Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1201

The silhouette obscured by the dust cloud slowly reveals itself.

A slightly antiquated suit of armor.

It’s utterly anachronistic.

This isn’t some movie; how can full plate mail be a thing in this day and age?

But the reason I don’t feel like pointing that out is probably because of the blood splattered here and there on the pure white armor.

That’s not just a decoration; it’s a tool of war. The splattered blood proves it. And it’s obvious whose blood that is, isn’t it?

A knight, sword in hand, swats away the rising dust cloud and walks inside.

The Lord stared intently at the figure.

The old knight.

The white-haired old knight smiles faintly, not even bothering to wipe the blood from his face.

Savagery and intellect. Those contrasting feelings were felt simultaneously.

“This…”

The old knight.

The Master tapped his sword with his palm and opened his mouth.

“I must say, I am very sorry to meet you like this.”

The Lord frowned at the relaxed tone.

“Who are you?”

“At the Round Table, they call me Master.”

“…Round Table.”

The Lord’s face contorted.

He had heard that the General Assembly and the Round Table had some kind of connection. But he never expected the Round Table to come out so aggressively.

‘Just what…’

This isn’t the Lord’s fault.

Even if the Round Table were completely subordinate to the General Assembly, the Round Table shouldn’t have moved.

That’s just how this world works.

There’s no reason to stop the opponent’s forces from being wasted. If the Lord were in a position to control the Round Table, he would have let the General Assembly and Japan clash enough to exhaust their forces, then subtly intervene to reap the benefits.

That’s why he thought that even if the Round Table intervened, it would naturally be later…

And one more thing.

‘Just how did they appear here?’

If a large force from the Round Table had moved into Japanese territory, there’s no way he wouldn’t know.

Japan was already under a quasi-wartime system, with surveillance networks expanded, and surveillance was being strengthened not only within Japan but also in other countries. But they broke through that surveillance network and suddenly appeared here?

He couldn’t understand how this was possible.

He wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes.

“I can’t understand it.”

The Lord said, his face twisted.

“This choice isn’t beneficial to you, is it?”

The Master slightly turned his head back. Knight Vesley and the knights were following behind him.

It was more unguarded than he thought.

As if they had poured all their strength into conquering Korea, the Lord’s residence was incredibly vulnerable. So much so that there was no need to bring even two knights.

“A choice…”

The Master smiled faintly.

“I don’t know what to say. Isn’t a choice something that changes depending on information and circumstances? What we know and what you know are so different that it’s hard to discuss. The only thing that’s certain is that we think this is the right choice.”

The Lord’s face contorted at the calm reply.

“Is it Kang Jin-ho?”

“You ask the obvious,” the Master shook his head.

“You weren’t a bad leader. There were times when you showed surprising ingenuity when I watched you. But your opponent was bad. Foolish. Do you know where your failure came from?”

“It’s because you didn’t confirm your enemy with your own eyes.”

This was something only the Master could say.

Before he became a real threat, the Master went to Korea himself and faced Kang Jin-ho. And there, he confirmed with his own eyes and body what kind of human Kang Jin-ho was.

That’s why the Round Table chose not to antagonize the General Assembly.

What if the Master hadn’t experienced Kang Jin-ho firsthand and had judged him based on rumors?

And if he had defined Kang Jin-ho as an enemy of the Round Table along with Wiggins and antagonized him?

Perhaps the Round Table wouldn’t even exist in its current form.

It was because of that that the Round Table could survive. And the Round Table was able to seize the future it would newly expand into. The biggest mistake the Lord made as a leader was this.

As you take on more responsibilities and the amount of information increases, the parts you can see and judge with your own eyes decrease. But no matter how much work piles up, there are parts that you must check yourself.

If the Lord had seen Kang Jin-ho himself, he would never have made this choice.

“My own eyes…”

The Lord chuckled lowly.

“It sounds like something a victor would say to a loser. I haven’t lost yet.”

“No. You’ve already lost.”

“Even if you leave this place alive, nothing will change. You’ve lost. And you will die.”

“When hunting a tiger, you have to risk your life. If you let it go with only superficial wounds, that tiger will try to take revenge by any means. You should have stopped earlier. Or done it more thoroughly.”

The Lord frowned.

“That sounds quite meaningful.”

“Don’t misunderstand. It’s not that I intend to do that. I can handle a tiger, but Kang Jin-ho is not a tiger.”

You wouldn’t understand.

The Master smiled bitterly.

Explaining Kang Jin-ho to someone who doesn’t know him is like a blind man feeling an elephant. No matter how accurately you try to explain, you can’t.

“So…”

Srrrrt.

The Lord slowly drew his sword. The sword at his waist was drawn with a clear sound.

“Does that mean you can face me?”

“Hmm.”

The Master curled up the corners of his mouth.

“I think you’ve misunderstood.”

The Master took a step back and shrugged.

“I have no intention of facing you. Or, to be precise, I can’t. Taking away his prey is not something I’m allowed to do.”

“What are you…”

At that moment, someone ran out from behind the Master.

“Preparation is complete, Master.”

“What about the other side?”

“They say their preparations are complete as well.”

“Transfer them.”

“Yes!”

The Lord frowned.

Transfer?

What are they transferring?

Then, a pure white light emanated from behind the Master.

“Hmm!”

The Lord, who was about to react instantly, realized that the light wasn’t harmful and relaxed his grip on his sword.

At that moment, Shinya’s low voice was heard.

“Lord.”

“The situation is not good. Please retreat.”

“But…”

“Facing a powerful enemy head-on is something only a fool would do. Shin-Nichi-Kai [A fictional Japanese organization] is where the Lord is. If the Lord is alive, it can be rebuilt at any time.”

“I will hold them back. So!”

“I understand.”

The Lord nodded.

It would be foolish to be prideful here. What’s important isn’t to uphold pride, but to survive. You have to survive to aim for the next opportunity.

The Lord was someone who understood that fact.

His foot subtly took a step back.

If he could seize the opportunity to escape…

That’s when it happened.

Whoooosh.

The light faded. The knights in armor were blocking the view, so he couldn’t see exactly what was happening, but he was sure that something had happened.

“Open the way.”

The Master’s low voice echoed. The knights who were blocking the way moved to the left and right, opening a path towards the Lord.

And at that moment.

The Lord’s eyes widened as if they would tear.

Between the knights, he saw two figures. They were dressed in clothes that were clearly different from those wearing armor. They were wearing ordinary clothes, but among them, they didn’t look ordinary at all.

A young man in a tracksuit and an old man in casual clothes.

What caught the Lord’s attention was the young man in the tracksuit.

He understood.

What the Master had meant.

‘I had to see with my own eyes.’

And he had to confirm it.

If he had, the result would have been completely different from now.

Cold sweat ran down the Lord’s spine. Large beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

The young man.

The young man with red scars on his hands and face, still not completely healed, visible outside of his tracksuit.

A thick, lingering stench of blood emanated from him.

How much blood would you have to spill and how much blood would you have to absorb to give off such a smell of dried blood?

That’s not a human.

It’s a monster.

The Lord’s mistake was thinking of a monster as a human and trying to face it. Imps and goblins cannot be dealt with by human reason.

Why didn’t he know that beforehand?

“Kang Jin-ho…”

No one told him, but the Lord recognized the young man’s identity. No, he had no choice but to know.

There was only one young East Asian man in the world who could give off such an aura at that age.

Kang Jin-ho, who was looking at the Lord with sunken eyes, took a step forward.

Twitch.

Even though that distance had only become closer by one step, the Lord couldn’t help but tremble all over.

He could tell.

Because it was him.

He had survived countless life-and-death situations, and he had constantly survived even the most vicious plots. He had now stepped out of the realm of humans and into the realm of demons, and he could tell.

How enormous the monster in front of him was.

He didn’t even emit killing intent.

There wasn’t even hostility in the gaze that looked at him.

Kang Jin-ho was just approaching him slowly, step by step, staring at him with indifferent, sunken eyes.

And the Lord couldn’t say anything.

The thought of taking the opportunity to escape had already disappeared from his mind. The moment he saw Kang Jin-ho, he realized.

There was no option to escape from this place.

He could only face it.

That demon.

A demon that eats death and spits out death, a demon that seemed to be formed from death itself.

Step.

Step.

Kang Jin-ho slowly closed the distance with the Lord.

Not fast at all, with a leisurely pace.

Finally, Kang Jin-ho stopped one step in front of the Lord. A distance where they could touch if they reached out. At that distance, the leaders of Korea and Japan faced each other.

The Lord gritted his teeth.

He felt like he was being crushed.

If he relaxed even a little, he felt like his body would be crushed by Kang Jin-ho’s gaze.

Unlike the calm Kang Jin-ho, the Lord had to draw out all his strength just to face Kang Jin-ho head-on.

His jaw was trembling, and his legs were shaking.

But he couldn’t show weakness.

He was the Lord of Shin-Nichi-Kai and the leader of Japan. Even if he couldn’t avoid death, he had to show a demeanor befitting of that until the very end.

That was the duty of the Lord who had started this war.

And at that moment.

Kang Jin-ho curled up the corners of his mouth and smiled.

“You…”

Kang Jin-ho, who slightly trailed off, bared his teeth and smiled eerily.

“You’re not a warrior.”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

“You came for nothing.”

Kang Jin-ho turned his body.

Seeing Kang Jin-ho turn away as if there was no need to even lift a finger, something collapsed inside the Lord.