Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 603

“Why?”

Choi Sang-mu shouted, almost in a fit.

“Why would a man of your caliber help that bastard? Why!”

“You’re stating the obvious.” Those cornered are bound to lash out. Choi Sang-mu’s current state was a perfect example. When facing an enemy you can’t overpower, persuasion is the only option.

But Knight Wiggins was not someone who could be persuaded.

“Isn’t it obvious? I want to help the Lord.”

“You want to help him?”

“Indeed.”

“What is he to you?”

“Hmm, at times like this, I should say, ‘He is someone you cannot even dare to approach,’ but honestly… it’s not really like that.”

“What…?”

Knight Wiggins grinned.

“Well, it’s not like I follow him because he’s so great. What age are we living in that people would risk their lives for a leader just because they’re amazing?”

“You call yourself a knight, yet you’ve already sold your chivalry.”

“Chivalry isn’t what you think it is. In fact, the essence of chivalry was more like guidelines from above to get those unruly knights to live like decent human beings. ‘Let’s try to live by these.’ It was something that was neither kept nor needed to be kept. But later, people who saw those stories mentioned a few times in history books fantasized, ‘Ah, knights all lived by these rules.’”

Knight Wiggins shrugged.

“Frankly, how much would those who make a living by fighting with swords know about honor, or how much would they abide by the law? We are born ruffians. It’s easier to accept that. How about the East?”

“You’re insane.”

“Tsk, you’re someone I can’t communicate with.”

Knight Wiggins clicked his tongue.

“Anyway, that’s how it is. It’s just that the direction he’s pursuing aligns with mine. And he’s the leader, and I’m the follower. Since I’m riding on his coattails, isn’t it natural to treat him like a superior?”

“You’re not submitting?”

“I respect him.”

Knight Wiggins answered nonchalantly.

“That’s enough for me. He’s my boss, and I work for him and get paid. Things like risking our lives for each other out of friendship or loyalty are a bit burdensome.”

“Did Kang Jin-ho acknowledge that?”

“Well, the Lord doesn’t seem to think so.”

“See! Your relationship will soon fall apart!”

Choi Sang-mu was certain.

Organizations don’t work that way. Without loyalty, people will inevitably avoid doing what they don’t want to do. But an organization can’t function without someone taking on those tasks.

If everyone scrambles to take on the good tasks, who will do the dirty work?

At least they were united by a firm loyalty to Kim Seok-il. They knew he wasn’t a righteous person, but so what? The leader an organization needed wasn’t a righteous one, but a capable one.

“You made the wrong choice. Do you think Kang Jin-ho will tolerate your current mindset?”

“You seem to be mistaken, the Lord is even more detached than I am.”

“……What?”

“It seems like he doesn’t even consider this relationship a contract. If I were to leave after staying for a while, he would let me go without a second thought. How can a contract without any coercion be a contract? It’s more like he’s accommodating me.”

“What on earth…”

“You wouldn’t understand even if I explained. Not with that stubborn head of yours. But you only need to understand one thing. There are many forms of organizations in the world. The form you think of isn’t necessarily the right answer.”

Choi Sang-mu fell silent.

Seeing his confused face, Knight Wiggins shrugged.

‘I feel like I’ve become a chatterbox.’

Since coming to this world, he rarely had conversations with anyone other than Elena. Kang Jin-ho wasn’t much of a talker, and the others were busy with work.

Having not been assigned a clear task, Knight Wiggins had to spend some time in self-reflection, staring at the wall. The fact that he’s talking so much now is probably a reaction to that, or….

“Or maybe I’ve just become a chatterbox.”

Knight Wiggins exaggeratedly swung his sword around.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. Now, there’s only one conversation left for you and me. Will you surrender, or will you get beaten and roll around?”

“Surrender?”

Choi Sang-mu chuckled.

“Don’t talk nonsense. There’s no such thing as surrender in my life. Even if I die here, we won’t surrender to you. If we can’t kill you, we’ll take an arm, and if we can’t take an arm, we’ll at least drain your stamina.”

“Your spirit is good, but it’s very irrational. Well, fine. I came here somewhat prepared.”

Knight Wiggins leisurely approached Choi Sang-mu.

“I’ll tell you one thing in advance… you’ll regret this.”

Knight Wiggins smiled wryly.

“Is it over?”

“Hmm, it seems so.”

Elena frowned as she looked at the Youngnam Association members sprawled on the floor.

“Father.”

“What is it?”

“You seem a bit weaker?”

Knight Wiggins flinched.

“R-really? I think it’s because I didn’t use magic along with it.”

“If it were before, it wouldn’t have taken this long even with just your sword.”

“It wasn’t urgent, so I was just playing around.”

“Really?”

“……Of course.”

Knight Wiggins couldn’t bring himself to meet Elena’s eyes. He himself was realizing that he had become much weaker compared to the past. It felt like his sword wasn’t moving as precisely as he intended.

‘To become weaker after becoming a Knight.’ It’s all because of excessive work. Even the finest sword will lose its edge if it’s not sharpened and left unattended. No matter how strong Knight Wiggins is, he can only lose what he has if he doesn’t train properly.

“But Father.”

“What is it?”

“Are you really weaker than Kang Jin-ho?”

“Why do you ask?”

“It doesn’t seem like it, no matter how I look at it.”

“I told you not to touch Kang Jin-ho, right?”

“Back then, I couldn’t imagine that a Knight-level person could come to Korea directly. Knights aren’t those kinds of people. I thought a bomb would really go off if we carelessly touched him. If I had known that Father could come directly, my thoughts would have been different.”

Knight Wiggins smiled contentedly.

“To think you would rate your father so highly, I’m grateful for that.”

“I didn’t rate you highly.”

“You did rate me highly. You saw me as equal to the Lord.”

To be precise, she rated him higher than Kang Jin-ho.

“It might seem that way to your eyes. After all, my fighting style is more flashy than the Lord’s.”

“I didn’t just evaluate you based on flashiness. Honestly, Father, you have no openings. That’s why I just thought you wouldn’t lose.”

“I understand what you mean.”

“So, what’s the answer?”

Knight Wiggins seemed to ponder for a moment before opening his mouth.

“The chances of winning are almost nonexistent.”

“Nonexistent?”

Elena’s eyes trembled.

She thought he would downplay it a bit. But she never expected that statement. Does the difference between Kang Jin-ho and Knight Wiggins really run that deep?

“It’s more like our compatibility is bad. I can attack the Lord in various ways, but none of them will be able to inflict any damage on him. But I can’t dodge the Lord’s sword.”

“……That much?”

“If we were to fight now… well, it wouldn’t be completely nonexistent. If we fought a hundred times, I might win six or seven times at most. No, no. I can’t win.”

Knight Wiggins shook his head.

“If it were the Lord who fought Bartor, I would have a chance. That’s how battles are. The stronger one doesn’t always win. The outcome can change depending on the condition and situation of the day. So, I would have had that much of a chance. But… not now. The Lord has become stronger through his battle with Bartor. He even got stronger during the fight. It’s impossible for me to beat him now. And…”

Knight Wiggins didn’t bother to add the rest.

‘He’s probably getting stronger even at this moment. Like he’s regaining what he lost.’

The speed at which Kang Jin-ho was getting stronger was beyond common sense.

That’s how strength is.

If everyone could get stronger as much as they trained, there would be no weak people in the world.

Strength is more valuable because you don’t get stronger as much as you try.

Let’s take a sports player as an example.

Can everyone become the best player just by trying?

From the start, how much stronger a person can become through effort is half determined from birth.

And effort is needed to unlock the talent you have.

But Kang Jin-ho was an existence that broke the world’s standards of talent and effort.

He’s getting stronger as if there’s no limit, even without doing any significant training. Feeling him get stronger from the side is enough to make your hair stand on end.

“Looking at him is even disheartening. I can’t even fathom how much stronger he’ll become.”

“Is it that much?”

“I’ve seen countless martial artists. So now, when I see a martial artist, I can roughly gauge how strong they can become. But, well, the Lord is an incomprehensible existence to me.

I don’t feel even a speck of talent in him?”

“No talent?”

“Yes. Someone who shouldn’t have become strong has become strong. And immensely so. So, I can’t even fathom how strong he’ll become.”

“Hmm…”

Elena tilted her head as if she didn’t understand. Knight Wiggins watched that scene with a gentle smile.

It would be a difficult story for the current Elena to understand.

“Alright, your work is done. Go back now.”

“Go back?”

“Is there anything else to do?”

“……No. It’s not that, but…”

“You need to tell Chevalier, who’s waiting, about the situation. He must be waiting with bated breath.”

“That’s true. Then, what about you, Father?”

“I have a little more work to do. You should return to the main force with Chevalier for now.”

“Yes, then.”

Elena nodded and walked away into the distance.

Knight Wiggins watched the scene with a warm smile. As Elena’s figure completely disappeared from his sight, Knight Wiggins turned his body.

“Alright.”

Knight Wiggins stretched left and right and cracked his neck.

‘I need to train a bit. To think my body is already stiff after moving this much.’

Reflecting on his lazy self, Knight Wiggins approached Choi Sang-mu, who was groaning on the floor. The smile that had been on his lips vanished without a trace. Then, he quietly opened his mouth.

“Get up.”

A cold and eerie voice, unlike anything Knight Wiggins had shown so far, came out.

Choi Sang-mu’s body trembled at the sound of his voice.