Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 893

A searing pain.

That expression felt inadequate.

Nakada Yuuji found this situation utterly dreadful. Yet, ridiculously, he also found it fascinating.

Because he could feel it so vividly.

He reflexively tilted his head back. Thanks to that,

the sword pierced his lower left jaw. The sword, having pierced through his lower jaw, went through his jawbone, split his nasal bone, then shattered his right eye socket, and finally grazed past his right eyebrow.

The sensation was so clear, so slow.

It was strange.

At the same time, it was utterly dreadful. There was no way Kang Jin-ho’s sword could be slow.

And it didn’t make sense that his body was standing still like a stone statue while his face was being torn apart.

So, all of this was just being perceived slowly; in reality, it was happening in an extremely short amount of time. His brain, detecting the crisis, was probably overclocking, risking burning itself out.

Even at the cost of his lifespan, or the risk of his brain being fried, entering the realm of a superhuman, even for a moment, was an incredibly intense experience.

A martial artist thirsty for strength would try to have this experience, even at the cost of their own death.

But even after entering this realm at the cost of so many risks and sacrifices, the fact that all he could do was barely evade Kang Jin-ho’s sword made Nakada Yuuji feel absurd.

He couldn’t even evade it perfectly.

That was the difference between Kang Jin-ho and Nakada Yuuji.

At this moment, a despairingly huge wall had formed.

Nakada Yuuji could tell. The blow Kang Jin-ho had unleashed was nothing to him. It was no different from a casual flick of the hand to swat a fly.

To avoid that light attack, Nakada Yuuji had to risk his life. Both luck and timing were on his side. If it had been his usual self, he would have died without even realizing it.

The extreme tension and the fear that his head could be severed at any moment had created this situation.

He had somehow managed to avoid having his head pierced in one go, but it might have been better to die in one blow. Then he wouldn’t have had to suffer this immense despair.

“Ugh…”

The moment he realized he was alive, an indescribable pain washed over him.

It wasn’t just a simple burning sensation.

It felt like earthworms covered in acid were crawling all over his face, writhing and melting his face away.

Thanks to this damned overclock, Nakada Yuuji had to feel that terrible pain a thousand times slower, vividly and horribly.

He couldn’t even scream, couldn’t resist… all he could do was endure.

“U…ugh…”

And then, at some point, his world began to return to its normal speed.

The sounds that had been muffled, as if he were swimming underwater, regained their clarity, and the feeling of being restrained, as if his entire body had been solidified with concrete, slowly disappeared.

But that didn’t mean Nakada Yuuji had found freedom.

Rather, he was realizing it with a chilling clarity.

How dangerous the situation he was in was.

At least as long as Kang Jin-ho was alive, concepts like freedom or safety didn’t exist on this ship.

Just like they wouldn’t exist for someone trapped in a cage with a monster.

The sword that had sliced his face was withdrawn. The shock of the sword returning, just the air it disturbed, caused unbearable pain in his face.

“Yuuji!”

“Yuuji-san!”

Screams erupted from left and right.

Something flashed, and then Nakada Yuuji collapsed on the spot, blood gushing from his face. How could they not be shocked?

Moreover, Nakada Yuuji was supposed to be giving them the signal. But if he was injured and collapsed like that, what were they supposed to do now?

Confusion.

Uncontrollable confusion arose.

There was an enemy in front of them, and they should never show panic in front of an enemy. They were not people who didn’t know that. Those gathered here were the heads of each group, or representatives of each group.

Their martial prowess, as well as their experience as martial artists, were second to none.

But the fact that a comrade’s face had been torn apart in an instant, that the comrade was the commander of this battle, and above all, that such a thing had happened and yet no one had even realized that the sword had passed by them, was throwing them into a panic.

If that sword had been aimed at them instead of Nakada Yuuji, could they have avoided it?

If they couldn’t evade that sword, who among them could be sure they would escape death?

If that sword had targeted someone else, a life would have been lost by now. The moment they realized that, goosebumps rose all over their bodies.

‘Like a monster!’

‘How did such a guy come out of the Korean peninsula?!’

Everyone could now understand. Why this guy’s name had spread beyond Korea to Japan, and why Shin’nichikai, the largest group in Kansai [a region in Japan], had supported the expedition to take this guy’s head.

Understanding came with despair.

The leader’s thought was not wrong. Kang Jin-ho was someone who had to be eliminated at all costs. If they gave this guy more time, they didn’t know how Korea would change.

The Japanese mainland, which had never allowed a Joseon [historical Korean kingdom] invasion, falling into their hands was not just a delusion. This guy… yes, this guy could do it.

Kang Jin-ho retrieved his sword and tilted his head slightly.

As if he couldn’t understand why Nakada Yuuji had evaded his sword.

Kang Jin-ho, looking at Nakada Yuuji who was groaning with a slightly subtle expression, smiled again.

Nothing would change.

Just because he had luckily evaded his sword didn’t mean Nakada Yuuji had found a way to live.

It just meant the pain he would receive had increased a little.

‘That’s strange.’

He seemed a little excited.

It was quite common to push oneself into excitement when entering a battle. It was a martial arts adage that one’s mind should be endlessly calm during a battle, but Kang Jin-ho wasn’t exactly that type.

In battle, he skipped the details.

A perfect battle where he never took damage and even managed his stamina. That wasn’t Kang Jin-ho’s style. Even if it meant taking some wounds, he would cut down his opponent faster and more surely. That was Kang Jin-ho’s style.

That’s why he preferred aggression and excitement over calmness, and speed over perfection.

But this excitement wasn’t something Kang Jin-ho had intended.

His emotions moving beyond his control was quite a special experience for Kang Jin-ho.

He could roughly guess the reason, though.

It was a funny thing.

Kang Jin-ho was a very private person. Although he was involved in various social activities, the purpose of all those activities was to satisfy his personal desires.

But then how could he explain Kang Jin-ho’s current excitement? It couldn’t be explained simply as being intoxicated by slaughter.

For Kang Jin-ho, battle and slaughter were everyday occurrences.

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

‘Interesting.’

He didn’t particularly feel a sense of belonging to the nation, nor did he think he had to do something for the nation. But he had to admit that the current Kang Jin-ho was more emotional than usual.

And…

‘It doesn’t matter.’

What did it matter?

No matter what their purpose was, no matter what their origins were, the fact that they were Kang Jin-ho’s enemies didn’t change. The way he dealt with his enemies hadn’t changed from the past to the present.

Then he would just do as he always did.

Kang Jin-ho gripped his enemy’s sword. The enemy’s sword.

The heat emanating from the weapon felt familiar.

It was at that moment.

“Ch-chargeeeeeee!”

Nakada Yuuji shouted. Blood splattered from his face.

And those who heard his command reflexively charged towards Kang Jin-ho all at once.

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes sank as he saw them rushing at him, disregarding their lives.

They were risking their lives to attack him now. But the feeling was different from those who had risked their lives against him until now.

At least those who had stood against him until now had a firm will to stop Kang Jin-ho, even if it meant sacrificing their own lives.

The righteous people who had faced him at the end of his past life had that firm will. They also knew that facing Kang Jin-ho meant risking their own lives. And they clearly knew that most of them would have to die to kill Kang Jin-ho.

But they bravely risked their lives. They stood there for what they believed in, by their own will.

But what was this?

There was no will to be felt. All that could be felt was a sense of duty and fear.

The sight of those who didn’t even have the will to risk their own lives jumping to their deaths at that small command made Kang Jin-ho frown.

At the same time, that unpleasant feeling was immediately transmitted to the tip of his sword.

A wall of people unfolded. Those who had charged at once rushed in, filling his entire field of vision.

It wasn’t an attack to be ignored. They were also the heads of a sect. If this were the Central Plains [a region in China] of the past, they would be considered the leaders of medium-sized sects. Of course, the martial world of the past and the current martial world couldn’t be compared equally.

This kind of combined attack was powerful enough to make Kang Jin-ho struggle. But Kang Jin-ho had no intention of retreating. He didn’t want to retreat either.

And…

There was no need to retreat.

Fwoooosh!

A sound of tearing through the air.

A huge noise, more like the sound of a giant whip striking the ground than the sound of a sword being swung, erupted from the tip of his sword.

And the result was too violent to have been created by a sword.

The world split apart, like a large brush had drawn a line of pure white paint on a black canvas.

Then, the pure white void was soon stained with crimson blood.

The world, filled with color, was filled with sound again. The sound of something gushing, the dying screams of someone, and the weeping of those who had narrowly escaped death by sheer luck.

The world changed in an instant.

And in that changed world, Kang Jin-ho stood aloof.

A drop of blood, then another, fell from the tip of his sword.

“Let me ask you one thing.”

Kang Jin-ho slowly opened his mouth.

He hadn’t been told, but Nakada Yuuji knew. That this question was directed at him.

“Do you think there is any meaning in this death?”

“…”

Nakada Yuuji’s eyes were bloodshot.

“A warrior dies for his country.”

A subtle smile appeared on Kang Jin-ho’s lips at that answer.