Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 2046

Blood gushes from his body, which is cut all over, leaving no space untouched. Each time he pushes off the ground, his mangled muscles scream in excruciating pain.

It was the kind of pain that would make even a well-trained martial artist want to collapse on the spot. But Jang Min’s face showed no sign of faltering as he faced the pain head-on.

‘Move.’

It wasn’t pain that bothered him. What worried him was that his body, worn out from age, might stop moving against his will.

Once.

His body was full of vitality, and he lived with the confidence that he could do anything. Even if it was difficult right now, he believed that with an unwavering spirit and enough time, there was nothing he couldn’t achieve.

He believed that even after ten years.

He believed it even after twenty years.

But after fifty years, a hundred years, and two hundred years.

His once robust body began to betray his will, and his spirit, once as unyielding as an iron fortress, began to rust.

Ting! Ting!

The moment he cuts through the wires in the air, the wires Gongryeong launched surge up. The wires, like snakes raising their heads, wrap around the wires installed in the air, covering Jang Min with bizarre movements.

At that moment, Jang Min’s eyes met Gongryeong’s, who was glaring at him.

He could feel it.

The fervor in those eyes, the unwavering belief that he could not fail.

‘…I envy you.’

That was the spirit of someone who had not despaired. It was the look only someone who believed in their own potential could have.

Jang Min cut through the incoming wires with his Jo Gang [a type of sword]. A strike without a moment’s hesitation. He succeeded in perfectly cutting the wires, but it was by no means a success.

Because the arm he swung to cut the wires twisted and began to creak.

His arm felt like it would crumble at any moment.

His joints were stiff as if they were rusted, and his muscles were losing strength. The pain caused by his body’s inability to handle his inner power was greater than the pain from his wounds. It was like a scream.

His mind had long since moved on to striking his opponent’s neck, but his body, as if covered in sticky glue, was not moving as he wished.

‘Everything has an end.’

A martial artist proves himself by how he dies. Or perhaps it’s the same even if you’re not a martial artist. For a person, death can be the completion of life.

Yes. Depending on how you think about it, death can have its own meaning.

But….

‘For someone else, that is.’

That romantic notion was not allowed for Jang Min.

The reason why looking at the end is so miserable is because he realizes that he is no longer what he used to be. The overflowing stamina is now depleted, and the concentration that was once limitless now exhausts him as if he were walking a tightrope.

Even after breaking through the wall and renewing his body, aging did not let him go.

Well….

‘I’ve lived far too long.’

No matter how strong you become, no matter how high you reach, there is no way to stop the aging of the body. The only limit is to delay the time when the end approaches.

It was because he had renewed his body once that he was able to endure this much. If his body was still old and worn out, it would have already betrayed his will and knelt on the ground.

His body was saying.

Isn’t it enough now?

Haven’t you done enough?

Perhaps….

‘That might be…’

Chwaaaaaak!

Jang Min cut through the incoming wires once again. The pus that had formed in his eyes blurred his vision.

‘…right.’

In fact, no one would blame him.

Anyone who understood the life he had lived, anyone who knew how long he had endured, would rather support him and say he had done well, even if he collapsed on the spot right now.

Jang Min was well aware of that fact. He was no longer someone who needed to prove his life.

And he himself was being tormented by the urge to let go of everything right now.

But….

Woodudeudeuk!

His bones twisted as his arm stretched out. He cut through the wires that were attacking from all directions in an instant. The skin that had barely healed could not withstand the intense impact and tore open again, spewing blood.

Kwang!

His toes slammed into the ground.

The pain felt like his knees were being struck with a hammer.

If he had any vitality left, he could have endured the pain, but no matter how much he squeezed, he could no longer feel any strength in his body.

‘Why can’t I stop?’

He had already achieved everything.

After three hundred years of waiting, the Cult had finally regained stability. The Cult members no longer had to live miserably, threatened by their lives, and they had gained the opportunity to seize their future with their own hands.

Yes.

They no longer needed Jang Min. Even without him, under the guidance of the Demon Lord, they would be able to enjoy the happiness and glory that had never been given to them before.

So, everything he had hoped for had been achieved.

But….

But why couldn’t he stop, why!

Chwaaaaaak!

At that moment, the wires that Gongryeong had been launching suddenly twisted and tangled together, forming a huge rope that lashed out at Jang Min.

Reflexively raising his Jo Gang, the huge rope collided with it directly above Jang Min’s head.

Kwaaaaaaaang!

The world turned black.

It wasn’t that it was painful or hard to endure. It was as if a computer that had lost power had momentarily stopped working, and then his senses were cut off and then struggled to return.

Pain.

Jang Min felt that he was still alive as the pain began to creep back in. But it was hard to even breathe because of the blood that gurgled up from his throat and filled his mouth.

‘Why am I…’

At that moment, Jang Min saw Gongryeong.

No, to be precise, he clearly saw the figure of the Black King behind Gongryeong.

‘Hh…’

Jang Min bit his lip. His lips, which had become so fragile, cracked open, and blood flowed out.

‘I see.’

There was still something he had to do.

Still.

Everything he had achieved, everything he had done for the future of the Cult members, could all be destroyed by the existence of that one person.

‘Demon Lord.’

You told me to let go of the Cult?

‘I will.’

How could I refuse the solemn command of the Demon Lord?

‘But!’

Not yet!

There was still one thing left to do with this body that was about to crumble.

“Uooooooo!”

A beast-like cry burst from Jang Min’s mouth. But it was not the manifestation of fighting spirit. It was his last desperate plea to his body not to collapse yet.

‘Just for a moment!’

He just needed to hold on for a moment, just one moment!

As if responding to the spirit that had been with him his whole life, his body twisted and squeezed out its strength. At the same time, black magi [magical energy] exploded from Jang Min’s body.

‘Let’s go.’

Blood surged in Jang Min’s eyes as he pulled out even the last of his innate energy.

Kkuuuuuk.

He pushed his energy into his toes. His knees bent, and the muscles in his thighs swelled as if they would burst.

Just for a moment.

Right now, he would explode everything he had endured for so long.

Kwaaaaaaaang!

The moment his foot stretched out, the floor surged upwards like the surface of water where a bomb had fallen. The recoil was enough to turn Jang Min’s body into lightning.

Jang Min’s body, wrapped in magi, charged towards Gongryeong.

And at that moment, Jang Min felt the world become incredibly clear.

The thin wires, which he could barely grasp with his senses, were so clear that they seemed tangible. The sound of the wires cutting through the air was clearly audible, and the vibrations of the disturbed air repeatedly tapped his fingertips.

Senses so clear they were painful.

But this was not something given to him.

‘So this is how it was.’

This was the sensation he had once taken for granted. It was something he had lost as if it had been soaked away by the vast amount of time that had faded everything.

He knew.

An old body could not become young again. This sensation was just like a final gift given to him for a single moment. And Jang Min was well aware of what the price of this sensation was.

But….

‘Thank you!’

It didn’t matter what the price was.

Because he had something he had to do, no matter what the cost.

His fingertips cut through the air. The wires swirling towards him looked like they were in slow motion.

The vitality that made him feel like he could do anything, the sound of his excited heart pumping like a drum.

“Ah, aaaaaaaah!”

Jang Min, screaming at the top of his lungs, swung both hands towards the incoming wires. The Jo Gang, swinging as if dancing, cut the wires into dozens of pieces.

Jang Min, transformed into a black vortex, tore all the wires to shreds and charged towards Gongryeong at a terrifying speed.

Gongryeong’s eyes widened as much as they could.

“Kuk!”

Gongryeong slashed both hands downwards at the same time. The wires that were released from his sleeves flew along the floor like snakes, and at the same time, the wires that had been set up all around attacked Jang Min all at once, like a bowstring being released.

But….

Kwagagagak! Kwagak!

The wires that flew in could not penetrate the Jo Gang that was swirling like a vortex. No matter how tough the wires were, they could not hold back the wind.

Ting! Ting! Ting!

The sound of piano strings snapping echoed continuously, and the wires that had been covering Jang Min turned into powerless threads and bounced off in all directions.

And….

Flash!

At the same time as a terrifying killing intent surged from Jang Min’s eyes, his body became a streak of light and shot towards Gongryeong in an instant.

“Ooooooooooo!”

Everything.

He poured everything he had left into this one strike.

To open the future with his own hands,

To open a future that would not be given to him for those who would follow him.

‘Move!’

So, old body.

Hold on just a little longer!

All his will gathered at his fingertips.

Single point concentration.

Jang Min, who had blown away all distractions from his mind, pulled out a Jo Gang that was clearer and redder than ever before with the energy he had poured into his fingertips.

A sensation as if his body was turning into sand and scattering. But the fullness felt in the Jo Gang he pulled out was so intense that it was unlike anything he had ever felt in his life.

Jang Min, sensing that the end had come, flew towards Gongryeong. The raised Jo Gang surged fiercely as if it would pierce the sky.

“Hwaaaaaaaaat!”

And at that very moment, when he was about to cut Gongryeong in half with a single strike that contained everything he had.

Weeing!

‘That’ appeared right in front of Jang Min’s face.

Wires.

No, silver threads.

Wires that even his heightened senses, which could feel the flow of air, could not detect, or rather, wires that clearly did not exist!

Those wires literally ‘manifested’ right in front of Jang Min’s face.

And….

Before he even had time to be shocked, the wires that had appeared right in front of his face cut into Jang Min’s face as if slicing it off, as he was rushing forward at the speed of light.

Kwadudeudeuk!