Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1834

Shudder, shudder, shudder.

Kwak So’s legs began to tremble uncontrollably.

‘Why, why is the Black King here?’

His eyes widened as if they would tear, and his heart pounded like crazy.

‘This, this has never happened before…’

It wasn’t the first time Baek Yeon-hong had acted without listening to the Black King. Sometimes, he even ignored the most severe warnings. And each time, the Black King had punished Baek Yeon-hong accordingly.

The punishment was so harsh and terrible that even Baek Yeon-hong had to restrain himself for a while.

But never, not once, had the Black King ever appeared in person at the scene of Baek Yeon-hong’s misdeeds. Not even once.

Kwak So took a few steps back without realizing it.

‘This is, this is a big problem…’

Only then did Kwak So realize that this time, it was not something that could be easily brushed aside like before.

His eyes caught the sight of the Black King sighing as he looked at Baek Yeon-hong.

“Haa…”

Cheongma [another name for the Black King] glared at Baek Yeon-hong with a frustrated look.

His gaze was as if he were looking at a child who had caused trouble, and Baek Yeon-hong flinched and averted his eyes.

“You moronic fool.”

Cheongma’s face twisted.

This was something even he hadn’t anticipated. Kang Jin-ho wasn’t someone who stayed still, and he traveled between his home and the General Assembly.

So, it shouldn’t have been that difficult to ambush Kang Jin-ho somewhere in between. But who would have thought that he would charge into the General Assembly alone?

‘I overlooked it.’

Those who faced Kang Jin-ho all felt a burning urge. There was something about that man that stimulated the warrior’s blood. That’s why the Crimson King and the Azure King were all drawn to Kang Jin-ho like moths to a flame, only to end up in a mess.

“I apologize, Master.”

Cheongma bowed his head towards Kang Jin-ho.

“It seems my lack of foresight has caused you harm.”

Kang Jin-ho, who had been silently staring at Cheongma, opened his mouth with a nonchalant expression.

“For someone who spoke so confidently, you showed your face rather quickly. How pathetic.”

“That’s why I can’t even lift my head now.”

Cheongma joked, but Kang Jin-ho’s expression didn’t soften at all.

“Hmm.”

Cheongma glanced at Baek Yeon-hong and smiled awkwardly.

“He’s a stupid and idiotic fool, but he’s a valuable asset to me. May I take him with me?”

“Your joke is too much.”

“I see…”

Cheongma sighed.

Kang Jin-ho was relatively lenient towards those who challenged him. But he had no mercy for those who harmed others, especially those who were not him.

He had always been like that, and since returning to the modern world, that tendency had become even more pronounced. Knowing this, Cheongma had rushed here, using some kind of magic circle he didn’t even fully understand.

“What should I do about this?”

Cheongma scratched the back of his head.

“I need to find some room for compromise.”

“There is no compromise.”

“Do you really think so?”

Cheongma turned his head and stared intently at Kang Jin-ho.

“Human lives are not all the same. Surely, you’re not going to say that the lives of those who died below are equal to Baek Yeon-hong’s, are you?”

“…Then?”

“I’m saying you’ve become a fool.”

Cheongma shook his head as Kang Jin-ho glared at him silently.

“My jokes still don’t work on you.”

Cheongma turned and walked towards Baek Yeon-hong.

Seeing this, Baek Yeon-hong flinched and took a step back.

“Are you scared?”

Cheongma’s lips curled up slightly.

“If you were, why did you ignore my orders?”

“B, Black King… I…”

“It’s okay. Everyone makes mistakes. Mistakes can always be forgiven.”

“Th…”

Fear flickered in Baek Yeon-hong’s eyes.

“As long as you pay the proper price.”

Crack!

Cheongma’s hand grabbed Baek Yeon-hong’s face.

“Kaaaaaah!”

And at that moment, a desperate scream echoed from Baek Yeon-hong’s mouth.

He hadn’t even let out a proper groan when he was hit by Bator’s fist, swept away by Jang Min’s energy, and pierced by Wiggins’ sword, but now, just by being grabbed by Cheongma’s hand, he was screaming like a child.

The sight was enough to instill an indescribable fear in those who watched.

“Ugh, ugh, ugh, aaaaah! Aaaah!”

“It’s noisy.”

Crack!

Baek Yeon-hong’s facial bones broke. His cheekbones caved in, and his nose was crushed. Blood spurted from his nose, and his crushed teeth flew out of his mouth, but Cheongma didn’t even blink as he glared at Baek Yeon-hong.

“Orders are difficult. Distinguishing between what can be ignored and what should never be ignored is more difficult than you think.”

“B, Black King… Kk… Ugh…”

“Especially for a moron like you.”

Crack.

Cheongma’s fingers pierced through Baek Yeon-hong’s face. At the same time, black demonic energy rose like smoke from his fingertips.

Baek Yeon-hong’s body began to tremble like an aspen.

The pain was so terrible. It was pain that would have made him lose consciousness a hundred times over, but Cheongma didn’t even allow him to lose consciousness.

With his hand still piercing Baek Yeon-hong’s face, Cheongma turned halfway and looked at Kang Jin-ho.

The moment they saw his face, which was smiling brightly without a single blemish, the directors of the General Assembly, who hadn’t even felt fear at Baek Yeon-hong’s swordsmanship, flinched simultaneously.

Click.

But Kang Jin-ho, as if nothing had happened, took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and lit it.

“It’s not like you can get out of this situation with a simple show, right?”

“I’m hurt. Have you forgotten what kind of person I am?”

“Hmm.”

“Let’s see. How much should I do to satisfy you?”

Cheongma’s lips curled into a cruel smile as he scanned Baek Yeon-hong as if he were looking at a toy.

“How about an arm first?”

Crack, crack, crack!

Cheongma’s hand grabbed Baek Yeon-hong’s elbow and twisted it, tearing it off his body.

“Ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh, aaaaah!”

Even the mighty Baek Yeon-hong couldn’t bear this pain and let out a terrible scream that no one could bear to hear.

“Stay still. It’s hard to tear off. Hmm, the elbow is too weak. Tsk, I should have torn it off in one go instead of two.”

Cheongma’s hand grabbed Baek Yeon-hong’s shoulder.

Baek Yeon-hong’s eyes widened. He couldn’t not know what that meant.

“P, please…”

“Hmm? Please?”

Cheongma smiled.

“That’s something you should have said before you did this.”

Crack, crack, crack!

Baek Yeon-hong’s arm was torn off from the shoulder.

Baek Yeon-hong, with his eyes rolled back, trembled. The blood that gushed from his shoulder stained the floor of the training ground red.

“Tsk, someone made a hole, so it was cut off more than I thought.”

Cheongma, as if displeased, scratched his chin a couple of times and lifted Baek Yeon-hong’s body, looking it over.

“If I tear off his legs or the other arm, they’ll be useless. Hmm.”

His hand dug into Baek Yeon-hong’s side and grabbed it.

“It’s just skin. It shouldn’t be a problem to tear it off.”

Crack, crack, crack!

Where else would one hear the sound of flesh being torn off a living person?

Even Jang Min, who prided himself on having seen more than enough cruelty, couldn’t bear to watch the scene and turned his head away.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t seen more extreme scenes before.

But to see that powerful warrior, who had seemed like an impenetrable wall, being toyed with like a pig hanging in a butcher shop was something he couldn’t bear to watch.

“Hmm, is this enough… No, it’s still not enough. This isn’t enough of an apology.”

Cheongma took his hand off Baek Yeon-hong’s face and grabbed his neck.

“You don’t really need a face, do you? Right?”

At those words, Baek Yeon-hong’s half-conscious body began to tremble again.

“B, Black King! F, forgive me! Forgive me!”

Kwak So, unable to bear it any longer, overcame his soul-shattering fear and rushed forward, prostrating himself before them.

“Who are you again?”

“I, I serve Baek Yeon-hong. Please! Please forgive him!”

“Hmm, it seems there are people who forgive when you beg like that.”

Cheongma smiled.

“But what a shame? I’m not one of them.”

Crack!

The skin on Baek Yeon-hong’s face began to be torn off.

“S, stop it! You crazy bastard!”

Lee Hyun-soo, unable to watch any longer, shouted.

The Black King tilted his head and looked at Lee Hyun-soo.

“And you are?”

“I’m Lee Hyun-soo of the General Assembly! You crazy bastard! Just kill him!”

“If I could kill him, I would have already done it. Isn’t this because I don’t want to kill him? Can’t you even understand that, junior?”

“…Junior?”

“Your position was originally mine.”

The Black King shrugged.

“I know well enough the hardships of keeping that position. You must be having a hard time with that eccentric superior. Let’s have a drink together sometime. We could gossip for three days and nights.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s eyes trembled.

‘He’s completely insane.’

The person who was tearing off a person’s arm and face was calmly making such jokes.

This was something that no sane person could ever do.

“Hmm, if I tear it off completely, will he become too ugly?”

Cheongma, having torn off the skin around his mouth, looked at Baek Yeon-hong with a displeased expression before turning his head towards Kang Jin-ho.

“What else should I do to satisfy you?”

“I want to keep him alive for now. He’s a weakling, but I don’t have ten bodies, so I need some people to do work for me. If possible, I’d like to keep both legs and an arm that can wield a sword.”

Cheongma smiled brightly.

“Other than that, I’ll do whatever you ask.”

“Now, look here.”

The hand holding his neck went down. Baek Yeon-hong, forced to kneel, trembled.

“Isn’t this how he’s apologizing?”

Thud!

Cheongma grabbed Baek Yeon-hong’s neck and slammed his head into the ground. Crushed bones protruded from his face, and blood splattered everywhere.

“Is it not enough?”

Thud!

“Hmm.”

Cheongma, lifting the tattered Baek Yeon-hong, shrugged.

“What else should I do?”

Kang Jin-ho spat out the cigarette he had been holding.

Kang Jin-ho, his face hardened as if he couldn’t feel any more disgusted, said through gritted teeth.

“What if I’m not satisfied with that?”

“Then I’ll run away.”

Cheongma grinned.

“What am I, some great person that I would fight? I’ll run away as fast as my legs can carry me. But I do have some skills, so I think I can get out of here.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes silently glared at Cheongma.

Kang Jin-ho’s icy gaze and Cheongma’s smooth gaze collided in the air.

“Take him and get lost.”

“Thank you. You’ve certainly become more merciful than before.”

Cheongma bowed his head neatly.

“I’d like to have a few words with you since we’ve reunited, but it doesn’t seem like today is the day. Take care of yourself.”

Cheongma, grabbing Baek Yeon-hong, walked towards the car and opened the trunk, throwing him inside like a piece of luggage.

Thump!

Cheongma closed the trunk neatly and looked back.

“Hey, you.”

“Yes?”

“What are you doing? Get in.”

“If you stay here alone, you won’t die a natural death.”

Only then did Kwak So rush towards the car.

“Back seat.”

“Yes!”

As Kwak So got into the car, Cheongma bowed his head politely once more.

“Thank you very much. I will make sure to pay the price for your forgiveness.”

“Cheongma.”

“Yes?”

Cheongma, about to get into the car, raised his head at Kang Jin-ho’s question.

“What are you planning?”

“What do you want to do with more than ten of those guys? In this world?”

Cheongma smiled.

That smile was different from the smiles Cheongma had shown so far. It was a smile he often showed Kang Jin-ho in the past, when he was truly Cheongma.

“It’s not in this world…”

“It’s because it’s this world that there are things to do.”

“If you want to hear more, come to me anytime. I’ll be waiting.”

With those words, Cheongma got into the car.

Brummm.

Kang Jin-ho, watching the car leave the General Assembly without any hurry, bit his lip until it bled.

‘Damn it.’

The traces of Baek Yeon-hong, who had half-destroyed the General Assembly, were completely erased. And in the place where those traces had disappeared, the immense presence of Cheongma, no, the Black King, weighed heavily on everyone.

‘Do I have to fight someone like that?’

For the first time…

The directors of the General Assembly were keenly aware of how powerless they were.