Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 2021

‘I’ve gone mad.’

Of course, I know.

I know that the power of that strike isn’t particularly greater than the other Twelve Flying Blades we’ve seen so far.

It’s just that the accumulated damage broke the wall, like water overflowing.

I know, but…

“No, goddamn it! Knowing it in my head is different!”

Bang Jin-hoon screamed and threw himself away.

The force that flew in an instant slammed into the spot where he had been, causing a huge explosion.

KWA-AAAAANG!

The reinforced concrete shattered into pieces and flew in all directions like fireworks. It was obvious that even a martial artist wouldn’t be safe if hit directly by that power.

Cold sweat poured down Bang Jin-hoon’s forehead like a waterfall.

‘Crazy! No, crazy!’

What was I thinking, stepping up to face such a monster? What kind of guts did I have?

BWOOOOONG!

With a roar like hundreds of bees taking flight at once, Jang Wang’s released force flew straight towards Bang Jin-hoon.

A simple attack with no variation.

But that made the force unbelievably fast.

Bang Jin-hoon twisted his body, dodging the incoming force. But before he could straighten his body, another force flew in, and then another.

In the blink of an eye, dozens of forces covered Bang Jin-hoon’s entire body.

“UAAAH! SHIBAAAAAAL!” [A Korean expletive, similar to ‘damn it!’]

Bang Jin-hoon threw himself onto the floor.

He slammed into the ground and rolled at a terrifying speed. The forces slammed into the floor where he had been, and fragments soared up like fireworks.

“Hoo!”

Bang Jin-hoon kicked off the floor and stood up.

Rolling on the ground to avoid an enemy’s attack was a technique that martial artists called ‘Naryeotagon’ [a martial arts technique involving rolling to evade], and it was considered the most shameful way to evade.

But Bang Jin-hoon didn’t have any sense of shame.

‘Shame, my ass!’

I need to live first.

If I can’t dodge and get killed, that’s what’s shameful. If I can live, what does it matter if I roll on the floor or do a handstand in my underwear?

Jang Wang, who had retracted his extended hand, smiled faintly.

“Your basics seem solid…” He shrugged lightly.

“But it won’t be easy to achieve victory with just those basics, would it?”

Bang Jin-hoon couldn’t retort and just caught his breath.

‘This is insane.’

It’s terrifying.

The force, imbued with tremendous power, flew at an unbelievable speed. And dozens of them at once.

I could immediately understand why he was called Jang Wang. If Bang Jin-hoon had to give him a title, he wouldn’t have thought of anything other than Jang Wang [meaning ‘King Jang’].

Fast, strong, and diverse.

What more could there be in martial arts?

‘Damn it, I don’t have that.’

Bator could have endured it with his physique.

Wiggins could have avoided the opponent’s attack and aimed for his back.

And Jang Min would have torn apart the opponent’s attack head-on and tried to sink his nails into their vitals.

Kang Jin-ho?

There’s no need to talk about Kang Jin-ho. He could have done anything.

But Bang Jin-hoon is not like that.

He can’t endure like Bator, nor can he evade like Wiggins. And he can’t break through like Jang Min either.

So, what should he do?

‘What am I supposed to do?’

It hits him hard, the fact that he has no weapon.

Whether it’s a master, a blood demon, or even Lee Myung-hwan, they all have their own solid weapons. That’s why they could fight against those stronger than them and land a blow on their opponents.

Because they clearly had an advantage over their opponents.

But…

No matter how hard Bang Jin-hoon racked his brain, he couldn’t think of any area where he was ahead of Jang Wang.

If he were to fight his perfect superior, the result would be obvious. That’s the law of the martial world. If you fight against a different school with different martial arts, sometimes the result is different from your skill, but if you fight against a fellow disciple who has learned the same martial arts, the result is as good as your skill.

Because they know each other so well.

In a broad sense, Jang Wang’s martial arts and Bang Jin-hoon’s martial arts were not that different.

So, there was no chance for a comeback.

BWOOOOONG!

Before he could even organize his thoughts, Jang Wang’s force flew in.

“Hiiik!”

Bang Jin-hoon twisted his body, dodging the incoming force. But where he dodged, the force that Jang Wang had released in succession had already arrived, as if welcoming him in advance.

KWA-AAAAANG!

The force that flew in slammed into Bang Jin-hoon’s shoulder.

“Kkeuek!”

All the blood vessels in Bang Jin-hoon’s eyes burst.

He had wrapped himself in energy and twisted his body to avoid a direct hit, but just the graze sent a shock through him that felt like all his internal organs were being severed.

But there was no time to groan in pain. The moment his body stiffened from the impact, a white force covered his vision.

A sight like an avalanche rushing in.

This time, as if not giving him a chance to roll away, a tremendous number of forces flew in all at once.

“Iik!”

The moment he realized there was nowhere to dodge, Bang Jin-hoon’s feet kicked off the floor. He retreated frantically, swinging his arms like a storm to deflect the incoming forces.

KWANG! KWA-AAANG! KWANG!

Each time the forces collided, Bang Jin-hoon’s body was pushed back, and blood gushed from his mouth like a fountain.

Yet, he managed not to fall.

No, it wasn’t that he wasn’t falling, but that he knew that the moment he fell, those forces would take his life, so he couldn’t fall. Bang Jin-hoon, pushed to the edge, gritted his teeth and deflected the forces.

“A-are you okay?”

Lee Hyun-soo’s face turned pale.

Of course, Lee Hyun-soo’s level was not high enough to understand the battle that was unfolding at such an unbelievable level. But just from what he could see, it wasn’t hard to tell that Bang Jin-hoon was clearly being pushed back.

No.

It wasn’t just that he was being pushed back. Since the start of the fight, Bang Jin-hoon hadn’t even been able to attempt a counterattack, let alone get close to Jang Wang.

‘Isn’t this going to be a disaster?’

If it were someone other than Bang Jin-hoon, Lee Hyun-soo might have had some hope that they would counterattack with some move he couldn’t even imagine. But he didn’t have any such hope for Bang Jin-hoon.

“S-shouldn’t we stop them? He doesn’t even have time to surrender, if this keeps up…”

Lee Hyun-soo looked around urgently, but the directors were leisurely chatting among themselves, as if they couldn’t even hear Lee Hyun-soo’s words.

“It seems to be going well?”

“He needs to get hit at least three more times.”

“Hehehe, it looks like he’s starting to lose his mind.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s eyes widened at the directors’ nonchalant attitude.

“A-are you okay?”

When the directors didn’t seem inclined to answer, Lee Hyun-soo finally sought help.

“C-Chairman.”

Kang Jin-ho, who was smoking a cigarette, asked nonchalantly.

“Why?”

“Director Bang… is he okay? What if he dies?”

“That’s the kind of place it is.”

“N-no, that guy wouldn’t have stepped up with such a great resolve, would he?”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

They were usually at each other’s throats, but now they seemed worried.

“Just watch.”

“B-but, how can he…”

“Director Bang isn’t as weak as you think.”

Kang Jin-ho said with a low laugh.

“Do you know what Director Bang’s biggest flaw is?”

“He’s an old geezer.”

For a moment, Kang Jin-ho, unable to refute, coughed awkwardly.

“That too, but…”

Kang Jin-ho’s gaze turned to Bang Jin-hoon, who was blocking Jang Wang’s force.

“He thinks too much.”

“…Huh? That guy? Isn’t he the one who doesn’t think enough?”

“Both aren’t wrong. To be precise, Director Bang has too many unnecessary thoughts.”

“And he lacks confidence. He doesn’t trust himself.”

“No, everyone around him is a monster. How can he have confidence?”

If Lee Hyun-soo were in that position, he would be lucky if he didn’t fall into self-loathing, let alone have confidence.

“In terms of talent… Director Bang is one of the most outstanding. It’s just that the environment didn’t support him.”

“…No way.”

“No. It’s true.”

Wiggins sided with Kang Jin-ho.

“Even I sometimes felt inferior. If I had to pick one true genius in the General Assembly, I would pick Director Bang.”

“…Are you kidding? That guy?”

If you had to pick one word that didn’t fit Bang Jin-hoon, it would be genius. No matter how you looked at him, that guy didn’t fit the word talent.

“A genius in martial arts is different from a genius in general.”

“…How so?”

“A flash of understanding isn’t important. What’s important is the steadfastness to build up one by one slowly but surely, and the adaptability like water.”

Kang Jin-ho pointed his chin at Bang Jin-hoon.

“Look at that.”

“…Yes?”

“He’s blocking them now.”

Lee Hyun-soo looked at Bang Jin-hoon with doubtful eyes.

‘Huh?’

I think I know what he means.

Bang Jin-hoon, who looked like he was about to collapse in a bloody mess when they first clashed, now seemed to have some stability. He was still being pushed back unilaterally, but now he was firmly deflecting, dodging, and evading the incoming forces in place.

“If he had been born in the Central Plains of the past, not in the Korean martial arts world, he would have established a family and created a school.”

“Now they will know too.”

Kang Jin-ho curled up the corners of his mouth.

And at that moment.

KOOONG!

A clear sound pierced his ears.

Lee Hyun-soo’s eyes focused on one spot.

His foot.

Bang Jin-hoon’s foot.

Bang Jin-hoon’s foot, which had been pushed back, deflected, and bounced back, was now, for the first time, taking a step forward.

“T-that?”

He took a step forward in the midst of the avalanche of forces?

He wasn’t stupid enough not to understand how incredible that was.

At that moment, Bang Jin-hoon began to move forward little by little, like a salmon swimming upstream. He took one step forward and then retreated two steps, then took three steps forward and retreated one step.

But he could tell. Bang Jin-hoon was moving forward slowly but surely.

“It seems his distractions have disappeared.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled, showing his teeth.

Just by looking at his back, you could tell how focused Bang Jin-hoon was at this moment.

“Now, a counterattack…”

WHOOOSH!

“AAAAAAAH!”

At that moment, Bang Jin-hoon was hit by a force and bounced away, rolling on the floor.

Lee Hyun-soo slowly turned his head to look at Kang Jin-ho. The moment he saw his blank expression, Kang Jin-ho turned his head away.

“A counterattack?”

Ah, that…

What a clueless person.