Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1952

Beijing.

A massive intersection teemed with countless people. On a large electronic billboard installed on a building at one side of the intersection, advertisements played one after another.

Various eye-catching advertisements were displayed, but those passing below hardly paid any attention to the billboards above.

The screen, which had been broadcasting lifeless and meaningless images like mere background noise, suddenly began to show static.

Since the screen had no speakers, there was no sound, but the vivid static filled the screen, making viewers instinctively imagine the crackling noise.

And paradoxically, that sight caught the attention of those passing by.

People who hadn’t shown even a hint of interest when it was working properly stopped in their tracks and stared at the screen when it malfunctioned and failed to display a proper image.

It was quite ironic.

The static-filled screen went black for a moment. But soon, a screen they had never seen before began to appear.

A man.

What appeared on the screen was the upper body of a man who didn’t seem particularly special.

He had a handsome face, but that wasn’t anything special. After all, everyone on those billboards was good-looking.

But strangely, those who looked at the billboard couldn’t take their eyes off the man’s face. A strange aura that seemed to emanate from beyond the screen captivated their gaze.

“What is it?”

More and more people began to notice the anomaly.

One of those who had been staring blankly at the billboard inadvertently turned his head. His eyes caught the sight of the inside of a store next door. On the wall inside the transparent front window, a TV was showing the same image as the billboard.

“Huh?”

People’s faces subtly changed.

Something strange was happening.

“Mom!”

“What?”

“The TV is weird. It’s only showing the same thing.”

“Try changing the channel.”

“I’m telling you, it’s the same thing even when I change the channel.”

“Isn’t it a special broadcast?”

“But it’s a young guy.”

A young woman who had been washing dishes in the kitchen took off her rubber gloves and headed to the living room. She approached her child, who was sitting on the sofa and pressing the remote control, and tilted her head as she looked at the screen.

“That’s strange.”

She took the remote from her child and changed the channel.

“Huh?”

The same screen appeared even when she changed the channel.

It was only after changing the channel several times that she was able to find channels that were broadcasting normally.

“Let’s see what it is.”

“It doesn’t look interesting.”

“Still.”

If the same screen was appearing on multiple channels, there must be a reason. Thinking so, she turned up the TV volume.

“Who is that guy?”

“Why is the same thing showing even when I change the channel?”

“Hey? Look at this.”

“Huh?”

“It’s showing up here too? This is a video site.”

“What’s showing up?”

“I’m saying the same thing that’s on TV is showing up! Look here.”

“…It is?”

The man looked back and forth between his phone screen and the TV. The same screen was definitely being broadcast.

“Looks like it’s live?”

“Right. But what channel is this anyway? The channel name seems made up.”

It was then.

The man, who had been silent, slightly turned his head to the side. Then, with a dissatisfied look, he opened his mouth.

[Is this thing actually broadcasting?]

[It is broadcasting.]

[I can’t check it from here. Is it broadcasting properly?]

[It’s really broadcasting.]

[Hmm.]

The man scratched his cheek and shifted his gaze here and there.

[Then I guess we can start.]

[Yes.]

The man, facing forward, smiled brightly.

Those who saw that smile were all plagued by an unknown anxiety.

“He’s so full of himself. It’s annoying.”

For once, Wiggins completely agreed with Bator’s words.

Whatever the outcome of what was happening before his eyes, it was definitely an unprecedented situation that had never happened before.

But despite doing something so absurd, there was not a hint of tension on the Black King’s face.

He seemed as relaxed as if he were just having a video call with an acquaintance.

‘I just can’t understand it.’

He had felt this way about Kang Jin-ho in the past.

He was now a person who had reached the realm of a superhuman, but Kang Jin-ho and the Black King were special even among them. Their way of thinking was beyond the understanding of those who had lived ordinary lives.

Wiggins inadvertently glanced at Kang Jin-ho.

A composed face.

Just by looking at Kang Jin-ho’s expression as he sat on the chair with his legs crossed, it was impossible to know what he was thinking.

However, one thing was certain.

Among those here… no, perhaps among all those watching this broadcast, only Kang Jin-ho was watching what the Black King was doing without being flustered.

‘Is he his nemesis?’

Why the Black King was so obsessed with Kang Jin-ho, and why Kang Jin-ho, who had transcended everything in the world, couldn’t ignore the name of the Black King, he seemed to understand now.

And then.

Two people rushed into the room.

The Chairman and his chief secretary.

The Chairman, with a stiff face, bit his lip.

“What happened?”

The chief secretary answered Wiggins’ question. Why the head of a nation had to answer a question from a mere civilian was beyond him, but now was not the time to worry about such things.

“We can’t figure it out. We are trying to trace the transmission, but it will take time.”

“What about the shutdown?”

“We’ve cut off some broadcasts immediately. But there are too many connected channels, so it’s taking time. Especially, we can’t contact some places at all right now.”

“…Are they being suppressed?”

“We don’t know. We can’t figure it out in the current situation.”

“What the hell…”

“Even if we block the broadcast, we can’t block internet videos. It’s impossible for us to cut off overseas servers. We’ve ordered a shutdown, but we don’t know how long it will take…”

Kang Jin-ho answered indifferently.

“It’s a meaningless act.”

Wiggins’ gaze turned to Kang Jin-ho.

“Do you know what he has an abundance of?”

“…I don’t think this is the time for riddles.”

“Time.”

“Yes?”

“When do you think he came up with this plan? He must have been preparing since then. You can’t stop it.”

Wiggins bit his lip.

He had a point. If the Black King had started preparing this plan even ten years ago, it wouldn’t have been difficult to plant people in the broadcasting stations and take control.

“If he used the Blood King, it wouldn’t have been hard to brainwash people.”

“No.”

“Yes?”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

“When it comes to brainwashing and soul manipulation, that guy is more of an expert than the Blood King. If he wanted to, making a few broadcasting stations his puppets would be a piece of cake.”

“So let’s see what nonsense he’s going to spew.”

Wiggins turned his head and looked at the Black King’s face on the screen.

‘Is he just telling us to watch?’

In fact, Wiggins knew it too.

It was too late to struggle. Now that so many people had seen that screen, even if they cut off the broadcast and shut down the internet, people would try to find the video themselves.

This era was an era where perfect control was impossible, and history had proven that there was no way to stop human curiosity.

Nevertheless, the reason why Wiggins couldn’t stop his meaningless struggle was because of this feeling of emptiness and helplessness.

It felt like being cornered in the ring and getting hit by the opponent’s punches without a guard.

‘Then what the hell was the Chairman?’

While they were risking their lives to protect the Chairman, the Black King was preparing something else in a place no one knew about. Did that mean that there was a more important card than the Chairman’s life from the Black King’s perspective?

Then.

The Black King on the screen slowly began to open his mouth.

[Hello, everyone. I am… well, this kind of introduction is meaningless. I’m not a fan of introductions, so let’s get to the point. So, I am…]

The screen zoomed out, revealing the Black King’s full body sitting in a chair.

The Black King looked around slightly, then looked at the wall behind him. Then, he lightly waved his hand and sent a force towards the wall.

KWA-A-A-A-A-ANG!

A huge concrete wall shattered, and debris scattered everywhere. The broken steel frame sticking out jaggedly from the half-collapsed wall was clearly captured on the screen.

[I am this kind of person.]

The Black King smiled brightly.

[You can think of it as a special effect, or you can think of it as a manipulated video. There are many ways to prove it, but I already know from long experience that those who don’t want to believe won’t believe no matter what. So, I won’t bother trying to persuade you.]

His voice was calm.

But Bator and Wiggins, who had clearly witnessed his actions, were half-dazed.

“That…”

A very simple action.

With just that action, the Black King had broken the wall of unspoken rules that the whole world had been protecting. What was physically broken was the concrete wall, but what was actually broken was the wall that divided the boundaries of the world.

A feeling of nausea rose.

That was a wall that should not be broken so easily. It was a wall that should never be broken.

But now, the boundaries of the world they had been protecting were crumbling into pieces.

[To put it simply, there are beings called Murim [martial arts world] in the world. They can create fire with their bodies…]

At that moment, flames blazed from the Black King’s fingertips.

[Freeze ice…]

The fire disappeared, and pure white frost formed on the Black King’s fingertips.

[As I showed you earlier, they can break walls with their bare hands and leap over rivers in a single stride. Yes. Simply put, the people you only see in martial arts movies or fantasy movies actually exist in the world. Right next to you.]

Click.

Kang Jin-ho lit a cigarette.

Kang Jin-ho took a short breath and exhaled a long stream of smoke. Then, he curled up the corners of his mouth and smiled.

“That crazy bastard…”

It was somehow exhilarating.

That wall had even bound Kang Jin-ho.

He could cross it if he wanted to, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He wasn’t confident that he could handle the aftermath of the two worlds mixing.

But at this moment, the Black King was telling him.

That he could cross it.

That he could shake the world, change it, and transform it.

[In other words…]

The corners of the Black King’s mouth twisted.

Then, with a smile that seemed to mock the world, the Black King declared.

[The world you knew was all fake. The real world has been hidden. As if what exists does not exist. But from this moment on, it will change. No more power, no more violence will be able to erase the existence of Murim from the world. Because I will not allow it anymore.]

The Black King’s eyes shone brightly.

Cold and ruthless eyes.

Those eyes proved that all of the Black King’s actions were not impulsive.

[From now on, the world will change. No, we must change the world. Those who have been holding their breath will rise up, and we will proudly reveal our existence. Listen carefully. We will not rot away in history. We will not accept a fate of slowly disappearing without leaving anything behind. We will change the world and become the masters of the world.]

The Black King leaned back in his chair, smiling.

[From this very moment.]

“So that’s what it was.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

Something surged within Kang Jin-ho.

[Hahahaha!]

“Hahahaha hahahaha!”

Cheongma’s laughter and Kang Jin-ho’s loud laughter echoed as if they were in harmony.

At this moment…

The wall dividing the world was collapsing.