Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 2038

Clang!

A sharp blade sliced through skin. The blade, which cut through flesh as easily as paper, despite the skin being as tough as steel, began to carve into the red muscle beneath.

Crunch! Crrrunch!

The frigid energy emanating from the blade violently tore through the muscle, each strand tougher and more resilient than forged steel.

It was a fleeting moment.

But for those involved, that fleeting moment felt like an eternity.

One, feeling the blade dig deeper into his neck, and the other, throwing himself into a single challenge where only death awaited if he failed.

Both had staked everything on this one moment!

‘More!’

The Sword Demon pulled every last bit of his remaining inner energy [qi or internal life force], cramming it into the blade. Not just the inner energy in his dantian [energy center below the navel], but even the innate energy he had to protect until the very end!

As if he didn’t care if the result was death, as long as he could make this one attack succeed!

And Bator was the same.

Crack!

Bator, twisting his neck, poured all his remaining inner energy into his neck.

If he could just block it, victory would be his. Once they had both exhausted their inner energy, the Sword Demon would never be able to defeat him.

Crack!

His teeth broke.

The blood vessels in his eyes, unable to withstand the excessive pressure, all burst. The blood flowing from his eyes created red tears, as if they were mourning each other’s deaths.

Life and death.

A single moment of struggle that separated the extremes!

Fwoosh!

Red blood gushed from Bator’s severed neck. It was so fierce that it was hard to find an un-cut spot on his tattered body, and it was amazing that so much blood still remained.

It tore through.

The Sword Demon’s everything, his entire life, martial arts, and even his soul, were contained in the blade, which cut through Bator’s flesh and finally lodged in his bone.

Clang! Clang!

The sound of bone and metal grinding against each other echoed through his body, piercing his eardrums.

Death.

Inevitable death was now touching Bator’s neck.

Crack! Clang! Clang!

A moment that seemed like it would last forever, an eternity where it wouldn’t be strange if someone died first, not because their body couldn’t endure it, but because their mind couldn’t.

The moment that shone brilliantly like a meteor across the night sky finally met its inevitable end.

Silence.

The world stopped.

No one could exhale, and no one could inhale. The world, where everything had stopped, fell into complete silence.

How much time had passed?

It was a small sound of water that broke the long, suffocating silence.

Drip.

It flowed down.

The blood flowing down the sword lodged in Bator’s neck, staining even the hand holding the sword red, dripped to the floor.

Drip.

One drop, then another.

The Sword Demon’s mouth, holding the sword, twitched. As if his mouth wouldn’t open easily, the Sword Demon, whose mouth muscles twitched several times, forced his mouth open.

Sluuuurp.

He had only opened his mouth, but his lips, which had no moisture left, cracked open, and jelly-like, sticky blood oozed out.

“Haa…”

A voice like scraping metal.

The Sword Demon, whose face looked like he had aged ten years in that short time, tried to convey something with a voice that didn’t feel like it had any strength.

“…Haa… Hah.”

The Sword Demon, who tried a little harder to make a sound, shook his head slightly as if it was no longer possible. Then, instead of speaking, he twisted his unmoving mouth and somehow managed to force a smile.

‘It was a paper-thin difference…’

‘No. Even that is too thick.’

If he had just one more drop of inner energy, if the strength remaining in his muscles was enough to lift a piece of paper, if he could have pushed that blade just a micrometer further into Bator’s neck…

Then he would have been able to cut off Bator’s neck.

But that was just a hypothetical.

His blade ultimately failed to cut through Bator’s flesh. Now, he didn’t even have the strength left to pull out the blade lodged in his neck bone.

But…

‘I have no regrets.’

His whole body felt like it had turned to sand. It felt like his body, which had no moisture left, was crumbling and flowing away.

He had given everything he had, so how could he have any regrets? He had simply challenged everything, and in the end, he had failed.

In the world of competition, that was all there was.

Bator’s hand, slowly being raised, came into the Sword Demon’s eyes, which could no longer properly perceive the colors of the world.

It was trembling.

Bator’s hand, a symbol of strength that had destroyed so many things, was trembling as if it was struggling to even lift it.

It was a very impressive sight for the Sword Demon, who was no longer able to continue thinking.

Bator’s hand, raised with difficulty, so much difficulty, touched his blade. Slowly, as if a blind person was feeling an object with their touch.

Sluuuurp.

Bator’s hand, touching the blade, cracked open and sucked up the blood.

It was a ridiculous sight.

That steel-like body, which had to squeeze out all its remaining energy to make a single scratch, was now so weak that it could be cut with an ordinary knife.

It meant that he, too, had poured out everything, just like him.

The trembling hand grabbed the blade lodged in his neck. As if he couldn’t properly use the strength in his arm, Bator pulled out the blade lodged in his neck after giving it strength several times.

“Cough!”

Red blood gushed from Bator’s mouth.

His legs were trembling, and his face was devoid of any color.

Perhaps this was a sight he would never see again.

Crack.

Bator’s hand gripped his blade. He was clearly at his limit, but what was certain was that even without a single drop of inner energy left, he was someone who could take the Sword Demon’s life just by swinging his hand.

The moment his blade failed to cut through that neck, the match was decided. All that remained was to confirm the result.

Crack!

Bator, who had grabbed the blade with one hand, slowly clenched his other hand. And the Sword Demon clearly captured all of that in his eyes.

‘What kind of expression am I making right now?’

He was suddenly curious.

Was it a composed face, or was it one filled with fear?

Or was he pretending to be expressionless, concealing his boiling inner feelings?

He didn’t know what his expression was, but the emotion that filled his insides was only regret. Regret for not reaching what he had poured everything into.

But he shouldn’t leave any lingering feelings.

And at that moment.

Crack!

Bator’s completely clenched fist was slightly pulled back, and then it flew towards his face with fierce momentum.

The Sword Demon didn’t close his eyes.

He had no intention of choosing to accept death calmly. Even if his body wouldn’t move, he would resist until the very last moment, and he would clearly capture his end in his own eyes!

A large fist flew towards his wide-open eyes. The world was all covered by that fist, and darkness came.

Darkness.

Deep darkness.

In an instant, the Sword Demon, who couldn’t tell if he was dead or alive, heard a small sound.

Sizzle.

Thump.

The fist that had stopped right in front of his face was slowly withdrawn.

The Sword Demon’s eyes were filled with questions.

‘Why?’

This was a stupid thing to do.

The match between him and Bator was perfect. A match where they had both squeezed out everything without anyone being able to make excuses. Why wouldn’t he completely finish the end of that match?

Compassion? Or respect for the one he fought?

Bullshit.

No emotion could justify ending this match in this way. This was an insult to him.

But his completely ruined throat couldn’t even make a proper sound. At best, it could only make a sound like air leaking.

Was it because that sound reached him?

Bator, who was about to turn around, glanced back at the Sword Demon. Bator, seeing the desperate expression on the Sword Demon’s face, bared his teeth.

“Don’t… get the wrong idea, you idiot. This isn’t compassion, and it’s not mercy either.”

“Was it fun?”

The Sword Demon stared blankly at Bator.

Fun?

“Heh heh heh.”

Bator chuckled softly and slowly nodded.

“I’ve fought against those stronger than you. But… I’ve never enjoyed fighting someone as much as I enjoyed fighting you.”

“I don’t care about the future of the world. As long as I can fight to my heart’s content, that’s good enough for me.”

Bator raised his hand and pressed down on his neck. As if his head was spinning.

“Maybe it’ll be more fun next time. Right?”

An indescribable emotion swirled in the Sword Demon’s eyes. Bator seemed to understand what those eyes meant.

“Come to kill me anytime. I’ll fight you anytime.”

The Sword Demon’s body collapsed on the spot.

Thud.

Bator, glancing at the Sword Demon who had fallen to the floor, pressed down hard on the wound on his neck.

What decided the match was just one step. One step forward, driven by stubbornness.

If he hadn’t stepped forward, his neck would have been cut off for sure. It was only because the distance had become closer that the rotational force of the blade hadn’t fully impacted his neck.

A match decided by just a hand’s breadth.

But Bator had no intention of accepting the result of this match. Who would be happy with a victory that was won by chance because of a step forward driven by stubbornness?

“Next time, one of us will die.”

Bator, looking at the fallen Sword Demon, turned his body away.

But his legs no longer had the strength to support his heavy body. As soon as he turned his body, his knees buckled, and his body fell to the floor.

Thump.

At that moment, someone grabbed his shoulder and pulled him up. Then, he put Bator’s thick, long arm over his shoulder and supported him.

“…Master.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled faintly as he carried the collapsing Bator.

“You’re a mess.”

“…Damn it.”

Bator bared his teeth and smiled. He was a mess, but somehow, he didn’t feel bad.

“How was it?”

“Huh?”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Bator with questioning eyes at the sudden question.

“Did I… prove it?”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled in a small voice.

“Yes. Enough.”

“That’s… a relief.”

He didn’t know.

His worries, the path he had to take, were still vague. He thought that if he poured everything into this match, he would grasp something, but the world still didn’t easily give him comfort.

But…

‘It doesn’t matter.’

This wasn’t his end.

Someday he would know. Someday he would get it.

If he didn’t stop taking these steps.

Because living was a process of constantly finding answers.

So…

Bator’s head drooped.

Kang Jin-ho, who had been silently watching him lose consciousness, reached out and lightly patted his shoulder.

The warriors of the prairie were those who constantly wandered under the star-filled sky.

If that endless journey continued, someday, what they desired would be given into their hands.

So…