Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 2051

There was a question that had been nagging at Wiggins for some time now.

It was from the moment he reached the realm of what they classified as ‘superhuman,’ though he couldn’t be categorized by their standards as a mana user.

‘Nothing much has changed, though.’

He had clearly ascended to a completely different level than before, but that didn’t mean his existence had fundamentally changed.

He hadn’t grown three eyes, nor had he sprouted six arms.

Right.

Wiggins was still human.

Just a human, not needing to be described with ridiculous terms like superhuman. Someone who couldn’t live without eating, who would die without breathing… just a human with slightly better durability than others.

And because he was human…

‘There are things he must possess.’

For example, perception.

No matter how hard a person tries to focus equally on everything, blind spots will always exist. Not places where the gaze doesn’t reach. Nor places where the senses don’t reach.

Blind spots are created in places that one’s own mind deems safe.

The more one trusts their senses, the larger those blind spots become.

“You have a face of incomprehension.”

Wiggins, who had regained his composure, said with a smile.

“Your ‘superhuman’ senses must be perfectly detecting everything. Perhaps your senses are so close to perfection that even precision machines can’t keep up.”

“…So?”

“But you are not a machine. You are just a human.”

“The difference between machines and humans is that humans optimize themselves. Even without someone programming them… no, even if they don’t have the will to do so…”

Wiggins tapped his head with his finger.

“The brain does it on its own.”

“No matter how evenly you distribute your senses, the processing of the safest places, the places where safety is already secured, will inevitably be delayed. That works regardless of your will.”

Why?

“Because you are human.”

Wiggins twisted his lips.

“And one more thing.”

Baek Yeonhong listened silently to Wiggins’s words with a blank expression.

“Do you know why I’m telling you all this?”

“I don’t know. I understand you’re just stalling for time.”

“The reason is simple.”

Wiggins’s lips twisted.

“Because even if you knew, it wouldn’t change anything.”

“This is not something you can overcome just by understanding it. Especially for those like you, who have lived as if they were not human, despite being human.”

Wiggins’s mind became clearer and clearer.

‘I guess I’m a sadist.’

Before facing Baek Yeonhong, his mind was incredibly complex. Perhaps the pressure of having to stand here had been weighing him down.

But from the moment his opponent appeared right in front of him, his mind felt clearer.

However, Baek Yeonhong didn’t seem as cheerful as Wiggins. Baek Yeonhong, who had been silently staring at him, slightly opened his mouth.

“Have you finished talking?”

What is the most important thing in a fight between superhumans?

Even Wiggins couldn’t answer that question before coming here. But now, after witnessing the battle that had unfolded here, he had found a meaningful answer, though not a perfect one.

Certainty.

It was a perfect certainty in oneself.

If that was the case, the conclusion was obvious. To break the opponent, one had to remove that certainty.

But…

“You’re making too much of a fuss.”

Baek Yeonhong let out a low sneer.

“You’re acting so smug over a mere scratch?”

“Let’s say everything you said is right. So… does that mean you can beat me?”

A short sigh escaped Wiggins’s lips.

‘I guess it won’t be that easy?’

Superhumans are, by nature, beings of self-love. They are not easily swayed by a few words.

They are beings who have lived lives where they make even the wrong things right with their own power. That’s why they don’t listen to the logic of others. They just force their way through with their power.

‘But… it doesn’t matter.’

He had expected that much.

Baek Yeonhong raised his sword, pointing it at Wiggins.

“That’s enough of your last words.”

“Hmm, I don’t think I’ve heard enough of your last words?”

“It’s fine. Your last words are enough.”

“I’ll make you regret those words.”

Woo-woo-woong.

Wiggins’s rune sword emitted a bright light.

If they clashed head-on, he would surely lose. Although Wiggins had gained an advantage in the previous exchange, that exchange had only strengthened his certainty.

From the perspective of a martial artist, the difference between him and Baek Yeonhong was clear.

But so what?

Is the victor the stronger one?

No. That’s wrong. The results of victory and defeat do not change the cause. Whether one wins or loses, the strong are still strong.

‘But the strong don’t always win.’

Even the weak have their own ways. This battle depended on how perfectly Wiggins, who had never really been the weak one, could implement those methods.

Woo-woong.

Wiggins’s mechanical arm delved into the subspace. As Wiggins’s hand, distorting space, reappeared, he held a small, circular piece of metal.

‘The number of batteries is…’

His greatest advantage was this.

He didn’t have to face the enemy with his own power alone. The output limit couldn’t be solved with batteries, but at least he wouldn’t have to face defeat due to a lack of mana.

Woo-woong!

The battery emitted a white light, transferring mana to him. A great sense of fulfillment, as if he could do anything, enveloped his entire body, but Wiggins was not swayed by that feeling.

Just one mistake could send his head rolling on the floor. To win, to survive, one needed a cold rationality, like having liquid nitrogen poured on their head.

“You say that, but…”

Wiggins, looking at Baek Yeonhong with cold, calm eyes, spoke first. It was a basic tactic to maintain one’s own composure while unsettling the opponent.

“Seeing that you’re not rushing in, it seems you’re quite uncomfortable…”

At that moment, Baek Yeonhong’s figure vanished from his spot with a *pop*!

Wiggins deployed Blink [a short-range teleportation spell] without a second thought. The world flickered momentarily, revealing a changed world before his eyes, as if flipping through a photograph.

The location had changed. But Wiggins deployed Blink again without a moment’s hesitation.

Fwaaaang!

The place where he had ‘existed’ was sliced through, space and all. If Wiggins had hesitated even a little, his body would have been split in half and falling to the ground by now.

Whirr! Whirr!

Wiggins changed his location three times in a row. Blink was a magic that consumed mana extremely, but no matter how important mana was, it was not more important than life.

That monster was a being that could negate Blink, which appeared by transcending space and disregarding movement, by seeing and chasing it with his eyes.

Whoosh!

At that moment, Wiggins, seeing a crescent-shaped sword aura flying towards him, cast Blink once more.

And then.

Thud.

The tip of Baek Yeonhong’s foot pressed down on the floor. His extremely expanded senses grasped the entire space, surrounded by walls and ceiling, in one hand.

The senses, pushed to the extreme, twisted the axis of time. Everything he saw moved slowly, even more slowly, as if watching a slow-motion replay.

And…

‘There!’

Senses, not eyes, first captured Wiggins’s presence. And before thought could form, his body reacted first. The tip of his foot, which had been pressing down on the floor, straightened, and his body became a literal lightning bolt, rushing at light speed towards the trace of Wiggins he had found.

‘Fool!’

That movement technique was clearly outstanding. Unlike their methods, which only reduced the time of movement through training and effort, that movement made space and distance meaningless.

But everything in the world has its pros and cons.

The weakness of that movement technique was also clear. First, the time it took to move was not completely zero. It was a time that could only be described as a split second, but time was definitely needed.

And another thing… during that split second, the user experienced complete isolation.

He couldn’t chase Wiggins, who had concealed his presence, but that was the same for Wiggins. While the user was casting that strange movement, he was clearly out of the user’s perception.

If so, the solution was too simple.

Perceive first, move first, and cut down his attack before he could even notice it.

It was an absurd solution, like ‘the way to walk on water is to take the next step before the first one falls,’ but at least Baek Yeonhong was a being who could implement that absurd solution in reality.

Kwaaaaaa!

The surrounding world, as seen by his eyes, distorted. Even his eyesight, which had reached the realm of a superhuman, couldn’t handle this speed and failed to capture the complete image of the world.

But the very center, the place his sword was aiming for, was never missed. In Baek Yeonhong’s eyes, the form of Wiggins, revealing himself in the air, was clearly visible.

The form, which had started as a blurry silhouette, gradually became clearer, as if drawing a picture on a canvas. It was a form that was more like a transmission than a manifestation.

‘It doesn’t matter what it is.’

His unleashed sword cut through the space where Wiggins existed. His sword, which was a sword at the hilt but transformed into a beam of light at the tip, pierced into Wiggins’s waist, who had revealed about half of his form.

‘Faster!’

Fwaaaaaaaaaat!

No matter how many tricks he tried, it was useless. He would never stop this sword!

Crack!

At that moment, Baek Yeonhong clearly saw his sword piercing Wiggins’s side.

The sword, piercing through the blurry clothes, tore through the skin, ripped through the muscles, and pushed into the middle of his abdomen.

‘Got him…’

What kind of expression would someone make when they saw their waist being cut off the moment they finished moving?

It was at that very moment, when a vile smile was blooming on Baek Yeonhong’s lips.

Bulge!

‘What?’

Baek Yeonhong’s eyes widened.

Wiggins’s body, where the sword had pierced through to the spine, swelled up in an instant. Even in the slowed-down world, it was so rapid that his heart dropped.

No, it wasn’t swelling, but rather…

‘Explod…’

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!

At that moment, a massive explosion erupted from Wiggins’s body, engulfing Baek Yeonhong’s body.

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

The mana that erupted didn’t just stop at an explosion, but swirled at an enormous speed, swallowing the void itself.

“So…”

And watching that scene, one person quietly opened his mouth.

“I told you not to be so certain.”

Wiggins.

Wiggins, who had appeared on the floor instead of in the air, wore a twisted smile.