is not Knight Bellinger. Knight Kramer. The blood drains from the face of Knight Kramer, who was pointed out by Kang Jin-ho. It can’t be helped. Because that’s a death sentence. What would be the feeling of a human who has to see his own death even though he is still alive? “Come here.” It’s a voice that sounds like a machine, so emotionless. The moment he hears that voice, Knight Kramer gets up from his seat as if possessed. And then…. He turns his head and looks at Knight Bellinger. He can’t say anything. What can he say? “No, it’s not.” Knight Kramer began to tremble and convulse all over his body. “It’s not me! It’s not me! It’s not me, you crazy bastard! It’s not me! Me! Meaaaaaaaaaaaa!” A scream that tears the ears. Knight Kramer howls like a beast. His face becomes wet. “It’s all your fault! All of it!” Knight Kramer rushed at Knight Bellinger. He reflexively raised his hand to block him, but Knight Kramer bit Knight Bellinger’s arm like a beast. “You die! You should die, not me! Why me! Why! It’s all your fault!” “Kramer!” Knight Kramer’s head snaps back. The momentum with which he rushed at Knight Bellinger is like a lie. “Please save me! It’s not me! It’s not me! It’s all! It’s all this guy’s fault. Please! Please, I… I!” Knight Kramer, who was resentful, shouting, and laughing like crazy, runs to Kang Jin-ho on his knees, grabs his leg, and clings to him. “I don’t want to die! I, I don’t want to die yet! Uaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” Kang Jin-ho looked at Knight Kramer with an indifferent face. Then, he slowly reached out and grabbed his face. “Hee, heeik….” Knight Kramer convulses as if he has sensed his fate. His hands and feet trembled so much that it was pitiful. And at that moment. “…I have lost.” Knight Bellinger lowered his head.