Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 595

“Ugh, ugh…”

Song Young-moo crawled, scrambling to get away.

Crawling, that is.

It wasn’t that he didn’t know he could escape several times faster if he stood up and ran. He had tried to stand, putting strength into his legs several times, but his legs simply wouldn’t obey.

After repeatedly collapsing, his legs giving way, Song Young-moo was using his still-responsive arms to move away from Bator.

‘Why, why is this happening?’

Until just a moment ago, everything had been going well.

He had been certain that he would soon rise up with Lee Joong-gul, depose the arrogant Kang Jin-ho and Bang Jin-hoon, and regain power.

It was only five minutes ago that he had been happily drinking, so what on earth had happened in those five minutes?

‘What went wrong?’

Where exactly did things go wrong?

This couldn’t be happening.

It shouldn’t have happened.

The one who was leading this operation was none other than Lee Joong-gul. Lee Joong-gul was someone who had never failed before. He had been forced to retreat by an unseen blade named Kang Jin-ho, but that couldn’t be called a defeat. He had been poisoned by dark venom.

So, he had believed that they would surely win this time as well, but….

“You rat.”

A booming voice erupted from right behind him.

“Hieeek!”

Song Young-moo trembled and turned around. Bator had somehow approached right in front of him and was glaring down at him.

“S-save me…”

Everyone was dead.

Everyone.

Those who tried to fight Bator, those who tried to run, and those who didn’t know what to do and hesitated.

Only….

Song Young-moo and Lee Sung-taek were left.

Most of the others had died without even leaving proper corpses. Song Young-moo couldn’t even shed tears properly at this unbelievable situation.

“You rat-like bastard.”

Bator, with a face full of anger, glared at Song Young-moo and opened his mouth.

“To think that someone who prided himself as a martial artist would be in such a state, aren’t you ashamed?”

Jang Da-jing translated with a sneer.

“He asks if you are not ashamed.”

Ashamed?

Is he asking if I’m ashamed?

Song Young-moo’s face twisted like a demon.

‘Ashamed?’

What a stupid thing to say.

What use is shame in a matter of life and death? That shame is something you can only feel if you’re alive. How can the dead feel shame?

To die obediently to avoid shame, what kind of idiotic notion is that?

“Kuhuhuhu.”

Strength returned to his legs.

His legs, which had refused to move no matter how hard he tried, now struggled to stand up in this situation.

“P-please, save me…”

Song Young-moo bowed his head to the ground.

“If you spare me, I’ll tell you everything. Lee Joong-gul’s secrets, information about his hidden assets! I’ll tell you everything! I, I am useful!”

“You have no use.”

“The, the Assembly is not as simple as you think. Do you know how many roles our elders play?”

Song Young-moo desperately shouted, as if trying to find a way to live.

“Lee Joong-gul doesn’t know everything! The power and connections with the political world that the Assembly has built up over decades are formed through our elders. If you kill even me, you will lose all that power.”

“Kukukukuku.”

Bator covered his face and laughed as if he couldn’t bear it. Then, with slightly widened eyes, he looked at Song Young-moo and said,

“Answer me.”

“……W-what?”

“Are you a martial artist?”

Song Young-moo closed his mouth.

Yes.

Song Young-moo was a martial artist. That was a clear fact.

But….

But why couldn’t he answer?

“I see why you guys have rotted. Assets? Political connections?”

Bator growled.

“A person can’t live on martial arts alone. But you’ve put the cart before the horse. You are no longer martial artists. And from now on, those who are not martial artists are not needed in the newly formed Assembly.”

“……What’s the difference?”

Song Young-moo pointed at Lee Sung-taek with a spiteful face.

“What’s the difference between him and me!”

“It’s not necessary for you to know.”

Bator waved his hand as if it were nothing.

“You wouldn’t understand even if I explained it to you for a hundred days. There’s no need to waste useless energy. The result won’t change anyway.”

“I am!”

“Shut up.”

Thud!

Bator’s fist crushed Song Young-moo’s head.

The headless corpse fell to the floor, convulsing before going limp.

“It just left a bad taste in my mouth.”

Bator looked around.

“Jang Da-jing.”

“Yes, Lord Bator.”

“Check if everything is cleaned up.”

“Yes. Don’t worry.”

Bator shook his head.

“Lee Hyun-soo, that guy is strange too. There was no need to send me for this kind of thing.”

“That’s not true, Lord Bator.”

“Hmm?”

When Bator looked at him with a puzzled expression, Jang Da-jing gave a wry smile.

“There is no one in the current Assembly who can do this kind of work except for you, Lord Bator. They may look like insects to you, but these guys are quite strong among the insects.”

“Hmm.”

Bator scratched his chin.

‘There’s no middle tier, huh?’

This was something that Bator didn’t even need to handle. Even if Night Wiggins had come, he could have dealt with all of them without any problems.

But if it wasn’t him?

Looking back, the Assembly was extremely divided into layers. If Kang Jin-ho, Bator, and Night Wiggins were considered the upper tier, then Bang Jin-hoon was barely in the middle tier.

Everyone else was in the lower tier.

There were no mid-level experts who could handle things cleanly.

“So, it was training for now.”

“That’s right. It is most urgent to train capable experts who can be practical leaders.”

“You too, by the way.”

Jang Da-jing wiped his forehead with an awkward expression.

“L-Lord Bator?”

“After this is over, you will also come to the place where I teach the children.”

“……My body is not strong enough to receive Lord Bator’s teachings.”

“Then should I ask the master for a favor?”

“I will try my best to learn.”

Jang Da-jing gave up.

Right. It was better to be pushed around by Bator than by Kang Jin-ho. At least Bator was someone who had basic common sense.

“Is it over?”

A low voice came from behind.

‘Ah, right.’

Jang Da-jing finally remembered Lee Sung-taek’s existence.

The only warrior that Bator had acknowledged.

‘That aside, this… the aftermath is going to be a problem?’

Cleaning up this place was not a problem. Lee Hyun-soo, who had anticipated casualties, had brought people to clean up. The problem was that there were witnesses, but if this were a normal place, they wouldn’t have gathered here in the first place.

He could definitely keep their mouths shut.

The problem was that there were more casualties than expected.

Lee Hyun-soo had asked them to save those who could be subdued and saved. But….

‘Well, what do you want me to do?’

No one could stop an enraged Bator. Unless Kang Jin-ho came, it was impossible to save those here. Moreover, Bator wasn’t just acting out of simple anger.

Bator had defined the elders and directors here as cancerous beings. He thought that even if they were spared, they would eventually harm the Assembly, so he killed them all.

So, there was no way to stop him.

“Just wait a moment. I’ll call an ambulance…”

“Translate.”

When Lee Sung-taek spoke firmly, Jang Da-jing raised his eyebrows.

‘What is this guy?’

Is he really not afraid of dying?

He was spared by Bator’s mercy, yet what was with that confident attitude?

“Speak.”

Even if he didn’t like his attitude, it was right to do as he wanted now. Because he was the one that Lord Bator had acknowledged.

“Why did you kill them all?”

“Is there a reason to kill them all? With your abilities, you could have subdued them without killing them.”

Jang Da-jing sighed and conveyed Lee Sung-taek’s words to Bator. Then, Bator chuckled and opened his mouth.

“A guy who should be grateful for being alive has a lot of questions.”

“I have no intention of being grateful for being spared by a whim. If it’s annoying, you can just kill me.”

“That’s right. Indeed.”

Bator smiled as if satisfied.

He didn’t dislike someone with that kind of spirit. It wasn’t important whether they were obedient to him or not. No matter how friendly they were to him, those without spirit were annoying just to look at. Bator thought that a man should have that much backbone.

“I killed them because I had to.”

“……Why?”

Lee Sung-taek spoke as if he couldn’t understand at all.

“It’s true that they made a mistake. Those who were caught committing treason have no excuse even if their heads are cut off. But this isn’t the way. Why did you…”

“You’re mistaken.”

Bator cut off Lee Sung-taek’s words.

“The reason I killed them is not because they committed treason. If that were the case, you would have died too.”

Lee Sung-taek closed his mouth.

That was right.

If treason was the reason for death, there was no reason for Lee Sung-taek to be alive. He was also one of those who had joined them.

“Th-then why?”

Bator looked at Lee Sung-taek as if he were pathetic.

“In the grasslands, the elderly are the most important beings. Because they have the wisdom of life. But there is an even more important reason why the elderly are important.”

“In the grasslands, the elderly are landmarks.”

“Landmarks?”

“That’s right. The grasslands are a scary place. Those who don’t know the grasslands well can’t survive even three days. The elderly who have survived in that harsh environment become landmarks for those who will live in the future. They learn his wisdom, learn his knowledge, and strive to become like him.

In other words, you must be someone that the young children can look up to and learn from.”

Bator looked around at the corpses scattered around and said,

“It’s better not to have a crooked landmark. Even those who try to go the right way get lost because of the wrong landmarks and end up dying in the endless grasslands. I have removed the twisted landmarks. Now, at least the young martial artists of the Assembly will not have the foolish hope that they can live like you, enjoy their lives, and die comfortably.”

Lee Sung-taek couldn’t say anything.

“You have proven that you are a warrior. But don’t forget. Humans must constantly prove themselves. If you forget that you are a warrior and show a lazy attitude again, I will never spare you. Constantly whip yourself.”

Bator turned away, looking at the trembling Lee Sung-taek.

He didn’t believe that Lee Sung-taek would understand all of his words. And he didn’t expect anything great from him either.

He just spared him because he was worth saving. That was all.

“Lord Bator.”

Jang Da-jing approached Bator and opened his mouth.

“I will begin the cleanup.”

“Do so.”

Bator looked around with slightly calmer eyes. The land where the slaughter had ended was always a little lonely like this.