Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1119

“Is this everything that needs to be sorted out?”

“Yes, it is.”

Tired eyes.

A heaviness emanated from his half-closed eyes. Night Belinger couldn’t help but ponder various thoughts as he looked at those eyes.

‘He has every right to be tired.’

The Master was currently handling a tremendous amount of work.

Although he had sought the cooperation of the Knights, that wasn’t everything. Rather, the real work was just beginning. Transferring the jurisdiction of the work that had been focused on them was by no means a simple task.

The command system, which was spread across dozens of countries, had to be unified into the Round Table, and the work they had been doing up until now had to be understood.

For most companies, the sheer volume of work would be enough to make them stick out their tongues, and it was an amount of work that could overturn the entire system.

If Night Belinger had been given this much work, he would have run away without looking back.

Or he would have gone on strike.

However, the Master was silently carrying out the role assigned to him.

Perhaps the Master’s words that he had done this simply for the development of the Round Table were true.

“What is the reaction of the Knights?”

“Is there really any reaction to speak of? They are all busy returning to their own countries.”

“Hmm.”

“Master.”

“Hmm?”

The Master slightly raised his head and looked at Night Belinger.

“Is it alright to send them away like that?”

“Is there a problem?”

Night Belinger quietly stared at the Master.

It was impossible to tell whether he was genuinely not thinking about it or if he was testing Night Belinger. If it were the Master of the past, he wouldn’t have had such thoughts, but the person sitting in front of him now, though he looked the same, was not the Master of the past.

“Returning to their own countries means that they are, for the time being, out of danger. They may be terrified now, but who knows what they will do once they return to their countries and regain their senses?”

“Are you sure it’s okay for you to say such things to me? What you’re saying sounds like we should imprison them to properly bind the Knights.”

“That’s right.”

The Master’s eyes widened slightly.

It was true that Night Belinger had decided to join forces with him, but he hadn’t expected him to make such blunt remarks.

“I have no intention of half-heartedly committing. Now that I’ve decided to do it, I intend to do it properly.”

The Master stared at him, as if to verify the truth of Night Belinger’s words.

An unwavering composure.

That was all that could be felt from his eyes.

“Don’t be hasty.”

A proper brake was needed.

“I want to reorganize the Round Table, not destroy it. The Knights are an important pillar of the Round Table.”

“But they are also a dangerous pillar.”

“If we keep eliminating those we deem dangerous, we will eventually be left with a Round Table that is only half of what it was. That is not the direction I want to go.”

It was a sound argument.

But it was also a statement that didn’t resonate deeply.

“I understand what you are saying, Master. However, the relationship of trust between you and the Knights has already collapsed. No matter what your intentions are or what you are thinking, the Knights will no longer trust you.”

“I suppose so.”

“There is only one way to make those who do not trust you follow you. It is to make them submit. Master, make them submit.”

“Look here, Belinger.”

“Yes, Master.”

The Master quietly looked at Belinger and then sighed.

“Hasn’t that already ended?”

“They cannot resist me. As long as the Chairman of the General Assembly [a fictional organization] is behind me, they will never be able to rebel against me.”

That was also true.

Night Belinger was the same.

He could at least express his opinion to the Master. But if Kang Jin-ho were in front of him, Night Belinger wouldn’t be able to say a word.

That absurd violence.

A being that seemed to be a mass of malice.

For Night Belinger, exchanging opinions with someone so different was impossible.

‘The problem is that it’s not just fear.’

Fear is something to be overcome.

But for Night Belinger, Kang Jin-ho was not something to be overcome. The feeling that Night Belinger had for Kang Jin-ho was closer to admiration.

Wouldn’t any martial artist feel the same?

Everyone wants to be unconventional.

Everyone wants to be awe-inspiring.

They want to destroy a large army with a single sword and break down formalities and oppression.

But they can’t.

As they learn martial arts, everyone feels their own limitations.

Those who realize that their own power cannot break this solid system tend to conform to the system.

But Kang Jin-ho was not like that.

He had obtained the power to break the system. And with that power, he overturned everything with his own hands.

That unconventionality shone as if it would blind you.

Belinger felt that other Knights would feel the same way. That’s how humans are.

They talk about rationality and equality, but that’s only because they can’t become the embodiment of irrationality and dictatorship.

Overwhelming violence is fascinating in itself.

Therefore, the Knights would not be able to oppose Kang Jin-ho. Absolutely not.

“What good is it to confine those who cannot resist? We should let them find some stability and use them again. Even if they can’t be the same as before, they are still valuable manpower.”

Did the Master know?

That even though he was trying to speak calmly, his tone had changed from before.

The Master of the past would never have referred to people as tools like that.

‘What’s scary isn’t the sudden change.’

It’s the subtle infiltration.

He didn’t know what the Master’s intentions were when he started this, but his initial intentions were not the same as his current ones. He had also been subtly influenced by them as he associated and talked with Kang Jin-ho and the others.

Night Belinger was clearly aware of that.

First of all, the aura emanating from the Master was different from before.

Before, he had felt like a gentle superior, but now he felt like a sharp king.

‘However, can that be called a bad change?’

Night Belinger also felt that the Round Table had its limitations. For change, someone needed to make a decisive decision. It might not be a good change for the Master personally, but it was a good thing that the person who would lead the Round Table was becoming more decisive.

But….

Should he bring this up?

Night Belinger decided not to hesitate.

‘Let’s not forget what I’m cooperating for.’

He had to decide whether the development of the Round Table was more important or his own safety.

“However, Master.”

Night Belinger opened his mouth heavily.

“They are colleagues, but they are also not colleagues.”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t trust them too much. Things done out of goodwill are rare in this world. The more that is at stake, the less goodwill matters. Please don’t forget what they want from us.”

The Master nodded.

“I know. You mean we could end up being used and discarded.”

“Yes. That’s exactly right.”

It was a somewhat dangerous statement.

Night Belinger had not yet determined how far he could speak his mind. If the Master interpreted this as a rebellion against Kang Jin-ho, Night Belinger could be in danger. But it was something he had to say.

“Do you know something, Night Belinger?”

“What do you mean?”

The Master smiled slightly.

“I have never trusted them, not even once.”

“Trust is a strange word. It has no effect, yet it feels like something great. But I am a realist. I am not foolish enough to trust an unsigned contract.”

“Then why?”

“Why do you think Kang Jin-ho is trying to take over the Round Table?”

“Because it’s beneficial to him.”

“No. It’s not like that.”

The Master shook his head.

And at that reaction, Night Belinger tilted his head.

Not for profit?

Then why was Kang Jin-ho bothering with the Round Table? It was just annoying.

“To be precise, it is true that he is trying to gain something from the Round Table. But that is not the main reason.”

Night Belinger looked at the Master with eyes that showed he couldn’t understand.

“Then what is the main reason?”

“Do you dislike wasps?”

“…Yes?”

“Wasps. Especially hornets. Hornets that can cause serious injury if stung.”

What was he trying to say?

He was a little puzzled, but he answered honestly.

“I wouldn’t say I particularly dislike them. If they were buzzing around me, I would swat them away or push them away, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to kill them just because I saw them.”

“That’s right. That would be the typical reaction. Then let’s put it this way. Imagine your family is out in the garden of your house, and a couple of hornets are buzzing around the garden.”

“Then would you just leave those hornets alone?”

“No.”

Night Belinger answered firmly. This was something that didn’t even need to be considered.

Being able to see a bee as just a bee is only possible when that bee cannot harm you or those around you.

A hornet’s nest in the mountains is part of nature, but a hornet’s nest built under the eaves of my house is a threat. Threats should be eliminated.

“I would eliminate them.”

“That’s right.”

The Master nodded.

“We are such beings.”

“Yes?”

“Like a hornet’s nest on the eaves of a house a little further away. It doesn’t seem necessary to eliminate it, but if we leave it alone, we don’t know when one or two hornets might fly into our house. Do you understand what I mean?”

Night Belinger was slightly dazed.

He meant that the Round Table was such a being to Kang Jin-ho.

“It’s not necessary to eliminate it, but it’s also unsettling to leave it alone. So, we’ll take care of it and raise it as a pet.”

It was humiliating.

It might just be the Master’s delusion, but the moment he heard it, a sense of humiliation filled his chest.

“Even knowing that…”

“Don’t misunderstand.”

The Master firmly cut off Night Belinger’s words.

“What’s important is not pride. It’s survival. If you think about it, it’s not such a bad thing. Bees living in the mountains have to deal with many threats, but bees raised in a hive can escape those threats. If they just share their honey, they can increase their numbers more than bees living in the fierce wild. Even if it started as a benefit for the beekeeper, it’s not necessarily a bad story from the bee’s point of view.”

“That’s not wrong. However…”

Night Belinger looked at the Master with sunken eyes.

“To put it the other way around, it doesn’t seem much different from abandoning the path of the wolf and becoming a dog. Instead of escaping the threat of predators and starvation, they will have to fawn over us in exchange for eating feed.”

“That’s too extreme. But it’s not wrong.”

The Master sighed deeply.

“But what about you…”

The Master stared at Night Belinger for a moment before opening his mouth.