Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 511

[So, you’re saying there’s still no action being taken?]

Knight Wiggins watched Elrena shouting from beyond the screen and tried to rub his eyes. But the moment his fingertips touched the smooth surface of his mask, he found himself gripping it nervously.

‘Damn mask.’

There was a time when this mask was his pride.

For the Knights, the mask signifies abandoning oneself. Forgetting that they were once members of a nation, a society, and a family, and dedicating themselves solely to the Round Table, protecting the peace of the world. The manifestation of that will was this mask.

Knight Wiggins could not forget the day he first received this mask and placed it over his face.

The pride of having all his efforts recognized, the overwhelming joy of finally ascending to the glorious position of a Knight, and even the heavy pressure that weighed down on his face… All those sensations were alive in the mask.

However, recently, Knight Wiggins had begun to feel that the mask was becoming cumbersome.

He did not know what it meant to set aside oneself and serve the Round Table. He thought it was another name for glory. But only recently did Knight Wiggins realize its true meaning.

He does not exist here.

Only Knight Wiggins exists.

No matter how wrong he thinks an action is, he has no other choice. It is the duty of a Knight to follow the opinions derived from consensus.

He should have thought more deeply about the meaning of abandoning oneself.

“We just need a little more time.”

[Knight Wiggins!]

‘Damn it.’

He had lived, considering it an honor to show his face to his own daughter while wearing a mask, and not even being called by his name by that daughter. It was something that could only happen if one was slightly out of their mind.

The Round Table calls this a sacred and heavy duty, but…

“The Round Table’s consensus requires a process of coordinating opinions from many people. You knew it would take time, didn’t you?”

[People’s lives are at stake. Even at this moment, it wouldn’t be strange if the Chevaliers [Knights in training] were being beheaded en masse. Isn’t the Round Table supposed to respond to such situations? If we can’t save people because of procedures and processes, then what’s the point of those Round Table procedures?]

That’s what he wanted to say.

If he wasn’t wearing this mask, Knight Wiggins would be shouting the same thing right now.

But as long as he was wearing the mask, he had only one thing to say.

“Wait.”

[Knight Wiggins!]

“Damn it, I said wait!” His suppressed frustration burst out as a shout.

Knight Wiggins, who had genuinely lost his temper, realized his mistake, but it was already too late. Elrena’s face on the other side of the screen had hardened completely.

[I’m sorry.]

“No, it’s not that. I… I shouldn’t have shouted. I’m sorry, Elrena.”

A miserable voice leaked out.

But it was already water under the bridge.

[I know it’s not something Knight Wiggins can do alone. But… they are still fighting the fear of death. If I know Kang Jin-ho’s nature correctly, it wouldn’t be strange if he tore them all to pieces the moment he deemed them useless.”

“I know, I know.”

[So, even if you can’t make a decision right away, at least show them the will to negotiate… make them realize their value. Please.]

“I will try to do so.”

[Yes. Then.]

As the screen turned black, Knight Wiggins raised his hand and rubbed his face.

But all he felt was the cold sensation of metal.

“Damn it!”

Knight Wiggins jumped up from his seat and kicked the desk.

“Aaaaaaaah!”

Wiggins, who had sent the desk flying to the ceiling, shouted with all his might.

“You damn bastards! What do you think people are!”

Wiggins kicked and smashed the desk indiscriminately. He knew it was something he should never do, but he couldn’t bear it otherwise.

People were captured.

People were taken as prisoners.

And to those prisoners… what? To give them the opportunity to die for honor?

“You bastards!”

That’s not something given by others, but something they choose for themselves. Why do they try to manipulate the fate of others as they please! That’s, that’s…

Wiggins’s hand stopped.

‘Protecting the peace of the world?’

Wiggins laughed.

He had realized that what he had been doing was not so different from what they were saying. There are countless people living in the world, intertwined with each other. And the will of each individual determines the flow of the world.

What is so different about the act of bending and twisting their will in the name of peace, and the act of forcing the death of others in the name of honor?

‘Get a grip!’

Wiggins barely managed to stop his thoughts.

Going any further would be no different from denying the Round Table. It is the Round Table’s raison d’être [reason for existence] to lead the world to peace. If he denied that raison d’être, what would be the difference from denying the Round Table?

He was a member of the Round Table, and its core. It was blasphemous for him to have such thoughts.

Beep beep beep—

At that moment, a signal began to appear on the screen.

‘Damn it.’

The room was a mess.

If it were any other signal, he would have boldly ignored the call. But the signal that was ringing now was from the Master. No matter the situation, he could not ignore the Master’s signal.

Wiggins pressed the connect button and bowed his head towards the screen.

“This is Knight Wiggins.”

The Master on the other side of the screen stared at him without saying a word.

[There was some confusion.]

“It’s not confusion.”

[Then?]

“…A meeting.”

The Master sighed lightly.

“Master.”

[Speak.]

“Even as we waste time like this, the Chevaliers are exposed to harsh conditions. Yet, we are just engaging in armchair discussions.”

[Knight Wiggins.]

“Honor? Is such a dog-like thing more important than life? If you were in that situation, Master, would you choose honor over life?”

Seeing Knight Wiggins pour out his words in a fit of anger, the Master lowered his eyes.

[The Round Table is not a place led by one person alone.]

“Yes, I know. It’s a democratic and rational place. And damn inefficient!”

Knight Wiggins said as if spitting blood.

“If everyone agrees on the wrong answer, does that mean we have to follow it just because everyone supported it? This is just tyranny disguised as the majority.”

[That tyranny has developed the world.]

Knight Wiggins thought.

What is hidden behind that mask?

The pitch-black mask did not show a person’s face. Not even an expression could be seen. Therefore, the intention behind those words could not be grasped at all.

The Round Table’s system, which he once thought was more rational because it did not show emotions, began to feel disgusting. Who could guarantee that there wasn’t a monster’s face behind that black mask?

[Calm down for now.]

“Master!”

[I understand your feelings. But as long as the majority of the Knights, led by Knight Levo, are reluctant to negotiate with Korea, I cannot make a decision on my own.]

“Then why does the Master exist?”

At that moment, the Master’s body flinched.

Knight Wiggins realized his slip of the tongue, but it was already too late to take it back. He had made several mistakes today. It was all because his emotions were running high. Even the cold sensation of metal on his face could no longer suppress his emotions.

[Wiggins, I am a coordinator. Not a commander.]

“But…”

[Negotiation is sometimes too inefficient and abnormal. It’s a terrible system that sometimes produces terrible answers after long periods of agony. I admit it.]

An emotionless voice was still leaking from inside the mask.

[But that negotiation has brought us this far. If someone had led the Round Table alone, we might have developed a little more efficiently and aggressively. But we would have collapsed someday. Don’t forget. Negotiation is not for efficiency. It’s to avoid the worst.]

Wiggins bit his lip tightly.

It was a sound argument that he could not help but accept. But he could not accept that argument in his heart.

[The Knights are not trying to abandon the Chevaliers. It’s that negotiating with Korea could put the Round Table in danger.]

“Isn’t that just being afraid?”

[Is that not allowed?]

The Master said coldly.

[If fear was an unnecessary emotion for humans, it would have already disappeared. Fear makes humans cautious and helps them avoid danger. I don’t dislike cowards.]

Wiggins shut his mouth.

It was the first time he had felt such deep disappointment in the Master.

[Knight Wiggins, I also do not wish for them to be sacrificed. I will hold another meeting to coordinate everyone’s opinions. So… cool your head and wait. The situation you are in now is something everyone has experienced several times. The self-loathing you feel when your opinion clashes with the Round Table’s.]

‘That’s not it.’

Wiggins’s face contorted.

What he was feeling was not a tantrum about his opinion not being accepted. It was a fundamental question about the Round Table.

[The Round Table’s consensus is absolute. If you want to change the board, persuade others. The world will not change by getting angry and frustrated. I expect more constructive opinions at the next meeting. Don’t disappoint me.]

The screen went dark with a thud.

Knight Wiggins bit his lip.

“Next meeting?”

Next?

“Damn it, by then there might not even be any prisoners left to negotiate with! What kind of carefree nonsense are you spouting! You damn…”

Thud!

Knight Wiggins kicked the remains of the desk again. The damn face of Knight Levo, who was probably laughing in his head, came to mind.

“N-Knight!”

At the surprised voice behind him, Knight Wiggins clenched his fist tightly.

‘So, you’re not going to move, huh?’

If the Round Table wouldn’t move, then he himself had to move. He was a Knight, after all. He had a duty to protect the members of the Round Table. If no order had been given yet, it wasn’t insubordination.

“Airplane.”

“Yes?”

“Prepare an airplane ticket.”

“Knight?”

Wiggins stretched his body. Now that he had come this far, he felt rather relieved.

Discipline?

Deprivation?

Let them do as they please.

“I’m going to Korea. I need to resolve this damn situation.”

He was well aware of how terrible the aftermath would be, but it was a hundred times better than rotting away sitting here. Knight Wiggins, feeling refreshed, headed for the refrigerator.

“B-but there’s still work to be done…”

“Someone else can do it if it’s not me.

But this is something only I can do.”

Knight Wiggins roughly opened the refrigerator, took out a can of beer, and popped the top.

“Ah, and what do you think would be a good gift for Elrena?”

The butler grabbed his head.

That man, he’s starting again.