Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 2039

A tiny screen.

No, it was a screen that was large enough, or perhaps even excessively so, but it was far too small to contain the events unfolding within it.

Deep sighs escaped the lips of those watching the small screen.

“To this extent…”

Brief glances were exchanged.

Their eyes held a variety of emotions, but the most prominent among them was undoubtedly fear.

“To think that a martial artist… could be this dangerous.”

“This isn’t something to be taken lightly.”

“Is there really a need to be so wary? They’re just people made of flesh and blood, after all.”

“People…”

An old man with a thick beard exhaled a long stream of cigarette smoke.

“Once they reach that level, they can no longer be called human. In many ways.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Remember why humanity’s weapons systems have evolved.”

At those words, everyone fell silent.

“No matter how much we try to dress it up, weapons are ultimately developed to kill people efficiently. Do you understand what I mean? People, I tell you, people.”

“Indeed, that is true.”

The people here understood what this meant. It meant that the weapons prepared to deal with humans, who could be stabbed with a sword or shot with a gun, were not enough to deal with these monsters who were not even human.

“Isn’t it just a matter of firepower? No matter what, they’re still human; can they withstand a bombardment? If it comes down to it…”

The speaker trailed off. But everyone here knew what would follow. In the face of the weapons that threatened the world, the weapons they could also use, nothing was invincible.

“How?”

But the old man with the thick beard seemed to think differently.

“If it were a weapon that could be used so easily, I wouldn’t be worried. Let’s say those monsters appeared in the middle of New York and started massacring people.”

“Or they could storm the White House. Or the Pentagon, or the Kremlin. Or even Zhongnanhai [the central headquarters for the Chinese Communist Party] in China.”

The man slowly looked around at the others.

“When they appear in those places, how do you plan to deal with them? Drop a nuke? Launch a bombardment?”

“Hmm…”

Deep concern was etched on the faces of several people.

They understood that the situation was not as simple as they had thought.

Even those who had not felt particularly threatened by them until now had to change their minds after seeing what was on the screen.

There were humans who could break reinforced concrete with their bare fists, and others who could withstand such attacks with their bare bodies. They had to admit that not only personal firearms but even squad-level weapons could not inflict any damage on them.

“According to the investigation…”

“Yes?”

“It seems that China has already tried to confront them with their military. In that report from before.”

“…Yes.”

“Not only were personal firearms useless, but even tank fire and self-propelled artillery were ineffective. They even withstood bombardments.”

“This was already confirmed in a mock battle between the head of the General Assembly and our army. Skilled martial artists cannot be taken down with firearms.”

A heavy silence fell.

It was something they had already expected, but the realization of that prediction was a different feeling.

“Wouldn’t it be better to move first, even now?”

“First?”

“Since they’re there…”

“You haven’t forgotten what’s there, have you?”

The reason they hadn’t attacked yet was because there were nuclear missiles there. Nuclear missiles with warheads already installed.

“There would be immense damage. But it’s not damage that we can’t recover from. Above all, considering the level of ICBMs [Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles] deployed there, we could somehow use a missile defense system…”

“What if a one-in-a-million situation occurs? Would you take responsibility for that opinion then?”

The man let out a deep sigh.

“Even if a one-in-a-million situation doesn’t occur, it’s the same. The moment we attack that place, we will be declaring an irreversible war on those martial artists.”

The man looked around with sharp eyes.

“It’s unlikely that all the martial artists are gathered there, and there’s no guarantee that those there are the strongest. Then, the terrible things we’ve only imagined will happen in reality. We already know what happened in China.”

They knew.

How could they not?

Someone who had destroyed buildings and massacred people in the middle of a city had escaped without any hindrance.

The people here knew that war was not a simple matter decided by military power alone. What ended a war was not firepower, but occupation.

And they were not so foolish as to not know which country had shed the most blood in the occupation phase.

“Guerrillas…”

“Vietnam or Afghanistan would be no problem. At least we could bomb them as much as we wanted.”

“That’s right.”

Those who hid in dense jungles, dug tunnels in the ground to avoid bombings.

Those who hid in endless deserts and villages where ordinary people lived, stabbing with knives.

Even those who hijacked trucks in the middle of the street and charged, or those who strapped bombs to their bodies and jumped into crowds.

There were too many things that could not be handled by the military and firepower. But if they turned completely against them, what they would have to deal with would not end there.

“How are we supposed to stop monsters who use buildings as jungles and city people as cover?”

“You’re telling us to fight those who can destroy buildings with just a blade, with nothing more than a dull stick that shoots out metal pellets [referring to firearms]?”

A hollow laugh escaped.

The more they talked, the more they understood the situation, the more it became clear that this was not a problem that could be solved.

Of course, they were not strong enough to destroy the current world. But just because they were not strong did not mean that it would be easy to oppose them.

No one would try to defeat an enemy at the cost of their own limbs being cut off.

Moreover, if they had to suffer permanent pain as a result, no one would readily point a gun.

“But we can’t just leave them alone, can we?”

“Why not?”

“…Excuse me?”

The bearded man frowned and opened his mouth.

“What’s the reason we can’t?”

“I don’t understand what you mean. They are threatening us with nuclear weapons.”

“I believe you were the one who strongly opposed attacking North Korea before?”

“…That’s because there was nothing to gain.”

“It’s the same.”

The man waved his hand.

“There’s even less to gain than occupying North Korea. At least we could get fish from that land, but what can we get by killing them all? Coins in their corpses’ pockets?”

“…I understand what you mean. But it’s clear that they are threatening us now.”

“But there are also those who are trying to stop that, aren’t there?”

“That’s true, but…”

The bearded man frowned and said,

“This threat has only started in the last month. So? Did these people just appear a month ago? These martial artists have coexisted with us for hundreds of years without causing any major problems.”

“If there was something to gain, we would have considered war. But this war is a fight where there is nothing to gain. There is no one to pay reparations, and there is no land with that damned oil. We don’t even have a system to deliver democracy to. They are literally ghosts, phantoms.”

The man’s eyes became sharper than ever.

“And the sacrifices we would have to make in this war might be greater than any war in the last fifty years, maybe even the last hundred years.”

Deep sighs escaped everyone’s lips.

They wanted to say it was an exaggeration, but it was hard to say it was an exaggeration. Until now, the attacks of those who opposed them had never fallen on this land.

But if they were to become enemies, it was something that would inevitably happen.

The image of a burning New York flashed through the minds of those gathered here.

Buildings of hundreds of stories collapsing one after another, debris burning. People running away covered in dust, screaming, and the military being deployed, but their power was not enough to defeat even one person.

‘It’s like a monster movie.’

No, a monster might be better.

Because of their size, monsters would always be discovered and guarded against. But there was currently no way to detect and guard against martial artists who would blend into the crowd with calm faces.

Unless they knew the existence of all martial artists, and there would be more unknown martial artists than known ones, how could they prevent their infiltration?

“Don’t just calculate the material damage. If I were them, I would burn down the White House before destroying New York. Or come to take your heads here.”

“Surely…”

“It’s already happened in China. They openly attempted assassinations and failed to stop them, and not a single one of those involved was caught.”

“If you’re thinking of living forever in a bunker where no light enters, that wouldn’t be so bad.”

People with pale faces looked at each other before opening their mouths.

“So… what do you think is the right thing to do? We can’t just sit back and wait, can we?”

“Waiting is the best option right now.”

“But…”

“There are only two options anyway. Fight, or coexist. And what will determine that choice…”

The man’s eyes turned to the screen.

A distant angle captured the two extremely divided camps at either end.

“…will be the result of this match. We can coexist with those who want to talk, but we cannot coexist with those who wield weapons to gain an advantage.”

At those words, everyone looked at the screen.

The match taking place in the deep underground of a distant land.

Perhaps more than they thought was at stake in the match between these inhuman beings. The future would change depending on who won.

Click.

This time, the person who succeeded in lighting a cigarette looked at the screen with sunken eyes.

‘It’s a good strategy to make them aware of what they have to lose. But…’

Sometimes, humans overwhelmed by fear make the wrong choices. A gun is most powerful when it’s in its holster. Once that gun is drawn and fired, there will be no more reason left.

So…

‘Please, let that not happen.’ It must be so.

Absolutely.