Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1661

Darkness.

Jangjakou, its power cut off, was enveloped in a deep darkness. A true darkness that those living in modern times rarely experience.

However, those present could not truly feel that darkness.

Because a darkness even deeper than the one surrounding them was burning blackly before their eyes.

‘…What on earth should I call that?’

It was as if black darkness was burning.

If one had to express that sight in human language?

The Abyss.

Yes, that was a burning abyss. It wasn’t just how it looked.

If the abyss was an endless darkness from which one could never escape once fallen, then that sight was no different.

Like the abyss, that demon king would lead them into a bottomless chasm. A chasm of death.

Soon, a darkness even deeper than the darkness began to stir and move.

Those who witnessed the scene had to deeply realize an emotion they had never felt before.

Their hearts constricted.

The twisted, constricted heart created a heavy, dull pain. Their fingertips twitched slightly, and soon their whole bodies began to tremble.

An unfamiliar reaction.

And an emotion that was both familiar and unfamiliar.

Pyeong Shaoting unconsciously raised his hand and clutched at his chest.

He knew.

He was familiar with this feeling.

The feeling he had to deeply realize every time he saw the King of Creation, even from afar.

Yes, this was fear.

But….

‘It’s different.’

The fear felt from the King of Creation and the fear felt from that monstrous figure were different in nature.

If the fear felt from the King of Creation was fear of the ‘result’ created by his existence, the fear felt from that demon king had something more fundamental to it.

Even without thinking, his body reacted first.

It was the same even with his eyes closed.

His trained senses could not help but feel the thick, eerie demonic energy emanating from that being.

Pyeong Shaoting’s teeth began to chatter.

‘Is, is this demonic power?’

The Demon King of Korea.

A being who appeared so suddenly, it was almost absurd, and overturned the system of the Three Kings that had dominated the Central Plains for decades, changing the world to the rule of the Four Kings.

Pyeong Shaoting could now understand how such an absurd thing had happened.

Bator was strong, and so was the elder of the Demonic Cult. Those who supported them were also incredibly strong. Even the King of Scarlet and the King of Creation were here.

But that demon king was different.

Kang Jin-ho had pushed the space itself under his control simply by raising his energy.

His ankles began to throb.

As if he had stepped on a trap.

Those who had come to hunt began to feel like the hunted. And as if to confirm that fact, the predator, cloaked in black flames, slowly began to move.

Thud!

Kang Jin-ho’s step shattered the floor, and spiderweb-like cracks spread out.

At the same time, a huge wave arose among the warriors of the King of Creation who were blocking his path.

It was as if a large ripple was forming on the blue surface of the water. The warriors of the King of Creation, overwhelmed by Kang Jin-ho’s aura, trembled and stepped back in unison.

The warriors of the King of Creation, who had charged forward without flinching at Bator’s divine might or the presence of the King of Scarlet, had for the first time stopped their advance and retreated.

Chaikercang watched the scene, his whole body trembling.

‘…Damn it.’

The presence was so overwhelming that he felt his mind go blank every moment. It was as if thick demonic energy was mixed into every breath he took.

‘To this extent?’

He was someone who acknowledged the Demon King more than anyone else.

When no one paid attention to Kang Jin-ho, he was the first to notice him, and when there were those who underestimated him, he was the one who constantly tried to keep that small country in check.

But even for such a Chaikercang, the scene unfolding before his eyes was incredibly shocking.

It was on a different level.

How could Kang Jin-ho, who had fought the King of Scarlet in the past, and Kang Jin-ho, who was now before his eyes, be considered the same person?

The King of Scarlet had made remarkable progress since that battle. He had broken through a wall that had not been broken for decades and manifested a divine might that was no different from a god.

What he could not understand.

That was the fact that the King of Scarlet, who had achieved such power, still considered the Demon King his greatest nemesis.

‘I was foolish.’

The King of Scarlet was not wrong.

Only the King of Scarlet had been looking at Kang Jin-ho correctly. The King of Scarlet must have known. That as he grew stronger, Kang Jin-ho also grew stronger. No, that he was growing stronger at an even faster rate.

That was why he had tried to cut off his breath before it was too late.

“Fear?”

Lee Hyun-soo’s cold voice pierced Chaikercang’s ears.

“If they move because of the fear the King of Creation gives them, then it’s enough to crush them with even greater fear. Then their mechanism won’t be able to exert its power.”

“The monsters that have moved the world all have a charisma that you can’t think of as human. Later, when you look back at history, you can’t understand how those smart and great people obeyed and pledged allegiance to leaders who were no different from madmen. You would have thought so.”

Chaikercang bit his lip tightly.

Lee Hyun-soo, with a bitter smile, looked at Chaikercang with mocking eyes. Chaikercang’s gaze did not leave Kang Jin-ho’s back.

“Do you understand a little now?”

“The King of Scarlet is great. You probably believe in the King of Scarlet like a religion. But that’s only possible because of the premise that ‘the King of Scarlet never makes a wrong judgment.’ You accept the King of Scarlet as a being superior to yourself.”

Lee Hyun-soo took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.

“But the Assembly is not like that.”

Lee Hyun-soo, having lit his cigarette, slowly exhaled smoke.

“We don’t think about such things. Whether the Assembly Leader makes the right judgment or the wrong judgment is irrelevant. We just follow when a judgment is made. We believe. Even if we die, we carry out his will.”

Lee Hyun-soo spoke as if grinding his teeth.

“That’s Kang Jin-ho, and that’s the Assembly.”

Lee Hyun-soo turned his head and looked at Kang Jin-ho’s back.

“Of course, the King of Scarlet is great too. But…”

Lee Hyun-soo wore a bitter smile.

‘In this situation, no one in the world can handle the Lord. He’s someone who reads the flow of war by instinct. He knows what he needs to do at this moment, not with his head, but with his senses. And…’

At that moment, the flames of demonic energy covering Kang Jin-ho seemed to swell, and then Kang Jin-ho charged forward like a flash of light.

‘He’s more aggressive than I thought.’

Kwaaaaaaa!

The wings of flame blazed fiercely. It was an explosive power completely different from the weight that had surrounded Kang Jin-ho until now. Those who saw Kang Jin-ho leaping forward couldn’t react at all to this sudden change.

The price was very clear.

Shwaaaaaa!

With a sound like slicing through something thin, the Scarlet Blade and Azure Blade in Kang Jin-ho’s hands were swung at an invisible speed.

Silence.

And then…

Paah!

Literally dozens of pieces of flesh flew in all directions, and blood sprayed into the air like a mist.

Wide-open eyes.

Clenched fists.

But ‘understanding’ came a little later.

Those who couldn’t comprehend what had happened in an instant stared at the bizarre scene unfolding before them, their eyes wide as if they would tear.

Space.

Everything within the space where Kang Jin-ho’s sword reached disappeared. With just one swing, Kang Jin-ho, who had turned the space itself into a land of death, plunged into the midst of the Changwang’s warriors, who still couldn’t accept reality.

‘Bl, blood… avoid…’

Someone, having regained their senses, let out a suppressed scream, but the scream had no effect on the predetermined outcome.

The sword imbued with demonic energy cleaved everything it touched.

The head, having lost its body, floated into the air, and the body, having lost its head, shattered and fell to the ground.

Crunch.

Kang Jin-ho stomped on a head that had fallen to the ground and looked around.

Slowly, very slowly.

The demonic energy lingering at the corner of his mouth began to ripple.

‘It’s going to be a long night.’

A low voice flowed out.

‘For you, and for me.’

Kang Jin-ho, having shaken off the blood from his sword, slowly began to advance.

‘Ah… Aaaah…’

The warriors standing in the direction Kang Jin-ho was walking began to tremble.

They knew.

That they were still alive was purely by luck. If Kang Jin-ho had advanced just one more step, they would have met the same fate as those who were now pieces of flesh on the ground.

Isn’t it absurd?

One step.

With that one step, life and death were divided. They couldn’t choose anything for themselves, and their lives and deaths were determined solely by that person’s choice.

Then, could that person be called an incarnation of death?

At least here, that monster controlled death. With simple choices and light whims, he delivered inescapable death to others.

Furthermore…

They now sensed what choice that demon had made.

‘Run…’

But the thought couldn’t continue.

Kang Jin-ho’s body suddenly sank to the ground?

‘What…?’

Someone who saw his body disappear as if it had sunk into the ground frowned. No, they tried to frown. But strangely, their facial muscles didn’t follow the brain’s commands.

That wasn’t the only strange thing.

‘Why can’t I see the sky?’

The pitch-black sky filled their vision. At the same time, even that black sky began to blur rapidly.

‘Ah…’

The realization came a little late.

No, it would have been better not to know.

Kang Jin-ho hadn’t sunk down. Their head, severed by Kang Jin-ho’s sword, was now floating in the air.

‘Dea…’

The thought couldn’t continue.

Whether it was better for them to understand their situation at that last moment was something no one could know.

But it didn’t matter. The dead had no opinions.

Paaaaaang!

With a roar that seemed to tear through the air, Kang Jin-ho’s sword, emitting blazing demonic energy, cleaved everything in front of him.

Blood rain fell from the sky. Was it because of that?

Perhaps because the crimson blood mist spread around, the darkness surrounding Kang Jin-ho seemed even deeper.

A darkness that seemed to suck you in.

Death.

An inescapable death.

When humans encounter something they cannot understand, they choose one of two things.

They either try to eradicate the existence itself with fierce hostility…

Or what else?

‘Ah… A, Aaaah…!’

‘Run! Aaaah! Run awayyyy!’

‘I’m going to die! I’m going to die!’

Or they run away, unable to overcome the overwhelming fear.

Those who faced Kang Jin-ho lost their minds in a terror that felt like their souls were being torn apart.

And that fear spread rapidly, becoming contagious.

They turned their bodies.

And then, they ran.

They kicked off the ground with all their might. If a comrade blocked their path, they trampled, slashed, and kicked them aside.

Those who had lost their reason were consumed by madness and began to struggle desperately to get away from Kang Jin-ho.

Kang Jin-ho’s lips rippled endlessly as he watched the scene.

A demon wrapped in demonic energy charged towards those who were fleeing.

‘Hahahahahahahaha!’

The mad laughter and the terrible screams created a hellish harmony, recreating hell in the present world.