Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 698

“Oh, Great Demon Lord!” As soon as Li Xiaowei got out of the car, he slammed his head to the ground.

“Oh, Great Demon Lord! You who command the noble demons! Your servant has arrived here!” Li Xiaowei’s voice was filled with emotion.

How long had he waited for this moment?

Zhang Min.

To them, Zhang Min was an elder, a superior, a guide, and a legend. Before the Demonic Cult had completely lost its power, he had given up everything to become a gatekeeper of the Sura Cave [a sacred place in Demonic Cult lore], waiting for the Demon Lord’s descent.

It was a position where he could have enjoyed wealth and power if he wanted. Even though the Demonic Cult had lost its strength and fallen into ruin, how many followers did it still have? If they used them, Zhang Min and the other leaders could have lived in luxury.

But Zhang Min gave up all of that.

He gave up everything for his devotion to the Demonic Cult and remained a mere gatekeeper. How could they not respect such a person?

And that Zhang Min had declared it.

The Demon Lord had returned.

When they first heard those words, they thought it was a joke. Or that Zhang Min, tired of his long life as a gatekeeper, was making excuses to hide his awkwardness as he emerged from the cave.

It was understandable.

Because it was just a legend.

When the Demonic Cult was rejected by the world and could no longer endure, the Demon Lord would descend again and lead them to a new world.

An old legend, no one knew who had started it.

But even the Demonic Cult members didn’t believe that legend.

It was a salvation myth common to all religions. The world was too harsh to believe those words and wait, and the wait was too long. Within the Demonic Cult, Zhang Min was probably the only one who believed those words until the end.

Some thought it was a joke, and others thought Zhang Min was too old and had gone senile.

But in the end, they came to believe Zhang Min’s words.

After seeing the Sura Cave open with their own eyes, they had no choice but to believe.

The qualification of the Demon Lord was to open the Sura Cave.

Conversely, anyone who opened the Sura Cave had the right to be called the Demon Lord.

Faced with irrefutable proof, their skepticism turned to shock, and then to overwhelming emotion that shook them to their core.

The Demon Lord.

The Demon Lord had descended.

The old legend that no one believed had become a reality.

A hazy mist filled Li Xiaowei’s eyes.

He tried to remain composed, but tears kept welling up. The long years of being oppressed for being a demon flashed through his mind.

They had to hold their breath.

They had to endure no matter what happened.

Because they were weak.

The world of martial arts was all about strength. Even the justification was on their side. If they couldn’t win with strength, and they couldn’t win with justification… they could only bow their heads and beg for their lives.

That’s how they had lived.

Their entire lives.

Li Xiaowei just had to endure. He didn’t have much time left to live. But what about the other young demons?

He couldn’t pass on the same life to his descendants.

It didn’t have to be equal. It didn’t have to be the same.

If he could just see them stand tall and speak their minds to the righteous martial artists who ruled the world, even once, he could die without regrets.

He thought it was a dream that would never come true. Because realistically, there was no way to turn the current situation around. But at this moment, the dream that Li Xiaowei had only kept in his heart was coming true.

“Oh, Great Demon Lord! Oh, Great Demon Lord! Oh, Solely Great One! We have waited. We have waited for the day the Demon Lord would descend. We swallowed dirt with our bare mouths, turned away from the glory of light, and spent our days. But just knowing that the wait was worth it, this humble servant cannot help but be moved.”

“Hearing that there were wicked people aiming for the Demon Lord, we dropped everything and rushed here. We will take care of those wicked bastards. There is no need for you to sully your noble self. Therefore, Demon Lord, you should only focus on the thousand years of glory of the Demonic Cult that you will create from now on.”

“Um, excuse me…”

Li Xiaowei raised his head.

There was hesitation in the Demon Lord’s voice.

That shouldn’t be.

The Demon Lord was the one who led.

He was the one who had to lead them to a new world. How could there be doubt in such a person’s voice?

‘Are we not trustworthy?’

It was possible.

According to Elder Zhang Min, the Demon Lord possessed all things demonic. In the eyes of such a person, they, who had barely managed to gather and learn the scraps of inferior demonic arts, could not possibly look good.

Even if he had pity for them, he wouldn’t be able to trust them.

“Do not worry, Demon Lord. We have learned how to survive in our own way. We will become the foundation for recreating the glorious past of the Demonic Cult that once ruled the world.”

Li Xiaowei raised his head, his eyes filled with tears.

“Oh, even his bearing is befitting of the name of the Demon Lord! That noble…”

“No, hey, old man.”

“Yes?”

“…It’s not me. It’s over there.”

Li Xiaowei slowly turned his head to the side.

The Demon Lord, a huge body, was waving his hand, saying it wasn’t him… no, he said that wasn’t the Demon Lord, so then this side…

Li Xiaowei looked at the young man of moderate build who was rubbing his forehead and eyes with one hand.

“This side?”

“That’s right.”

“No matter how I look at it, it’s this side…”

Li Xiaowei tilted his head, looking back and forth between Kang Jin-ho and Bator. Then, Joo Kang, who had been covering his face with both hands, trying to hide his embarrassment, shouted.

“Look at the demonic energy, the demonic energy! Don’t look at the appearance, look at the demonic energy!”

“Demonic energy?”

Only then did Li Xiaowei gather his inner energy. Then, with a terrified face, he slammed his head to the ground again towards Kang Jin-ho.

“Oh, Great Demon Lord! How can I atone for this rudeness! Please punish this old servant who has eyes but could not recognize a noble person. This sin…”

“Hehehe, heh.”

Bator couldn’t hold back his laughter and burst out laughing.

“If I had known that demons were this funny, I would have absolutely opposed oppression. It’s very delightful.”

Kang Jin-ho sighed at Bator’s words.

It was a situation where he had no choice but to accept the teasing.

“Oh, Great Demon Lord, you may take this sinful life. But in this era, the glory of the Demonic Cult…”

“That’s enough.”

Kang Jin-ho firmly stopped Li Xiaowei’s words.

And at that moment, Li Xiaowei’s mouth closed like a clam.

It wasn’t that he closed his mouth after hearing his words.

It wasn’t something that happened because he tried to do something. It was just that the moment Kang Jin-ho commanded, his body reacted on its own.

‘What is this?’

Li Xiaowei trembled.

Zhang Min had said.

There was no need to test their loyalty, that if they saw him, they would know naturally.

Was this what he meant?

Li Xiaowei couldn’t bring himself to speak and could only hold his breath.

“The Demonic Cult…”

Kang Jin-ho slowly scanned behind him.

The demons, who were still unsure and watching Li Xiaowei and Kang Jin-ho, trembled as if struck by lightning the moment they made eye contact with Kang Jin-ho.

Those who bowed their heads.

Those who avoided his gaze.

And those who looked at him with passionate eyes.

They were showing different reactions, but Kang Jin-ho didn’t see those things. The only thing he saw was one thing.

“This is it?”

A hollow laugh escaped his lips.

The Demonic Cult.

How heavy was the weight of that name?

Even before Kang Jin-ho joined the Demonic Cult and led it to its golden age, the Demonic Cult was a synonym for terror. Children born in the martial world grew up more afraid of Demonic Cult members than tigers.

Before they even came to their senses, they engraved the fear of the Demonic Cult into their bones and fostered animosity towards them. The Demonic Cult was such a terrifying existence that they had to thoroughly educate their descendants in that way.

But this is it?

This is the Demonic Cult? This?

Strangely, he felt angry.

He didn’t feel any affection or sense of belonging to the Demonic Cult. To him, the Demonic Cult was just a place where he had to rely on to survive. He survived within the Demonic Cult and gained power, but he continued to live as a Demonic Cult member because there was no need to leave a place he had become accustomed to.

To Kang Jin-ho, a modern person, blind faith was something he could not understand.

Even when he heard that the Demonic Cult had been destroyed, he wasn’t particularly angry.

Time changes everything.

But….

“This is the Demonic Cult?”

What he saw was not Demonic Cult members.

It was just a gathering of defeated remnants, worn down by time and reality. At the very least, if they were going to use the name of the Demonic Cult, they shouldn’t look like this.

It was a fact he already knew.

He had heard countless times about the situation of demons in the modern world. And through Zhang Min, he had also heard that they were being persecuted and suffering.

But the moment the knowledge he had only acquired in his head became a reality and appeared before his eyes, a sense of incongruity was overwhelming him.

Kang Jin-ho looked around at everyone.

His face was as hard as it could possibly be.

Li Xiaowei did not miss the fact that Kang Jin-ho’s expression was slowly hardening. His experience of living for so long would not miss that fact.

“Oh, Great Demon Lord, I will take care of those wicked people right away. The details can be discussed after…”

“Didn’t I tell you to be quiet?”

Li Xiaowei shut his mouth.

Then, this time, Morikawa Atsushi opened his mouth.

“Are these the ones you mobilized?”

Without answering, Kang Jin-ho turned his head towards Morikawa Atsushi. The voice of Lee Hyun-soo, who was translating through the phone, was also stiff. He didn’t know how the situation was turning out, but he could easily tell that Kang Jin-ho was not in a good mood.

“Do you think you can dare to oppose us by gathering such trash?”

“Trash…”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled softly.

A twisted laugh.

Yes, one thing had become clear.

He had never thought of it himself, but it seemed that Kang Jin-ho had an attachment to the name of the Demonic Cult. The moment they were called trash, his insides began to twist.

He had to admit it.

They deserved to be called trash.

Those who had not even mastered the basics and had picked up inferior demonic arts could not dare to call themselves demons.

But….

“It’s not exactly wrong.”

Kang Jin-ho took out a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth.

Click.

The cigarette was lit. The smoke he slowly inhaled swept through his lungs and then escaped again.

“But you should have known one thing.”

Demonic energy slowly began to emanate from Kang Jin-ho’s body.

Demonic energy.

This place was filled with demonic energy. The demons, stimulated by Kang Jin-ho’s presence, were emitting demonic energy.

But it was different.

The demonic energy emanating from Kang Jin-ho’s body was not the same kind as the demonic energy emanating from the demons’ bodies.

Dark, dense demonic energy, like black tar, slowly, very slowly flowed out. At the same time, Kang Jin-ho’s eyes began to turn red.

“I’m the only one who can say those words. I’ll let you know that it’s not something trash like you can say.”

The Demon Lord’s rage engulfed the world.