Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 528

Disconnection.

It was an emotion that could only be described as disconnection.

Lee Hyun-soo was experiencing a profound sense of disconnection. He was clearly seeing with his eyes, hearing with his ears, and feeling with his skin, but he couldn’t process the scene before him in his brain.

Even as he was being flung away by the massive shockwave that had engulfed him, Lee Hyun-soo couldn’t accurately perceive reality. All he could do was flail about like a person drowning.

The sky and the ground spun around and around.

Even in this extreme unreality where the sky became the ground and the ground became the sky, Lee Hyun-soo chuckled.

He had reached a point where he couldn’t even tell if the situation he was in was reality or a dream. It was a profound sense of unreality.

Lee Hyun-soo, who had been drifting in this unreality, snapped back to his senses when his body slammed into the ground.

But this time, a different problem plagued him.

Scratch, scratch, scratch.

His body, which had been sent flying, crashed into the ground, but that wasn’t the end of it. His body, unable to completely absorb the impact, scraped against the ground.

“Ugh!”

A groan involuntarily escaped his lips.

He reflexively reached out and slammed his hand into the ground. In that instant, a shock that felt like his wrist was breaking surged through him.

Lee Hyun-soo, who had barely managed to stabilize himself, raised his head. But his vision was completely obscured. A storm of dust was raging, making it impossible to tell where he was.

‘It must be hell!’

If he had to name this place, that’s what it would be.

A clash between humans creating a natural disaster. Even for Lee Hyun-soo, who had been involved in martial arts for over twenty years, it was an incomprehensible sight.

He gave up on understanding.

He just needed to accept reality as it was.

The important thing now wasn’t how they were able to create such a situation.

‘Who won?’

What mattered was reality.

The reality would change drastically depending on who had won, Kang Jin-ho or Bator. There would be a huge ripple effect across East Asia. The only thing he could hope for was Kang Jin-ho’s complete and utter victory.

In that instant, Lee Hyun-soo’s eyes widened.

The dust storm was tearing at his eyes, but Lee Hyun-soo refused to close them.

Tears streamed down his face, but he couldn’t close his eyes now.

He had to see.

He had to see how the fight had ended.

The storm that had been threatening to crush his body slowly subsided. As it did, the dust that had been tormenting him slowly receded.

‘Who is it?’

A blurry human figure came into view in his still-impaired vision.

“…Ah!”

Lee Hyun-soo’s body trembled. It was a fact he knew instinctively.

Bator.

That figure was not Kang Jin-ho’s. The massive figure standing tall was clearly Bator’s.

He couldn’t tell who it was by size alone. He didn’t know how far he had been blown away by the sandstorm. But the unnatural width of the shoulders that didn’t match the head, and the inverted triangle shape of the body that narrowed at the waist, were clearly Bator’s.

Lee Hyun-soo bit his lip. Bator hadn’t fallen.

He had endured even in this massive clash.

‘Where is Kang Jin-ho?’

Lee Hyun-soo’s gaze frantically searched his surroundings.

Bator had endured. Then what about Kang Jin-ho?

But no matter how much he looked around, there was nothing that resembled Kang Jin-ho. All he could see was Bator.

“No!”

The thought burst out of his mouth.

No, this shouldn’t be happening. The moment Kang Jin-ho lost to Bator, the martial arts world of South Korea would collapse.

And the collapse of the martial arts world wouldn’t be limited to just that.

The martial arts world, which controlled the underworld, being subjugated to China meant that the visible world wouldn’t be able to avoid China’s influence either.

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t lose. Absolutely not!

Even if he did lose, it couldn’t be now. The General Assembly [a gathering of martial arts leaders] was just beginning to change and emerge. If Kang Jin-ho were to lose now, all that momentum would be destroyed.

“It can’t be!”

Lee Hyun-soo jumped up from his spot.

Every part of his body ached as if it were broken and torn, but he didn’t care about any of that now. What did it matter if he died? If Kang Jin-ho lost now, it would be worse than death.

Something else began to appear in his blurry vision.

In front of Bator.

Something like a slightly raised mound…

It looked like a person was lying there.

‘No!’

No.

That could never be Kang Jin-ho.

Kang Jin-ho was not the type of person to fall. No one could imagine Kang Jin-ho losing a fight and falling. Absolutely not!

As if to comfort Lee Hyun-soo, who couldn’t accept the harsh reality, a nonchalant breeze blew away the dust that had been obscuring his vision.

“Ah…”

Lee Hyun-soo’s legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground.

‘Of course.’

It was literally just a mound.

It was just a bulge in the ground that had been twisted out of shape by the impact of Kang Jin-ho and Bator’s clash.

Then?

Where had Kang Jin-ho gone?

“Ugh…”

Lee Hyun-soo’s head snapped up. Bator’s muffled groan caught his attention. Drawn by the sound, he looked at Bator again, and he was completely different from when he had seen him through the dust.

The shoulder line that had been as solid as steel and seemed like it would never waver.

That shoulder line hadn’t changed even now.

The only difference was… Bator’s body was cracked and split all over, like a turtle’s shell, and bright red blood was gushing out.

Could his impression change so much just from that?

His body hadn’t really changed, but now he felt like a huge sandcastle. A sandcastle that would easily disappear with a single gust of wind or a single wave.

As if Lee Hyun-soo’s feeling was correct, Bator’s body began to tremble.

Followed by a stagger.

Bator’s body collapsed as if a huge castle was falling.

“Ugh!”

Bator’s knees buckled. His large hand hit the ground.

At the same time, Kang Jin-ho, with a blank expression, revealed himself from behind that large back.

“Ah!”

Damn it.

No wonder he couldn’t see him.

His body was so big that it had completely blocked Kang Jin-ho’s body. Lee Hyun-soo clenched his fist tightly. Then, with trembling eyes, he looked at Kang Jin-ho.

A clear stream of blood was flowing from the corner of Kang Jin-ho’s mouth, but Kang Jin-ho was definitely standing on his two feet. And to Lee Hyun-soo’s eyes, there were no particularly dangerous external injuries.

He couldn’t know how much Kang Jin-ho was hurting inside, but at least on the outside, Kang Jin-ho’s condition was clearly better than Bator’s.

Bator opened his mouth in a suppressed voice.

“I… lost.”

A declaration.

A low and simple declaration.

The moment he heard that declaration, Lee Hyun-soo’s body trembled as if he had received an electric shock.

That Bator had admitted defeat. Kang Jin-ho had defeated Bator. Even though the words had clearly come from Bator’s mouth, it was such a shocking statement that he had to wonder several times if he had misheard.

Who was Bator?

A powerful figure who had made a name for himself even in the Central Plains [a region in China known for martial arts].

He had been defeated by Kang Jin-ho on this land.

It was an incredible event that was hard for Lee Hyun-soo to comprehend, but Kang Jin-ho, who had accomplished it, still had a blank expression on his face.

There was no admiration for the formidable opponent Bator, nor any joy at having won the fight on his face. It was as if he had done something that he was supposed to do.

Lee Hyun-soo regretted that he was behind Bator.

What kind of expression was Bator making now?

A sense of relief that he had fought without regrets?

Or a sense of frustration at having lost so tragically?

He was so curious about what emotions were dominating him.

But even if Lee Hyun-soo had been in front of him, it would have been impossible to know what Bator was thinking just by looking at his expression.

Because Bator was making such a complex expression.

“You are the second person to make me look like this.”

Kang Jin-ho’s low voice flowed out.

“Was the first the Hong King?”

Bator nodded silently.

“He was strong. He was too strong. Even if I fought him again, I wouldn’t even dream of winning.”

Bator’s voice was filled with bitterness.

He had lost.

It wasn’t that he had never lost in his life. But after he thought he had completed his martial arts, he had considered himself invincible.

He had been broken by the Hong King. And now, he had been broken once again by Kang Jin-ho.

Bator raised his head and looked at Kang Jin-ho.

It was the second defeat he had to acknowledge in his life. The feeling was different from the first, but he had no choice but to acknowledge the man before him.

He was a completely different kind of strongman than the Hong King.

The Hong King had shown a refreshing kind of strength. He was so powerful and exhilarating that he could laugh even after losing.

But Kang Jin-ho’s feeling was completely different.

He was a completely different type of strongman than the Hong King. The feeling he was getting now was closer to being hunted than defeated.

The moment he realized that there was no way to stop Kang Jin-ho, his whole body trembled with fear as if he were on a giant cutting board.

Even though he tried to be calm, the trembling wouldn’t stop.

“…May I ask you one thing?”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“Why did I lose?”

“I thought I had completed my martial arts. I thought that if I could create a perfect body, I wouldn’t lose to anyone. Yes, I could lose once. Humans make mistakes. But… but why did I lose even to you?”

Bator’s last words were almost a scream.

As if everything he had believed in had collapsed, Bator vented his frustration. But Kang Jin-ho, who was facing that frustration, had a blank expression.

“Bator, was it?”

“You’re spouting stupid words like you look.”

Bator’s face turned red.

Contempt.

What was melted into Kang Jin-ho’s voice was a thick, clear contempt that seemed like blood was dripping from it.

“Completed?”

Kang Jin-ho snorted.

“There is no such thing as completion in martial arts. There is no concept of completion in the world. Even something that seems perfect always has room for improvement. Completed martial arts are dead martial arts. It’s the same as saying you won’t improve anymore.”

Bator stared at Kang Jin-ho with a blank look, as if he had lost his words.

‘Dead martial arts?’

Is that why?

Is that why he lost…

“That’s enough of the nice talk.”

Bator’s head snapped up.

“The reason you’re stupid is simple. It’s because you asked something that even a three-year-old would know.”

“S-stupid?”

Kang Jin-ho reached out and grabbed the Red Dew and Blue Dew [likely names of swords] that were stuck in the ground.

“There is only one reason for all defeats.”

Kang Jin-ho, who had pulled out the Red Dew and Blue Dew, slowly walked towards Bator.

“It’s because you’re weaker than me.”