Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 2007

“What the hell is this?” A trembling voice escaped the man watching TV.

“…Is that even human?”

Perhaps it was a scene he had seen many times before.

In movies or animations, battles between those who transcend humanity are so common that they hardly need mentioning.

However, the shock of seeing this scene with his own eyes was on a different level than watching a movie. Movies are fundamentally a medium for conveying something to someone. No matter how great the battle, they don’t move at speeds that the viewer can’t even see.

But the screen he was watching was on a different level than any video he had seen before. All he could see were blurry things moving and black things writhing.

And blood splattering everywhere.

It was a super-fast video that made it hard to process what he was seeing, but the impression it gave was overwhelming.

‘Is this real?’

Such beings exist in the world.

These people, who were recreating scenes that were hard to create even with special effects, had been living among ordinary people without any fuss.

A chill ran down his spine.

At that moment, he clearly saw a man screaming as his arm was cut off and he rolled on the floor.

His body trembled involuntarily.

He had no idea how such a thing had happened. But the result was nothing short of horrific and gruesome.

And…

Thwack!

The screen quickly switched to a wide shot, but it was a little too late to hide the scene of a person’s head exploding.

“Oh my god…”

He didn’t know what to say.

The wars and fights shown in the media are refined to be easily accepted by the viewers. But the screen he had just seen was filled with raw, blatant violence.

It was the kind of violence that people living in modern times would rarely encounter.

The shock those who saw the screen with their own eyes received was beyond imagination.

“…Are we supposed to live alongside those things?”

How was that any different from releasing a lion on the streets?

The man, with his hands trembling, forced himself to turn on his phone. As he expected, the community was in chaos. A bulletin board that usually barely had ten posts a day was now getting dozens of new posts every time he hit ‘refresh’.

The content of the posts was also chaotic.

Some were expressing shock, others were seriously contemplating the existence of martial artists.

Some were swearing without any context, while others were advocating for segregation.

Chaos. It was utter chaos.

Even this small community’s server was struggling, so it was obvious what was happening in larger communities.

The world was turning upside down.

And this wasn’t just happening in Korea. The whole world was probably in the same state of shock at this very moment.

‘What are they thinking?’

Why were they showing this?

He couldn’t understand it.

But what was certain was that he couldn’t take his eyes off this shocking video.

Without realizing it, he moved closer to the front of the sofa, his eyes fixed on the screen.

Within that screen…

The world was changing.

The martial artists at the General Assembly screamed as they watched the screen.

“We won!”

“No, but can we even call this a win?”

“Who cares! Damn it, as long as we get to Seoul, it’s all good!”

“That’s right! Damn it, if we won, that’s all that matters!”

Ordinary people couldn’t understand how amazing the event was. But these people fully understood how miraculous the event was.

An ant had killed an elephant.

Even if it wasn’t by biting the elephant to death, it was clear that they had won against the elephant.

“Lee Myung-hwan, that crazy bastard!”

“He did it!”

It felt like a fire had been lit in their chests.

Those who had learned martial arts couldn’t help but know.

What kind of resolve Lee Myung-hwan had when he stood there, and what kind of heart he fought with.

“He was showing off, serves him right!”

“…No, but this doesn’t feel like something to be happy about…”

“Huh?”

“Those guys are too… too strong.”

The atmosphere became subtly subdued at those words.

They were excited that Lee Myung-hwan, who should have died, had survived, but Gui Pyeon’s martial prowess was definitely shocking. And even more shocking was the Black King’s ability to subdue and kill Gui Pyeon without even lifting a finger.

“…Can we even win against that?”

He was a superhuman.

Even if everyone here attacked Gui Pyeon, there was no guarantee they could even scratch him. But the Black King had killed such a martial artist as if he were stepping on a bug.

It was impossible to understand how strong one had to be to do such a thing. Even with all their common sense and knowledge of martial arts, it couldn’t be explained.

That was more like a miracle than martial arts.

“It’s okay. The Guild Leader will take care of that guy.”

“…That’s right! The Guild Leader isn’t human either.”

Their blood was boiling.

Being able to see martial artists of that caliber fighting was an incredible stroke of luck. And now, instead of a pride battle between martial artists with a clear difference in skill like Lee Myung-hwan and Gui Pyeon, a real life-or-death battle between superhumans would unfold.

And not only them, but the whole world would be watching this battle.

They couldn’t yet predict what the outcome of this battle would be, and in what direction the storm would flow after everyone had watched it.

But one thing was certain.

‘I can’t miss a single moment.’

Those who clenched their fists stared at the screen as if they were being sucked into it.

“Are you okay?”

Lee Myung-hwan forced a smile.

“Don’t smile, you bastard. It looks terrible.”

Bang Jin-hoon shook his head. He was barely human. His face would look like a basketball if it swelled any more, and one of his arms was almost torn off and dangling.

And one side of his abdomen was so badly torn that the bleeding wouldn’t stop. These three places were the most severely injured, but that didn’t mean the rest of his body was fine.

It was the kind of situation where the phrase ‘not a single part of his body was unscathed’ was meant to be used. An ordinary person would have died at least 20 times over from those injuries.

But even in the midst of all that, Lee Myung-hwan was still grinning.

“You… you should get out of here. You need to get treatment.”

“I will watch.”

“You could die, you know?”

“…I will watch. If I just leave here, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life, even if I survive.”

“No…”

Bang Jin-hoon, who was about to say something, shook his head. This wasn’t a matter of logic in the first place. And he felt like he understood why Lee Myung-hwan was acting like this. He would have said the same thing.

Lee Myung-hwan struggled to get up.

“What are you trying to do?”

“…Something I have to do.”

Lee Myung-hwan, who had gotten up from his seat, staggered towards Kang Jin-ho. He hadn’t been able to speak properly earlier because he was flustered, but now he had to speak.

“Guild Leader.”

Lee Myung-hwan, who had barely managed to stand in front of Kang Jin-ho, opened his mouth in the clearest voice he could muster.

“I have… completed the order.”

The corners of Kang Jin-ho’s mouth curled up slightly.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“…Yes.”

He hadn’t expected him to win. No, he hadn’t even wanted him to show his tenacity. All he wanted was for Lee Myung-hwan to see this match with his own eyes and feel it with his own body.

But Lee Myung-hwan had done tens of times better than he had imagined. Even to the point of risking his own life.

“But next time…”

“Yes.”

“Don’t overdo it. If you die, it’s all over. There’s ‘you fought well,’ but there’s no ‘you died well.'”

“…I will keep that in mind.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

The look in Lee Myung-hwan’s swollen eyes, which were barely visible, made Kang Jin-ho smile.

People grow through hardship, and martial artists grow through battle. Fighting an opponent that you can’t possibly defeat with your own strength is not something you can easily experience.

This experience would clearly make Lee Myung-hwan grow as a martial artist.

And someday…

Kang Jin-ho lightly tapped Lee Myung-hwan’s shoulder.

“Don’t forget. What you’re feeling now, and this feeling.”

“…I won’t forget.”

“Your injuries are deep. Don’t overdo it and rest.”

“Yes.”

Lee Myung-hwan bowed his head and staggered towards the corner. Lee Myung-hwan, who was leaning against the wall of the hangar, let out a deep breath.

“Hoo…”

A deep sigh, as if his soul was about to leave his body. After letting out that sigh, Lee Myung-hwan quietly grabbed his chest.

His heart was still pounding like crazy.

The excitement hadn’t faded.

‘I know.’

The reason he was able to stand here wasn’t because he was strong. This was just an opportunity that Kang Jin-ho had given him. But either way, it was Lee Myung-hwan who had seized that opportunity.

‘Someday, I’ll stand here with my own strength.’

It was far away. So very far away.

But if he followed in the footsteps of the one who had gone before him, he too would someday be able to stand here with his own strength.

That’s what it meant to carry on.

To do that…

He pressed down on the hole in his abdomen.

Even at this moment, his consciousness was fading in and out. Even though he knew that closing his eyes would make things easier, Lee Myung-hwan desperately held onto his consciousness, suppressing the pain he felt throughout his body.

‘I have to watch.’

What kind of battle would unfold here. And where he needed to aim for.

Click.

Kang Jin-ho lit the cigarette in his mouth.

“For now, we’ve won once.”

“We were lucky.”

“Luck, huh…”

Kang Jin-ho twisted his lips at Wiggins’ words.

‘Luck is only given to those who have worked hard.’

Luck certainly exists in the world. But you need skill to make that luck your own.

It was Lee Myung-hwan’s tenacity that had seized that luck. If Lee Myung-hwan hadn’t shown his tenacity until the very end, he would have fallen before luck could find him.

“Anyway, it’s good.”

Kang Jin-ho blew out smoke and looked across.

“It seems like they’re in a hurry.”

Kang Jin-ho shrugged as he saw the person walking out from the other side.

“So, who’s going out this time?”

“Hmm.”

Wiggins narrowed his eyes.

It was someone he had never seen before. It was difficult to decide who to send out without any information about the opponent.

‘He doesn’t seem to have any weapons…’

‘Then a martial artist? Or…’

“You need to look at the flow of energy, not just their appearance, Wiggins.”

Wiggins turned his gaze to the person who had spoken.

“The mana is fluctuating irregularly. It’s as if the world is being distorted around him. That means… he’s not a typical knight.”

A master.

Kang Jin-ho nodded at his words.

“It seems like he’s a sorcerer.”

“A sorcerer, then…”

“In your terms, it’s like a wizard.”

“Hmm.”

The master smiled as if he found it interesting.

“It seems like it’s my turn this time. I should be the one to deal with someone like that.”

“Can you do it?”

“Well…”

The master gave Kang Jin-ho a faint smile.

“I’m too old to talk about tenacity. I’m just going to do my part.”

“But please promise me one thing.”

“Huh?”

The master whispered something to Kang Jin-ho. Kang Jin-ho made a troubled face at those words, then slowly nodded.

“…I understand.”

“Thank you.”

The master, with a relieved expression, slowly walked forward.

“Well, then…”

Blue mana flowed from his eyes.

“I must have a fight that I won’t be ashamed of.”

They would be watching.

From across the sea.

His knights.