Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1722

“……I think I’m going to die first.”

Bang Jin-hoon, already slumped, shook his head, utterly exhausted.

His legs were too weak to support him. At first, the attacks were too fast to follow, but now it was just a raw clash of power. The energies colliding were so immense that someone like Bang Jin-hoon couldn’t even get close.

“He’s got incredible stamina.”

“……I agree.”

His sense of time was completely distorted. When did they even start fighting?

It felt like it hadn’t been long, but also like hours had passed.

The space where they stood and the space in front of them were connected, yet they were completely different worlds.

Bang Jin-hoon was one thing, but the one showing the greatest turmoil was Bator.

He had fought Hong Wang countless times and sparred with Kang Jin-ho just as often. He was confident he knew their abilities to a certain extent.

However, the scene unfolding before his eyes was proving just how wrong Bator’s belief was.

‘Damn it.’

Bator’s fist, bigger than a human head, clenched tightly as if it was twisting.

It was like a child, barely able to move their limbs, having a few scuffles with an adult; they couldn’t possibly know the full extent of the adult’s power. If there was a misunderstanding, it was that Bator thought the difference between him and them wasn’t just that of an adult and a child.

The feeling of witnessing such an absurdly large gap was beyond words for Bator.

And it seemed that Jang Min, who was watching the situation next to him, was feeling the same way.

“Heh heh heh heh.”

Normally, Jang Min would be full of admiration for Kang Jin-ho’s martial prowess, but now, his face was filled with a sense of emptiness rather than admiration.

“There should be a sense of rivalry if the difference is reasonable.”

Jang Min shook his head.

He had never dared to judge Kang Jin-ho’s power. He was a martial artist, but he was also just a follower who believed in him. Belief in someone doesn’t come from judging their abilities and rationally evaluating them.

Blind faith.

Belief is blind. Whether it’s something that’s logically possible or impossible, true belief is simply believing in that will.

He had already seen enough of Kang Jin-ho’s abilities when they fought the King of Creation. But at that time, they were all in such a rush that they couldn’t calmly observe the situation.

Because it was a martial arts match, it was even clearer.

Because he wasn’t anxious, he could watch the situation more calmly and coldly.

But that objective perspective only brought a great sense of despair to those who were watching.

Wiggins glanced at Jang Min’s expression.

It was a slightly different reaction from the Jang Min they had known so far.

‘It’s understandable.’

Wiggins had already given up on catching up to them in terms of martial prowess. He didn’t even dare to think about Kang Jin-ho. He and Kang Jin-ho were different from the start.

Even Wiggins, who was like that, was speechless at the battle unfolding before his eyes, so how much more shocked must Jang Min be?

“So……”

Then, a nonchalant voice came from behind him.

“Who’s winning right now?”

Wiggins turned his head with a speechless expression. He saw Lee Hyun-soo, who was tilting his head with an innocent face.

“……Are you blind?”

“I know for sure that my eyes are useless in this kind of field. A person should know their place.”

If he couldn’t even talk, he wouldn’t want to slap him.

Wiggins sighed and pointed ahead with his chin.

“Just look with your eyes.”

“No, I’m saying my eyes are useless.”

“I know.”

Wiggins answered indifferently.

“The outcome will be decided soon. Clearly.”

Their gazes turned towards the end of the battle.

Koo-oong!

Despair isn’t really anything special.

Sadness and pain aren’t despair. Despair is a concept that cannot exist alone. Despair ultimately means the absence of hope.

In that sense, Hong Wang was perfectly realizing what despair meant.

He couldn’t see it.

He couldn’t see a chance of victory.

His expression, which was always full of unwavering confidence, began to show an expression he had never made in his life.

‘I……’

Hong Wang threw a punch reflexively.

But his punch wasn’t the same as before. It wasn’t that his inner strength [internal energy] was lacking, nor was it that his fist had lost its way. The speed was as fast as ever, and its power was no different than before.

But something was definitely different.

The punch he threw reflexively didn’t contain the same conviction as before. The fist that had lost the belief that it could break anything, even if it was thrown with the same power, could not be called Hong Wang’s fist.

Hong Wang also knew it.

But no matter how hard he tried to revive his belief in himself, the wall in front of him wouldn’t allow it.

‘I……’

It was different.

The defeat he had imagined was not like this.

He had imagined walking, running, and crawling towards a distant hope, reaching out his hand before collapsing. That was the defeat he had imagined.

But now, he was standing in darkness.

No matter how much he turned his head, he couldn’t see hope. If he could see even a single, faint ray of light, he would have chased after it, even if it meant shattering his soul.

But how could he chase after something he couldn’t see?

It didn’t work.

Neither the fist he had honed his entire life, nor the inner strength he had accumulated, nor the martial prowess he had achieved through countless trials….

None of it worked against the man in front of him.

Look.

The power of his fist, which he had unleashed with all his might, was cut in half by the sword covered in demonic energy and flickered out.

“Uooooooo!”

Hong Wang, with bloodshot eyes, threw punch after punch. His dantian [energy center], which had been like a bottomless well, was now being drained to its limit.

Like a golden wave, the river of fist power swept over Kang Jin-ho.

But!

Fwaaaaaaaang!

A sword strike that tore through the air.

The black sword, engulfed in black flames, pushed back, cut through, and evaporated the incoming river.

Of course, it wasn’t without effect.

Kang Jin-ho was clearly also being injured. He was also consuming his inner strength, his body was being broken, and his mind was being eroded.

But.

Just as a person can’t fly in the sky with their bare body no matter how high they can jump, no matter how much they eroded Kang Jin-ho’s body, they could not reach the ultimate victory.

Hong Wang’s martial arts sense and extraordinary mind recognized that fact all too clearly. Even if he tried not to think about it, his body found the result before he even intended to.

‘Can I not win?’

He had expected it.

He could accept that much.

But…….

‘Is it that there isn’t even a possibility of winning?’

This was the part that brought despair to Hong Wang.

Even gambling wasn’t allowed. He didn’t know what he had to do to win against his opponent.

All he could do was desperately delay the time leading to his already determined defeat.

He had never experienced such a situation before.

From the time he started learning martial arts, no, even before that, Hong Wang was a strong person. Of course, he wasn’t born as Hong Wang, so it wasn’t that he hadn’t experienced those stronger than him.

But even if he faced someone stronger than himself, he always had a future where he could definitely surpass them someday.

But now, Hong Wang couldn’t see that future.

‘Is this despair?’

It felt like his heart was being torn apart.

Even though he had lost in the battle against the King of Creation, Hong Wang was able to hold onto the last thread. He was confident that if they fought again properly, he wouldn’t lose. Even if the King of Creation was stronger than him, he was confident that he could overcome it.

But now…….

“That can’t be!”

Hong Wang swung his fist reflexively.

But his shaken mind was clearly reflected in his fist.

His aura, which had been as vast as a mountain, was shaken, and his heavy but precise fist deviated slightly from its path.

And…….

In a battle between absolute masters who had nowhere else to go, this small gap was too huge.

Fwaaaaaaaang!

Kang Jin-ho’s Jeokru [sword name], swung indifferently, cut through the gaps between the fist strikes and widened the gap.

Then…….

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

With a sound like a jet engine exploding, the surging flames of demonic energy surged in as if they were alive, and penetrated the gap.

Hong Wang’s eyes widened.

His fist strikes, which had never been pushed back unless he withdrew them, were now being torn to shreds. And into that torn world, darkness was pouring in.

Darkness without a single ray of light!

“I am!”

Hong Wang stepped on the ground with all his might.

The ground shook as he stomped down with all his might, as if he was going to shatter the earth beneath him.

“I am Hong Wang!”

He poured all the power he had squeezed out to the last drop into his right hand. A strike that contained everything he had, a strike he might have never thrown in his life, was fired at the demonic energy that was engulfing him.

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!

With a huge sound as if the sky was collapsing, Hong Wang’s body flew away like a leaf caught in a typhoon. He spewed blood from his nose and mouth like a fountain, and after being thrown away, he crashed into the ground and convulsed.

“Ugh……”

The blood that had surged up his throat flowed out of his mouth.

The pain was as if his body had been crushed.

But compared to the mental pain he was feeling now, the pain he felt in his body was nothing.

Step, step.

Kang Jin-ho slowly walked towards Hong Wang, who was just groaning with eyes that had died a gray death.

Woo-woo-woo-woong.

Kang Jin-ho, who had pushed Jeokru and Cheongru [another sword name] into the subspace [pocket dimension], took out a cigarette from his pocket.

Kang Jin-ho opened the cigarette pack and took out the only remaining intact cigarette, put it in his mouth, and lit it.

“Hoo-oo-oo.”

He wasn’t in good shape either.

The flesh all over his body was dead black. His body, unable to withstand the pressure, had burst and was on the verge of necrosis.

But in the end, he had won, and Hong Wang had lost.

Kang Jin-ho, who had exhaled cigarette smoke, looked down at Hong Wang and quietly opened his mouth.

“It starts from there.”

Hong Wang’s eyes, which had lost their light, looked at Kang Jin-ho.

“Humans who haven’t fallen into hell are bound to reach their limits someday. But there’s no need to think badly about it. Whether they are martial artists or people, they will eventually find a new path when they face their limits.”

Kang Jin-ho, who had taken a deep drag of his cigarette, smiled slightly.

“Did you say you were lonely because there was no one to fight?”

Kang Jin-ho, who had thrown the finished cigarette on the ground, turned his body without any regrets.

“You won’t be lonely anymore.”

Hong Wang and the Demon King.

It was the moment when the long-standing match came to an end.