Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 2010

A phantom?

Or a real entity?

There’s no time to figure it out. What’s certain is that the master, split into dozens, is wielding his sword in various forms.

“Hmph!”

The Phantasmist’s hands swiftly form a hand seal. The energy radiating from his body is drawn into the talismans surrounding him, further strengthening the barrier of energy.

CLANG!

The moment the sword strikes the barrier, a sound like shattering glass echoes, and the Phantasmist’s body sways violently. But that wasn’t the end of it.

The phantoms created by the master move independently, each attacking as if they were truly alive.

‘Impossible!’

It shouldn’t be possible. Even if his body could split, there’s no way he could wield multiple weapons in his hands.

“Go!”

The moment the Phantasmist spreads his hands to the left and right, the talismans that were swirling around him shoot out in all directions. Simultaneously, the phantoms struck by his talismans vanish instantly like bubbles.

All that remains is the master’s main body, which has retreated backward.

The master, with his sword resting on his shoulder, puts his remaining hand to his face, lost in thought.

“He linked the mediums with mana [a form of magical energy]. Strong in lines, but weak in areas, is it?”

“Hmm.”

The Phantasmist frowned.

‘What’s going on?’

They are clearly phantoms. But they were different from the phantoms they created. Their phantoms dig into the opponent’s mind. But this person created phantoms without any tricks.

That much is clear from the reaction of the Twelve Flying Blades behind him.

The Twelve Flying Blades are tilting their heads, looking this way. If those phantoms were only visible to his eyes, their reaction would be different.

“Phantoms that attack… that can’t be. Did he synchronize them with the energy emitted from the sword tip?”

“That’s a trade secret, so I can’t tell you.”

The Phantasmist narrowed his eyes. His milky white pupils stared calmly at the master, who had regained his composure.

‘Just because they move as if they’re alive doesn’t mean they are. Phantoms can’t have a will of their own.’

Then there’s only one possibility.

He had already created the movements of those phantoms in advance. In other words, he already had a rough pattern set up, and he was using a modified version of that pattern depending on the situation.

Although he had figured out the secret, he was instead filled with astonishment.

The situations that occur during battle are not simple. There can be hundreds, not just dozens, of situations. How could a human brain possibly memorize the movements of dozens of people and use them appropriately?

‘Incredible.’

This wasn’t admiration for martial arts, but admiration for a human being.

The Phantasmist didn’t think he was invincible either. There were many who were stronger than him.

However, while it was common to admire an opponent’s martial arts, it was rare to admire an opponent’s brain.

“It seems I need to look at things a little differently.”

“If you have the chance, that is.”

“Hmm?”

At that moment, the master’s rune sword emitted a pure white light.

At the same time, a pure white light erupted from the floor where the Phantasmist was standing. Before he knew it, a bizarrely patterned magic circle was drawn around him.

‘Already?’

“Take this!”

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!

Flames erupt from the floor. It was as if a volcano had exploded, and a massive inferno engulfed the Phantasmist’s body.

“Let me give you a piece of advice. If you are blinded by what you see, you will miss what’s under your feet.”

The master grinned.

“Literally.”

“What… what is that…”

The mouths of those sitting in the restaurant, watching the TV screen, dropped open.

“…Is this real?”

They couldn’t help but be bewildered.

Just a moment ago, they had witnessed a desperate battle with their own eyes. It was clearly a fight that transcended human limits.

But that was still within the realm of humans.

They had seen terrifying and desperate scenes of people wielding whips at speeds that surpassed human limits, people running in to bite faces even when their arms were being torn off, and people’s heads flying off in an instant, but those were all things that happened within reality.

But the scene they were seeing now transcended reality.

How could a person spew flames, unleash blizzards, split into dozens, or shoot lava-like flames from the ground?

‘Are we supposed to believe this?’

Now, doubt was the first thing that came to mind.

No, it couldn’t be helped. It was more absurd to believe that such a scene was happening in reality.

A man who was on his phone checked the reactions to the posts on the community.

—

Fake, fake, fake, fake, fake, fake, fake, fake, fake, fake, fake, fake, fake, fake, fake, fake

—

You’ve got to be kidding me. Is this real? =1

—

Look at those special effects. Did they spend a lot of money?

—

Who’s the director? The angle is terrible compared to the special effects. Use someone who knows what they’re doing.

—

Wow, the CGI class of the United States!

—

What is this supposed to be?

Most of the reactions were denying the situation.

But this was a very natural reaction.

The reactions in other communities were not much different.

—

I think we need to think rationally. Is there any reason for all the countries to collude to fake this? What would they gain from it?

—

Isn’t there no reason not to?

—

I don’t think it’s possible for the United States, China, and Russia to be in cahoots and deceive their people with one mind and one purpose. The side that exposes it first would gain a huge advantage, so why would those countries have to sleep with the enemy?

—

Of course, that’s an unrealistic story. But the scene I’m seeing with my own eyes seems even more unrealistic. So, do you really believe that’s real?

—

I also find it hard to believe. But it’s even harder to think it’s not real.

It wasn’t just the communities.

From the comments on portal news articles to social media. Everyone was in an uproar.

“No, that…”

And the reaction didn’t just stay online.

A trembling voice leaked from the mouths of those sitting in the restaurant.

“Even so… is that even possible?”

“Isn’t it a scam?”

“What would they gain from scamming us with that?”

“…Those terrorists have nukes. They need to negotiate, but they’re trying to convince us that they’re so dangerous that we have to negotiate, right?”

“That makes no sense! Then they would have planned this with those guys, and if they were in that kind of relationship, then the guys who took over the place would be in cahoots with each country.”

“That’s how it turns out…”

“So, all the countries in the world are putting on a scam with one mind and one purpose? Some countries are seeing their approval ratings plummet, and their prime ministers are about to be dragged out into the streets. Why would they do that?”

“Ha, this is crazy.”

Reality didn’t make sense.

But it made even less sense that it wasn’t reality.

That’s why they couldn’t help but waver.

But one thing was certain.

“…Are those martial artists really capable of doing that?”

The image of the martial artists, which had only been vaguely thought of, was taking shape. Hearing something a hundred or a thousand times is not as good as seeing it once with your own eyes.

For those who had never felt the existence of martial artists, no matter how much they heard or read about them, this video was enough to shock them as if it had opened their heads directly.

“Then the military is useless, right? Can we fight those monsters with guns?”

“That’s nonsense. If guns don’t work, we can just shoot them with cannons. They’re still just people, so why wouldn’t weapons work? If those guys could beat cannons, they would have already started something. Isn’t that why they’re just doing that there?”

“Y-yeah, I guess?”

One of the men at the table said with a pale face.

“But… then shouldn’t we do something about those people?”

“…What are you talking about?”

“How can we live with those people? If I say one wrong word, I could be burned to death.”

A strange silence fell.

Humans are weak in the face of violence.

It’s the same for everyone. When talking to someone, can it be the same when they are unarmed and when they are holding a knife?

Even if the essence of a person doesn’t change, everything changes depending on how much violence they possess.

It could be a knife, a gun, or sometimes it could be power that oppresses the world.

But those people each possess an immense power that cannot be compared to such small acts of violence. Can we really live with such people without any problems?

“Until now… well, if you think about it, we’ve been living together until now. So, what’s so different?”

“It was possible because we didn’t know, because we didn’t know! How can it be possible if we know?”

“And… you have to think about it. Was there really nothing wrong? Do you know how many people go missing every year? Can you be sure that none of those people were killed by those guys?”

“No, that’s…”

“I can’t live with those guys. We have to kill them all!”

Confusion appeared on people’s faces.

Some were curious, some were terrified. Some began to spout extreme words, and some were worried about the changing world.

They were watching the same screen, but their reactions were different.

But one thing was certain: at this moment, everyone was beginning to think about the existence of martial artists from their own perspective.

“No, but then…”

“Huh?”

“Which one of them winning is good for us?”

“…Huh?”

“Those guys are fighting each other. The one who wins represents that side, right? Then who is the moderate one?”

The people’s expressions became strange.

They had been watching the fight, but they had never thought about that.

“Isn’t it in the article?”

“Let’s, let’s look it up.”

People started taking out their phones.

Those who had been watching the screen as if they were watching a movie were now realizing that the fight could change their lives.

Like this….

Things were changing.

Whether the direction of that change would benefit the world or plunge it into despair was still unknown, but at this moment, the world was clearly changing.

And once the world had changed, it would never be able to return to the way it was before.

At this moment….

The world is in turmoil.