Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 2009

It was an astonishing sight.

Even martial artists who had reached the pinnacle of their skills, capable of effortlessly performing feats unimaginable to ordinary people, were left gaping at the dragon form created by the master.

Red flames formed a shape as if drawn with a pen, and from the end of that shape, an enormous torrent of fire poured out.

KWAH-AH-AH-AH-AH!

A destructive force that defied description was unleashed upon the Phantasmist. The intense heat, capable of turning a frail human body into charcoal in an instant, rapidly heated the cavernous space deep underground.

“Hmm.”

However, the Phantasmist, who had to face the flames head-on, remained utterly calm.

As his hand emerged from his sleeve, five talismans were released into the air from his fingertips.

The five talismans, spinning in the air, emitted a clear, pure energy, blocking the incoming flames.

KWAH-AH-AH-AH-AH!

Red flames poured down.

And a transparent shield blocked the flames.

It was truly a bizarre sight.

The flames, shot with tremendous force, collided with the transparent shield and scattered in all directions. The floor where the flames touched melted instantly, and the walls and ceiling quickly turned red-hot.

However, even that tremendous heat could not penetrate the barrier created by the Phantasmist.

The master’s eyes widened at the sight.

‘I have no idea what principle that is based on.’

Amplifying magical power using a catalyst is common knowledge in magic. His rune sword also acts as a kind of catalyst, so there’s nothing particularly surprising about that.

The problem is that the talismans the Phantasmist pulled out are not amplifying his inner energy but are emitting energy on their own.

‘Is it like a magical bomb?’

No, it might be closer to an artifact. In any case, it was an ability that was difficult to understand with the master’s knowledge.

But that would probably be the same for the master from the Phantasmist’s perspective.

“This isn’t going to be easy.”

Most martial arts matches are similar. It’s just a process of determining who is faster, who is stronger, and who is more skilled.

However, the fight between the master and the Phantasmist would not unfold in that way. They had to grope for a way to break through each other’s abilities, like blind people playing hide-and-seek, without knowing anything about each other’s powers.

PAH-AH!

The master swung his sword briefly. At the same time, the pouring flames vanished like an illusion, and a tremendous storm began to rage.

The intensely heated air cooled down in an instant. No, it didn’t just cool down; an immense chill filled the cavern, and a blizzard carrying sharp ice fragments began to rage.

WHOO-EE-EE-EE-EE!

CRACK! KEE-KAH-GAK!

In the ear-splitting wind, the sound of ice blades clashing against each other echoed eerily.

Front, back, left, right?

Such words could not describe it. A storm that covered all directions swept over the Phantasmist’s entire body.

“…Unique.”

The Phantasmist lightly flicked his sleeve. The five talismans spinning in the air were sucked into his sleeve, and then twelve more talismans were released, swirling around his body.

The tremendous chill that tore at the body and froze the flesh raged, but neither the pouring ice rain nor the immense gale that could blow away a body like a piece of paper could touch the Phantasmist’s body.

The raging storm couldn’t even ruffle the Phantasmist’s clothes. The space created by his talismans remained calm, like the eye of a typhoon.

The Phantasmist, as if taking a stroll, leisurely raised his head and smiled.

“Wind, is it…”

Three more talismans appeared in his hand.

“I’m quite confident in that myself.”

The three talismans, floating into the air, began to spin, and then, enveloping the storm, they flew forward. The whirlwind, sucking in broken rocks and the master’s ice blades, formed a dragon-like shape and flew straight toward the master.

The master’s eyes narrowed.

THUD!

He slammed his rune sword into the ground. At the same time, large rocks rose from the ground, blocking the incoming whirlwind.

KWAH-AH-AH-AHNG! KWAH-AH-AHNG!

The wind pierced through the rocks.

The wind, which was practically intangible, ground through the solid rocks like a drill. However, its momentum did not last long. As the rocks rose repeatedly, blocking its path, the whirlwind that had been piercing through the rocks eventually lost its force.

“Hmm…”

The master, having retrieved his rune sword, rubbed his shoulder with his free hand as if it were stiff.

“This is troublesome.”

“I agree, you from the West. If I had known there was someone like you in the West, I would have crossed the sea long ago.”

“I feel the same way.”

“Hoo…”

Bang Jin-hoon, who had been watching their fierce battle without even breathing, let out a deep breath.

“No, what is that…”

The series of attacks and defenses he had just witnessed were completely different from the common sense of martial arts he knew.

Basically, the martial arts he knew started with training the body. Of course, it was possible to unleash energy through inner power, but even that had to be rooted in the body.

However, their fight was completely outside the realm of martial arts he knew.

Energies not rooted in the body were manifested in unimaginable forms and raged.

“Director.”

“…Hmm?”

“Is magic usually like that?”

Wiggins stroked his chin.

“…I don’t know how to answer the word ‘usually.’ Basically, when you first learn magic, the forms are almost the same. Just like how the swordsmanship or fist techniques you learn at first are all similar.”

“That’s true.”

“But beyond that, even if sword techniques start from the same place, they develop vastly different characteristics.”

“That’s right.”

Wiggins slowly nodded.

“Magic is similar. At first, they are all similar, but through repeated research and study, they develop completely different forms.”

“No, even so, that’s…”

Bang Jin-hoon looked at the two with a face that showed he couldn’t understand.

‘How am I supposed to deal with that?’

If he were exposed to that attack?

He would have no choice but to endure it with his bare body. In other words, the moment the impact they could deliver exceeded his durability, he would be helpless.

Just as he was feeling a sense of injustice, Wiggins smiled, as if he had read his thoughts.

“You shouldn’t think like that. If you think about it the other way around, would an attack have worked if Bator was in that position?”

“…Huh?”

Come to think of it, that was also true.

Bang Jin-hoon would have been helpless against such attacks, but conversely, those attacks would be nothing to Bator. There was no way those flames or ice could scratch Bator’s body.

“That’s why I said it’s extremely dependent on compatibility. The reason such a scene is created is because they are evenly matched.”

“I’m more… I’m more curious about that guy. I have no idea what principle that is based on.”

Bang Jin-hoon’s face contorted as he saw Wiggins’ eyes sparkling.

Seeing Wiggins showing curiosity even in this situation made him feel frustrated. It was like seeing a nerd in school saying that solving math problems was fun.

From the start, he was a different breed.

“Lord.”

“Speak.”

“Were there many people who mastered such martial arts in the past?”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

“They were usually called sorcerers, but there weren’t many like that. Only a very few mastered such martial arts throughout the Jianghu [a term referring to the martial arts world].”

“…I see.”

“It’s unfamiliar and troublesome, but I’ve never felt it was particularly threatening… This is the first time I’ve seen someone who has mastered sorcery to this level.”

In a way, it was similar to the Blood King.

However, while the Blood King used his bizarre sorcery with physical force, this man seemed to be focused on the sorcery itself.

‘Should I call him a Taoist rather than a sorcerer? To be precise, it should be called the Way of the Immortals (仙道) [a traditional Chinese spiritual practice].’

Kang Jin-ho also looked at the Phantasmist with considerable interest. He was not entirely ignorant of sorcery either. His Soul Consumption was also a kind of sorcery.

‘That’s not a level that can be achieved through effort.’

Although that was mostly the case with talent, it felt like that was a level that could only be reached by being born with it.

“So, who has the advantage right now?”

“The Phantasmist.”

“The Phantasmist.”

Kang Jin-ho and Wiggins gave the same answer simultaneously to Bang Jin-hoon’s question.

“It looks like a close match…”

Wiggins shook his head.

“It’s extremely wasteful. The fact that he’s pouring out that much power and still not hitting his opponent means the situation is quite difficult.”

They exchanged attacks and defenses.

However, while the Phantasmist’s attacks and defenses were relatively concise, the master had to pour out magical power continuously just to block his opponent’s attacks.

If this situation continued, it was obvious who would tire first.

“But… the master wouldn’t be unaware of that.”

Wiggins’ eyes followed the master’s back.

“He wouldn’t lose so easily.”

‘This isn’t good.’

The master, looking at the Phantasmist who was observing him as if he were an object, put strength into his toes.

The biggest problem was that he couldn’t calculate anything.

The opponent’s abilities were literally unknown. He had no information about what kind of attacks he would use, how much stamina he had, or what his maximum output was.

Although they had exchanged blows once, it was difficult even for him to gauge his opponent’s abilities based on that alone.

But…

‘There’s no reason to panic.’

He had already expected this much anyway.

It was only natural that his opponent was stronger than him. This fight was that kind of fight. Before the great name of the Twelve Heavenly Demons, the title of master and the praise of being the best knight in Europe were meaningless.

“Where…”

The master extended his rune sword forward.

If the defense was solid, he just had to break through it.

“Hey, do you happen to enjoy chess… no, Go?”

“I prefer Go, but I don’t dislike Janggi [Korean chess] either.”

“That’s good then.”

The master curled up the corners of his mouth.

“Let’s have a match.”

At that moment, the master’s body disappeared from the spot as if it had collapsed. At the same time, his body appeared like an illusion right behind the Phantasmist.

KA-GA-GAK!

The tip of the sword, which had pierced in like lightning, was blocked by a yellow talisman. The moment the metal sword and the paper talisman collided, a sharp metallic sound spread, and the talisman pushed the sword away.

However, at that moment, the master’s body disappeared again and appeared right above the Phantasmist’s head.

KAGAK!

But this time, it was the same.

Before his sword could even be swung, a talisman flew in, blocking his sword and pushing it away.

▲ SU XXS ▲SU

–才、9 —-■人- 9 –人、•

But it was at that moment.

The master’s body split into dozens in an instant, covering the Phantasmist’s entire body and stabbing with his sword.

For the first time, a ripple appeared in the Phantasmist’s calm eyes.