Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 2006

The demonic flames watching the battle through the large TV clenched their fists.

The screen was terribly crude.

It was nearly impossible to grasp the back-and-forth exchanges through the TV, even if they were happening right in front of them.

But at this moment, they clearly saw Gui Pyeon’s face being torn apart.

“That crazy bastard…”

A groan escaped involuntarily.

This was something that shouldn’t be happening, logically. No, it shouldn’t be possible.

Gui Pyeon was someone who had entered the realm of the superhuman. It was normal for Lee Myung-hwan to not even be able to scratch him, no matter how hard he tried.

But now, Gui Pyeon was injured.

Lee Myung-hwan’s venomous fangs had succeeded in biting Gui Pyeon.

Kkuuuk.

They clenched their fists involuntarily. It felt as if lava was boiling up from their stomachs.

They weren’t wrong.

What they had been doing until now was definitely not wrong.

Lee Myung-hwan was proving that fact as their representative.

And it was at that moment.

“Ah, no…”

The sight of Lee Myung-hwan, who had been slammed into the ground, trying to get up was clearly visible to them.

“Stay down, you bastard!”

“That crazy bastard!”

Sharp screams erupted one after another.

“Why are you getting up, why! Don’t get up!”

He had already proven enough.

There were only three ways to determine victory or defeat in a martial artist’s fight.

One was a matter of life and death.

The second was one side admitting defeat.

And the last was losing consciousness and entrusting one’s life to the opponent’s choice.

Lee Myung-hwan had already injured Gui Pyeon. That alone showed more than his limits. But Lee Myung-hwan had already exceeded his limits. It wouldn’t be strange if he died right now.

In that situation, if he showed the will to fight, the battle would continue. And that would mean Lee Myung-hwan’s death.

“You idiot…”

They knew.

That wasn’t an action done with his head. If Lee Myung-hwan’s mind was clear, he would have declared surrender right there.

But right now, reason didn’t exist for Lee Myung-hwan. What existed for him was a fierce fighting spirit, hostility, and the bloodlust given by the extreme surge of demonic energy.

That’s why he wouldn’t be able to not get up.

Even if that was an act that would drive him to his death.

“Stop, you bastard! Stay down! You son of a bitch!”

The moment the demonic flames shouted, Lee Myung-hwan mumbled something, and at the same time, Gui Pyeon roared like a beast and rushed towards Lee Myung-hwan.

‘What… am I doing… right now?’

He didn’t know well.

His consciousness was flickering. It felt like there was noise in his head. He couldn’t even feel pain anymore, since when.

Not feeling pain was a bad sign. Pain was a warning signal that the body sent to the brain.

It meant that his body was so broken that it couldn’t even send warning signals anymore.

Something was fading away. It felt like his body was endlessly falling to the ground and then rising again.

‘Shouldn’t I… just let go?’

He had already done enough. Who would have thought that he could even wound Gui Pyeon?

Even if he let go of his consciousness and collapsed, no one would blame him. Then he could be at peace. Even if that ‘letting go’ led to death.

Would there be anything to regret?

Crack.

His wrist screamed. In his blurry vision, he could vaguely see the floor becoming more and more stained with red.

A hallucination? A delusion?

No.

It was probably the blood flowing from his body that was soaking the floor.

To think that so much blood could flow from a person’s body. It felt more strange than scary.

Crack.

He straightened his twisted back. He stepped on the floor with his staggering legs. He somehow grabbed his arm, which was almost torn off, and raised his body.

Never in his life had the simple act of raising his body been so difficult.

‘Why am I getting up?’

He didn’t know.

Perhaps no matter how much he pondered, he wouldn’t find the answer.

Even though he understood that this act of getting up, this insignificant action, would lead to an unavoidable death, Lee Myung-hwan grabbed his staggering body and clung to his fading consciousness.

Stubbornness?

Or….

‘…That doesn’t matter anymore.’

The violent world went dark in black and white. The noisy world, like a rewinding old videotape, began to slow down more and more.

The loud shouts from the front and the desperate screams from the back initially formed words, but soon spread into a buzzing echo.

A slowed-down world.

In that world, what Lee Myung-hwan saw was Gui Pyeon flying towards him.

‘…So, this is it.’

He knew.

This was death.

An unavoidable death.

No matter how much he struggled, he wouldn’t be able to avoid Gui Pyeon’s hand flying towards his neck.

And Lee Myung-hwan understood what he had to do now.

‘When was it?’

He had asked once.

To Kang Jin-ho.

He had asked what death meant to him, what he thought when he understood that he couldn’t hold on anymore and was going to die.

At that time, Kang Jin-ho tilted his head as if he couldn’t remember well and said this.

“I think I tried to smile?”

He didn’t understand at the time what that meant.

But… he felt like he understood now.

The corners of Lee Myung-hwan’s mouth began to twist slightly.

And the moment his mouth formed a complete smile, Gui Pyeon’s fist, imbued with intense energy, pierced through his neck.

‘This is enough.’

Lee Myung-hwan closed his eyes.

And….

“That’s enough.”

The stopped world began to flow again.

Lee Myung-hwan’s eyelids, which had been accepting death with his eyes closed, fluttered.

What entered his eyes as he struggled to open them again was Gui Pyeon’s hand stopped just below his chin, Gui Pyeon’s horribly distorted face, and….

“You lost.”

It was the Black King, sitting on a chair with his legs crossed, speaking indifferently.

Gui Pyeon’s head slowly turned back. Still with a blade-like energy at the tip of his hand, right in front of Lee Myung-hwan’s neck.

“…Why is this?”

His voice contained clear suspicion and a sliver of hostility.

“You wouldn’t be thinking of giving me a consolation prize, would you!”

“Ah, of course, your tenacity was great. But… having great tenacity doesn’t mean you win.”

“Then why?”

“Have you forgotten, Gui Pyeon?”

A mocking light flickered in the Black King’s eyes.

“For a martial artist to lose their cherished weapon means defeat.”

Gui Pyeon bit his lip.

“Ah, of course, it’s not an absolute rule.

But…”

The Black King grinned. As if he found this situation very amusing.

“It doesn’t seem like you’re in a position to make pathetic excuses that you didn’t lose? You were careless and got injured by someone you normally couldn’t even touch a hair on, and you even lost your cherished weapon, yet you’re going to argue about victory?”

“You lost. Step back.”

Crack.

The sound of teeth breaking came from Gui Pyeon’s mouth.

Gui Pyeon’s shoulders twitched slightly as he stared at the Black King with bloodshot eyes.

“Hoo.”

The moment Gui Pyeon, who had taken a deep breath, returned his slightly lowered head to its original position as if he had no choice.

Fwaaaaat!

The intense energy at the tip of his hand, which had been aimed at Lee Myung-hwan, explosively shot out towards Lee Myung-hwan’s neck in an instant.

Kwa-deu-deuk!

Along with the sound of bones and flesh being crushed, something soared into the air.

At the same time, red blood spurted towards the ceiling like a fountain.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

At the same time, a desperate scream erupted.

“Aaaah! Aaaaaaaaaaah! Aaaaaaah!”

A person rolled on the floor, letting out a beast-like scream.

Gui Pyeon was clutching his shoulder, which was spewing red blood, and screaming desperately. His body was constantly convulsing, and saliva mixed with blood was dripping from his mouth.

The way he was digging into his shoulder with his hand as if trying to tear it out clearly proved that he wasn’t in so much pain because his shoulder was cut off.

“Tsk.”

The Black King clicked his tongue and looked at Gui Pyeon rolling on the floor.

“It seems you didn’t understand. Why we’re having this match.”

Gui Pyeon’s screams had already turned into small groans. But that didn’t mean that the pain had subsided and he was comfortable. He was suffering from such extreme pain that no more sound could escape.

“A victory that everyone can’t accept is meaningless. It means that you shouldn’t hear that dog-like nonsense of winning but losing. Do you understand, you moronic bastard?”

The Black King shook his head.

“Of course, you wouldn’t.”

Ttak.

Fwuck!

It happened almost simultaneously.

The moment the Black King lightly snapped his fingers, Gui Pyeon’s head shattered into pieces.

The body that had lost its head convulsed for a moment, then slumped down and began to cool down.

“Clean it up.”

“Yes.”

They had been colleagues for at least several decades. Even though such a person had met a tragic end at the hands of their superior right in front of them, the remaining Twelve Flying Blades showed no hint of sympathy.

Baek Yeon-hong, who had walked to the center, grabbed Gui Pyeon’s legs and threw him into a corner. With a dull thud, his body crashed into the wall and fell to the floor.

It was an act that showed no respect for a colleague, but no one cast a disapproving glance at Baek Yeon-hong. The Twelve Flying Blades looked at Baek Yeon-hong as if he had done something natural, and Baek Yeon-hong shook his hands as if he had touched something dirty.

Then, he looked at Lee Myung-hwan, who was staggering so much that it was a wonder he was still standing.

“Hmph.”

As Baek Yeon-hong returned to his place, the Black King opened his mouth with a subtle smile.

“You need to understand, this isn’t a game.”

Cold sweat trickled down the backs of the Twelve Flying Blades.

This was a warning, the Black King was sending to them.

“Losing isn’t shameful. What’s shameful is being careless. And not understanding the meaning of this match.”

The Black King looked at Lee Myung-hwan, who was desperately holding on, with his chin propped up.

“You won, young martial artist of the Council.”

But his voice didn’t reach Lee Myung-hwan. Because someone who had lost consciousness couldn’t hear a sound. Lee Myung-hwan’s body collapsed like a rotten bundle of straw.

Tuk.

But his body didn’t touch the floor. Kang Jin-ho, who had appeared next to Lee Myung-hwan, grabbed him and held him up.

“You have a good disciple. I’m a little envious.”

“You’re the one who threw him away.”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

Kang Jin-ho, with Lee Myung-hwan tucked under his arm, turned and walked towards his camp. The Black King, who had been silently watching his back, slowly lowered his eyes.

“That’s enough of the ugly sight. I won’t tolerate it anymore.”

“Yes.”

Clear killing intent appeared on the faces of the Twelve Flying Blades.

But unlike when he blew off Gui Pyeon’s head, the Black King’s face was subtly hardened.

‘Threw him away, huh….’

Strangely, that word bothered him.

Strangely.