Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 833

The word ‘fun’ is very subjective. Generally, when someone feels interest and enjoyment in something, it’s called fun. But just as each person is different, how much fun one feels in a certain thing is bound to be different as well.

Some feel thrilling excitement and fun on a roller coaster, while others perceive the very act of riding a roller coaster as pain and fear.

This is how different the fun everyone feels can be, even in the same event.

But now, Bator was realizing that wasn’t the whole story.

Just like Bator now.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

The elements that Bator found interesting and fun were clear.

Combat.

Especially combat with the strong.

He wasn’t so addicted to combat that he couldn’t find any fun in other things, but he tended to find more fun in combat than anything else.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Bator’s life existed for the sake of fighting the strong. After all, wasn’t the reason he joined the Assembly the same?

There was also the reason that following Kang Jin-ho seemed like it would make him stronger, but it was more appealing to him to stand by Kang Jin-ho’s side and face the Hongwang realm [a powerful and dangerous faction or entity] than to stand on Hongwang’s side and face the Assembly.

At the base of all his actions was the desire to face a strong opponent.

So, fighting the strong should be the greatest pleasure for him.

But….

‘What is this?’

Bator had to realize that the elements of fun he thought he knew could change in an instant.

He was now in the situation he wanted most.

He could fight the strong to his heart’s content.

Normally, he would have felt the greatest joy. Of course, it was a shame that there wasn’t the tension and desperation of fighting for one’s life, but how often would such a situation occur? This alone should be enjoyable enough.

“Damn it!”

But there was no fun at all. Far from fun, he even felt pain.

It wasn’t working.

Nothing.

“Uaaaaaaah!”

His fist was launched forward, strong and sharp like a missile leaving its launchpad. If hit by that blow, not only a person but even an elephant would die instantly.

It was a blow that anyone could feel was powerful. Anyone who could see the dark magical energy lingering in that fist would also realize that the blow was more dangerous than it appeared.

But that was it.

Thud.

That dangerous blow was blocked too easily.

The sight of Bator’s fist, as big as a person’s head, being held in a normal-sized hand created a bizarre sense of incongruity. It was as if a three-year-old child had grabbed an adult’s fist.

Bator’s eyes were bloodshot.

‘This can’t be happening.’

Of course, the one who grabbed his fist was Kang Jin-ho. Unlike Bator, who was making all sorts of faces and trembling, Kang Jin-ho was expressionless.

“Hmm…”

Then he tilted his head slightly.

As if he didn’t like it.

“Weak.”

“Kuh!”

Kang Jin-ho pushed Bator away with a slight push of his hand. Bator was helplessly thrown backward.

“Th-this…!”

Bator’s eyes filled with rage.

Even the usual him wouldn’t have been able to endure this situation. And wasn’t he even more violent than before after learning demonic arts?

It felt like a fire was burning in his chest.

‘How could this happen!’

In the midst of it all, at least a minimum of reason was working. What was dominating him now was anger and disbelief.

He knew that Kang Jin-ho was strong. The Kang Jin-ho he fought for his life in the past and the Kang Jin-ho of now were so different that they could be considered completely different people.

After that, while Bator had become stronger by a tiny bit, Kang Jin-ho had become immensely stronger.

To put it simply, if it were the Kang Jin-ho who fought Bator back then, he wouldn’t have been able to withstand Hongwang’s blow properly. But the Kang Jin-ho who fought Hongwang at that time had the ability to fight alongside him, even if he couldn’t overwhelm him.

So, he was prepared to lose.

But this was completely beyond his expectations.

‘How can this be?’

It wasn’t just a matter of being stronger.

The level was different.

His mind was in a mess.

‘No. It wasn’t like this just a while ago!’

The Kang Jin-ho who fought Hongwang back then wouldn’t have been able to treat Bator’s blow like a baby’s gesture as he was doing now.

Then that meant he had become even stronger than that time.

But is that even possible, logically?

“Step back.”

Kang Jin-ho said in an expressionless voice.

“You’re distracted. For a martial artist, that’s pathetic.”

“Th…”

At those words, the confusion that had been dominating Bator’s mind vanished. And the space where that confusion had disappeared was instantly filled with hatred and rage.

“I’ll kill you!”

Bator rushed at Kang Jin-ho, emitting streams of magical energy.

A seven-foot giant.

The sight of a seven-foot giant, not just a metaphor but a real one, rushing in with fury at a speed that couldn’t even be seen, was enough to cause fear in those who watched.

Though there were some who weren’t like that.

“It seems he’s a bit too excited.”

“Isn’t it the influence of demonic arts? We should probably exclude demonic arts after all.”

“The influence of demonic arts… Certainly, there could be something to that.”

Wiggins scratched his chin.

‘The amazing thing is still the Lord, though.’

The fact that he could leisurely watch that tremendous battle was thanks to Kang Jin-ho.

He didn’t feel like anyone would get hurt. There wasn’t even a hint of worry that anyone would be in danger. The battle itself was completely under Kang Jin-ho’s control.

It was a pity for Bator, who was putting in so much effort that it looked like he was about to pass out, but this was no longer a sparring match. If he had to give it a name, it would be more like guidance or education.

‘Has the gap really widened this much?’

The clear situation made Wiggins tremble.

He also knew that Kang Jin-ho was getting stronger quickly. The fact that he had abandoned the Round Table [a powerful organization or group] and thrown himself into this place was due to his expectations for Kang Jin-ho, which accounted for more than 80% of his decision.

So, Kang Jin-ho had to meet those expectations, of course.

The problem was that the fulfillment was a bit too much.

‘Is this really okay?’

The speed at which he was getting stronger was beyond common sense. Even for Wiggins, who was taking into account that Kang Jin-ho was getting stronger faster than common sense, this was beyond that.

And look.

External energy was being sucked into Kang Jin-ho like a vortex. He was practicing his energy circulation even while fighting.

It was the scene he had seen last time. Kang Jin-ho, who was blocking the aquarium in the aquarium, had shown such a sight. But could that be achieved with such efficiency even during such a fierce battle?

‘It’s irrational.’

It felt like all the common sense he had about martial arts was being contradicted.

A sense of incongruity swept through his whole body, and his stomach churned. If he watched that a little longer, he might throw up everything in his stomach.

“By the way, is that big guy really fighting seriously right now?”

Bang Jin-hoon seemed to not know what was going on, even though he was watching with his own eyes.

‘It’s natural, I guess.’

A beginner who has just started learning to draw cannot understand the paintings of a master. It’s because it exceeds their understanding.

Bang Jin-hoon was the same now.

He was also a well-known martial artist in Korea, but the level of martial arts that Kang Jin-ho and Bator were showing was too high for him to comprehend.

Even Wiggins was barely keeping up. But who would recognize that….

“Aaaah!”

There is someone, there is.

Wiggins turned his head with a sullen look.

“Oh, oh, Great Demon Lord!”

Jang Min’s face looked like he was about to burst into tears.

Bator had said with his own mouth that Jang Min and he were on the same level, so that old man must be very strong too. Just by looking at his actions, he seemed like he would pick up even the trash that Kang Jin-ho threw on the floor and keep it preciously, which was unpleasant… Anyway, this person is also strong, strong.

It seemed that since knowing the Assembly and Kang Jin-ho, the image of the strong had deteriorated rapidly. Anyway, that’s not important right now.

‘His emotion is excessive.’

Jang Min could clearly see it too. How strong Kang Jin-ho was right now. So, he couldn’t help but be overwhelmed with emotion. If Kang Jin-ho was in the position of a leader who would guide his future for Wiggins, then for Jang Min, Kang Jin-ho was like a god he had to believe in and follow without question.

Think about it.

What if the god of a religion appeared before a believer and performed miracles, parting a river with a gesture and bringing rain to the dry land?

Wouldn’t that overwhelming joy be indescribable?

Jang Min’s reaction was exactly like that.

It wasn’t just simple emotion. In the first place, the Demonic Cult [a religious group with a focus on demonic power] was a religion. Well, such emotion was understandable.

‘I just wish he didn’t look so pathetic.’

It was strangely unpleasant to watch the old man with a slight blush on his cheeks, expressing such intense emotion. It felt like he had seen something he shouldn’t have seen.

Wiggins suppressed his slightly dirty mood and turned his head. He shouldn’t look at this. It’s bad for his eyes.

Koo-oong!

Bator, who had blocked Kang Jin-ho’s blow, was thrown back like a cannonball.

Not the Bator who was hit. The Bator who blocked it.

The straight punch that Kang Jin-ho had thrown was blocked by Bator’s perfect defense. But Bator, unable to withstand the reverse force in that fist, was thrown back like a stone kicked by a child.

‘With that, defense is meaningless.’

The words attack and defense are only used between people who are evenly matched.

If NBA players played basketball with elementary school students, what would be the point of defensive tactics? Even if they perfectly blocked the path, they would just jump over their heads and dunk.

That was exactly what it looked like now.

Bator’s defense was perfect. But just because someone perfectly blocks the front of a charging dump truck doesn’t mean it’s a defense. The power Bator had was too weak to block Kang Jin-ho’s straight punch.

“Hmm.”

But Kang Jin-ho, who had thrown that ridiculous blow, was still shaking his head left and right as if he didn’t like something.

“It’s not easy.”

It’s not easy for you, huh?

Yes, I guess so.

Even though you look like you could instantly teleport ramen from the bowl to your stomach with a single gesture, there must be something that’s not easy for you.

It was the moment when Wiggins was about to say something.

“Uaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Bator, who had lost his reason due to anger and humiliation, was emitting streams of magical energy.

It seemed that the magical energy he had been suppressing had reached his brain.

Originally, this was a really big crisis. If a martial artist like Bator lost his reason and was swayed by magical energy, the damage would be enormous.

But now, it was more like….

“He’s going to get hit more.”

“He needs to regain his reason. That way, he’ll get hit less.”

Everyone was looking at Bator with slightly wistful eyes.

As if responding to that, Kang Jin-ho slightly clenched his fist.

Crack.

The sound of clenching his fist sounded like a death sentence. Eyes filled with pity and sympathy turned to the rampaging Bator.

‘He won’t kill him, right?’

That was the only fortunate thing, if it could be called that.