Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1752

‘Where did it all go wrong?’

Wiggins’ heart was in turmoil.

The Master.

Once, the one he trusted and followed the most.

And now, someone walking a different path due to their different positions.

He was standing right in front of him.

The difference was that they were not just walking different paths, but standing on opposite sides.

It wasn’t far.

The distance between where he stood and where the Master stood was only a few steps.

But those few steps created a sense of distance he had never felt before.

‘It’s my fault.’

Wiggins clenched his fist.

He thought he could push them without resistance.

He thought that with a perfect advantage, he should aggressively push and squeeze to make the General Assembly as advantageous as possible.

Resistance?

He thought he could handle it easily.

‘But who would have thought it would turn out like this?’

Who would have thought that the Azure King and the Master could join hands? Not only him, but no one in the General Assembly would have considered that possibility.

There should be at least a minimal connection, at least a minimal justification to even consider it, but there was no connection between the Azure King and the Master in the first place.

It was just that the Azure King had forcibly created a possibility that didn’t even exist.

Wiggins gritted his teeth.

“Do you think this is the right decision for the Round Table?”

The Master smiled and replied.

“You seem to have some lingering regrets, Wiggins. It’s unlike you. Are you thinking of changing my mind?”

“Master…”

“There’s no way for me to stop a train that has already departed. If you wanted that, you should have been a little faster.”

“…You were the one who didn’t give the departure signal, Master.”

“No. I’ve said it over and over again.”

“It was you who ignored that signal. When I shouted and struggled, saying that this shouldn’t happen,

It was you who laughed at my reaction with ridicule. Do you understand?”

It was a calm tone.

That’s why it was a tone that pierced even more painfully.

“Listen, Wiggins. Discussing justice and keeping the line is a promise. It means an implicit agreement that we will not cross the agreed line to pursue our own interests.”

The Master’s clear eyes stared at Wiggins.

“Wasn’t it you who broke the principles of the Round Table and made it a place to pursue extreme profits? To efficiently control the Round Table, you made me tainted with profit and changed the purpose of the entire Round Table from pursuit to self-preservation.”

“Master, I…”

“But now, do you have the right to criticize me and the Round Table? I’ve only changed the way you wanted me to.”

He had nothing to say.

Not a single word the Master said was wrong.

Wiggins wanted to make the Round Table a dog that blindly followed the General Assembly. A dog shouldn’t have any values to pursue. It should only be focused on the food it’s given.

It was none other than Wiggins himself who had corrupted the Master, who had discussed the noble values of justice and protection, to such an extent.

So what could he say?

“Master.”

Even so, Wiggins didn’t shut his mouth.

“Even so, this is too much.”

“Maybe so.”

Surprisingly, the Master readily admitted it.

“I was always in the position of teaching you, Wiggins. What a teacher wants from a student is to do more than what they were taught. In that sense, you were a good student.”

The Master put a pure white smile on his lips.

“So, how could I, who has become a student, only do what I learned from you? Of course, I have to show more than that.”

Despair settled in Wiggins’ eyes.

“Master…”

The emotion he felt now didn’t come from the despair that the Master had betrayed him.

He couldn’t see it.

From the Master who had betrayed him and stood on the opposite side, he couldn’t feel even a bit of hesitation or pity.

That fact made Wiggins unable to bear it.

“This isn’t rational.”

“You can’t not know. Submitting to the General Assembly is still a way to protect the future of the Round Table, but will that greedy fox leave the Round Table as it is? You’ve chosen to end the history of the Round Table, which has lasted for thousands of years, with your own hands.”

“I wish you wouldn’t judge me so arbitrarily.”

The Azure King whistled.

“You’re making me sound like a villain trying to conquer the world, but I don’t have much interest in places like Europe. If I were someone who wanted everything, I wouldn’t have proposed an alliance with them in the first place. I’m more timid than you think, so I’m satisfied enough just to take over China completely.”

The Azure King smiled brightly.

“As proof, the Three Kings haven’t turned their eyes to any place other than China. Unlike the General Assembly, which devoured Japan, Europe, and the United States like a greedy pig.”

“You still seem to be mistaken, was it Wiggins?”

The Azure King put a bitter smile on his lips.

“You guys are mistaken in thinking that you’re wearing a mask of evil. It seems like you believe that you’re only pretending to be evil for some great purpose, and that you’re good yourselves. But the reality is the opposite. There’s no place in the world more extreme than the General Assembly. You’re not pretending to be evil, you’re truly evil. You attack and destroy order with the excuse of your own safety.”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

“You don’t understand. You’re going to package not caring about means and methods for your own safety and purpose as rationality? The world calls that evil. You may see me as evil, but the world sees you as evil.”

The Azure King shrugged.

“Like the lackeys of the Demon King.”

Wiggins opened his mouth to say something in rebuttal, but in the end, he couldn’t say anything and closed his mouth.

It was meaningless.

It wasn’t a situation that could be turned around with a few words. Even if the Master’s mind changed, it was impossible to turn back after coming this far.

What more could he say?

Then.

The one who had been quietly watching the situation stepped forward.

Click.

With a familiar yet unfamiliar sound, Kang Jin-ho lit a cigarette.

“Master.”

“…Chairman.”

The Master’s eyes stared at Kang Jin-ho.

“Is that your choice?”

The Master silently stared at Kang Jin-ho. Then, after a moment, the Master slowly opened his mouth.

“I don’t know if it makes sense to say this in this situation, but I don’t have any strong feelings for you. Rather, I know that you have been as considerate of the Round Table as possible. No, not the Round Table, but you were considerate of me.”

“But that’s all. I am the Master of the Round Table, and I have no choice but to make the choice that is most beneficial to the Round Table. Especially since you have entrusted the handling of the Round Table to Wiggins, there is no other way.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly looked at the Master and opened his mouth.

“Then why didn’t you tell me that?”

“It’s meaningless, isn’t it?”

The two men’s eyes met in the air.

“You are not someone who acts according to right and wrong. Your principle of action is extremely biased towards the choices of those closer to you. If Wiggins and I had different opinions, would you have listened to my opinion?”

“Perhaps that’s what has driven the General Assembly this far. But the Round Table is not the General Assembly. It cannot be the General Assembly, and it should not be. From the perspective of such a Round Table, you are just oppressors.”

The Master’s voice gradually rose.

But Kang Jin-ho’s eyes, looking at such a Master, were just calm.

“That’s not a very nutritious story.”

The Master’s eyes shook slightly.

“The reason doesn’t matter. Every choice has its own reason. The important thing is that you chose that side.”

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

“Then now you’re just an enemy.”

The Master’s body flinched slightly.

The moment the word ‘enemy’ came out of Kang Jin-ho’s mouth, his body reacted before his head could even think.

The Master suddenly remembered one thing.

‘Have I ever faced that person as an enemy?’

The decision was already made. It couldn’t be undone.

The only choice he could make was this.

Even so, the fact that his spine was chilling was probably because his instinct, not his reason, was warning him.

Kang Jin-ho took a deep drag of his cigarette.

“Maybe you’re right. But you should have known one thing.”

“Friends need a reason, but enemies don’t need a reason. Rambling on and on is a story for when you’re on this side.”

Crack.

The end of the cigarette burned.

Kang Jin-ho slowly exhaled the cigarette smoke.

‘Betrayal…’

It wasn’t a very pleasant word.

Because it was a word he had already experienced deeply.

“Hoo…”

Kang Jin-ho, who had completely exhaled the remaining cigarette smoke, looked at the Master and the Azure King with calm eyes.

“Get lost.”

“Try to run away. You might be able to escape here. But don’t forget one thing. When the moment comes when you face me again, you will regret not dying in this place.”

The Azure King laughed coldly at those words.

“There’s nothing more futile than the bravado of the ignorant. Don’t worry. I’ve prepared a lot for you.”

He shrugged.

“And I’ll return those words to you as well. If the moment comes when we meet again, you will regret not taking my hand. Enjoy it slowly and fully.”

Step, step.

The Master approached the Azure King and grabbed his shoulder.

He looked at Kang Jin-ho with eyes filled with complex emotions and then closed his eyes slightly.

“Then, everyone in the General Assembly.”

The Azure King bowed gracefully.

“Good luck.”

Swish.

With a short sound of air tearing, the figures of the Azure King and the Master disappeared from the spot as if they had been extinguished.

Silence.

Even though there were many people, not even the sound of breathing could be heard. Those who fully understood the situation had no choice but to hold their breath because they knew what was about to happen, and even those who didn’t understand could sense that the atmosphere was unusual.

Click.

Kang Jin-ho, who had replaced his cigarette with a new one, exhaled smoke and looked up at the sky.

Bang Jin-hoon, who was watching his mood, cautiously opened his mouth.

“What happened?”

Bator chuckled at those words.

“What do you think happened? We got screwed.”

Crack.

Bator turned his head slightly and looked at Wiggins.

“Wiggins.”

“Save your dog-like thoughts for later. This isn’t your fault. And…” He clenched his fist.

“There’s no time to be thinking like that.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.