Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 935

Kang Jin-ho stepped into the open space, taking his position first. Then, the Master slowly walked out to face him.

They had two things in common.

Neither of them appeared particularly nervous, while those watching were filled with extreme tension.

However, the two of them seemed focused solely on each other, as if oblivious to the eyes of others.

“It’s a nice place,” the Master said, breaking the silence.

“I didn’t think there would be such a nice place in Korea…”

“Hold on,” Kang Jin-ho interrupted, turning his head to call for Lee Hyun-soo. Lee Hyun-soo sighed and ran to stand beside Kang Jin-ho.

“Continue,” Kang Jin-ho said to the Master.

The Master hesitated for a moment, then sighed deeply and began to speak.

“English is…”

“…I can manage roughly, but it’s better to be sure,” Kang Jin-ho replied.

“That’s true,” the Master agreed, looking at Kang Jin-ho with a hint of nostalgia.

‘How long has it been?’ he wondered.

He couldn’t remember the last time he had engaged in martial arts with someone.

A pleasant tension began to fill the Master’s chest.

‘This used to be my daily life,’ he thought.

Competing with someone, experiencing victory and defeat, and then pushing himself again. To become stronger, to win more.

There was a time when the Master was also such a martial artist.

But what about now?

Could he still call himself a martial artist?

‘I don’t know,’ he mused.

If the standard of a martial artist was someone who had mastered martial arts and gained excessive power compared to ordinary people, then the Master would still qualify. However, if the standard was someone who lived in the world of competition by mastering martial arts, then the current Master was not qualified to be called a martial artist.

At best, an administrator.

Or a manager.

‘That sounds quite elite-ish,’ he thought.

Some might like such titles, but the Master did not. Not at this moment, at least.

When was it?

The moment the raw, visceral energy disappeared from those around him.

It was a strange thing.

The Round Table was clearly a group of martial artists. However, it was difficult to sense the presence of a martial artist from those who participated in the Round Table. Those who first entered the Round Table had some martial arts aura, but soon they were assimilated into the atmosphere of the Round Table.

If it weren’t for the masks covering their faces and the antique table, one wouldn’t feel anything strange even if it were a meeting scene of a mid-level executive of some company.

The Master had lived like that.

He had even forgotten that he was a martial artist.

They boasted about the Round Table, but what they did was not so different from what an ordinary national government or military did. Only the type of power was different, but they were similar in that they sought to utilize the power they possessed.

Deciding the direction in which the power of those who belonged to them, not their own, would go. That was the Master’s job.

‘It’s not like I had any particular complaints,’ he thought.

He figured that even those who lived the life of a martial artist when they were young would end up living a life not so different from the Master’s as they got older and their status rose.

But…

The Master’s eyes followed Kang Jin-ho.

Looking at him standing there indifferently, his fists clenched involuntarily.

This man was different.

This man still exuded a wildness.

Should it be called a terrible, raw, fishy smell?

In an era where swords were pushed aside by guns and disappeared, in this era where one had to hide that they were a martial artist to live in harmony with the world, Kang Jin-ho still stood there without losing the essence of a martial artist.

It was as if a martial artist from the past had suddenly fallen into this era.

That sight was painfully lodged in the Master’s heart.

‘Maybe I…’ he thought.

Yes, let’s admit it.

Maybe he wanted to be like that. The life he wanted was not the life he had now, but perhaps that kind of existence.

“May I ask you something?” the Master asked.

“As much as you want,” Kang Jin-ho replied.

The Master took a low breath and slowly opened his mouth.

“I heard that you are not that young.”

The superficial age was meaningless. For returnees [people who have returned from another world or time], age was just a numerical value that indicated the consumption value of the body, nothing more or less.

There would be those who had lived for hundreds of years, and there would be those who had lived for thousands of years.

“So?” Kang Jin-ho asked.

“…How can you still be so young?” the Master inquired.

It was a vague question.

Kang Jin-ho understood the meaning of those words. But he couldn’t understand it.

Young?

It was a strange thing to say.

“I don’t know,” Kang Jin-ho replied.

So that was all he could say.

However, there was something to add.

“Isn’t that something you should ask yourself, not me?”

“…What do you mean?” the Master asked, puzzled.

“The only ones who think others are young are those who feel their own age. Those who think they are young themselves do not label those younger than them with the word ‘youth’,” Kang Jin-ho explained.

The Master was speechless.

“Especially martial artists. It’s funny to be obsessed with youth even though you have a body that is superior to those in their twenties. It seems like it’s not your age that’s making you old?” Kang Jin-ho continued.

“…Then what is it?” the Master asked.

“It’s not my job to find that out,” Kang Jin-ho replied.

An absurdly correct answer.

It wasn’t a question he had asked expecting a proper answer. Although this man instinctively followed reason, he didn’t seem to have the intellect to logically explain the facts he knew in his head.

However, Kang Jin-ho’s words hit him to the bone.

‘It’s not age?’ the Master wondered.

Kang Jin-ho looked at the Master and said, “There’s no need to think about it.”

Kang Jin-ho reached out his hand.

The space distorted, and Kang Jin-ho’s hand went into it.

The Master watched the scene with a glint in his eyes.

‘Subspace?’ he thought.

It was their technique.

It wasn’t surprising that Kang Jin-ho used subspace. No matter how different the system of martial arts was, martial arts were still martial arts. If someone at Kang Jin-ho’s level set their mind to it, learning subspace was nothing.

However, what really surprised the Master was that Kang Jin-ho had learned subspace.

Everyone has inertia.

Those who have learned Eastern martial arts only try to counter Western martial arts; they do not try to accept them. The same goes for Western martial artists.

They acknowledge that Eastern martial arts overwhelm Western martial arts in one-on-one combat, but they do not accept their martial arts. They only study and try to counter them.

Even young people with flexible minds do not try to learn from others, but try to develop their own. However, Kang Jin-ho, who had built a group to the point of forming his own faction, had accepted martial arts from another system without hesitation.

That flexibility of thought was surprising to the Master.

Kang Jin-ho pulled out Blue Dew and Red Dew [dual swords] in his hand.

The Master also reached into subspace without hesitation. A long sword and a staff were pulled out in his hand.

Coincidentally, both of them used dual weapons.

Kang Jin-ho used dual swords, and the Master held a sword in one hand and a staff in the other.

“Th, then I’ll be going now,” Lee Hyun-soo said quietly, stepping back. Lee Hyun-soo, who had returned to Wiggins’ side, asked in a puzzled voice, “What is that staff?”

Wiggins replied in a cautious tone, “I told you before.”

“Yes?” Lee Hyun-soo asked.

“Being a magic swordsman is not something to do,” Wiggins stated.

“…Yes,” Lee Hyun-soo replied.

Wiggins sighed slightly.

“Learning two systems at once is really difficult. But what’s even more difficult is using two systems of martial arts at the same time,” Wiggins explained.

“Th, that’s probably true,” Lee Hyun-soo agreed.

“Using a sword and magic at the same time in battle is like playing the piano with one hand and the violin with the other. And playing different songs at that,” Wiggins continued.

He couldn’t imagine it.

But he could understand one thing.

“Isn’t that impossible?” Lee Hyun-soo asked.

“Yes, it’s impossible. The most prominent way to use both hands since ancient times is to hold a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. The reason this is possible is because their roles are clearly divided. But swords and magic are not like that. That’s why it’s difficult. And it’s difficult to understand,” Wiggins explained.

Wiggins looked at the Master with a complicated expression.

“Nevertheless, there is a reason why I learned magic and swords at the same time. What do you think it is?” Wiggins asked.

“You said before that in your youth, you were an incredibly annoying brat who was arrogant because he thought he was a genius,” Lee Hyun-soo replied.

“…Me?” Wiggins asked.

“Yes. I heard it clearly,” Lee Hyun-soo confirmed.

Wiggins looked at Lee Hyun-soo with a strange look. But Lee Hyun-soo steadfastly maintained a blank expression.

“It’s a bit strange, but… let’s say that’s true,” Wiggins conceded.

“Yes,” Lee Hyun-soo replied.

He had a hunch, but no proof.

Wiggins clicked his tongue and continued, “That’s also true. It’s embarrassing, but it’s undeniable. But that’s not all. Even if I was an arrogant brat, I wouldn’t have tried to pioneer that path alone if there hadn’t been a magic swordsman who proved it was possible.”

Wiggins pointed at the Master with his eyes.

“Look. The person in front of you is the only magic swordsman in existence. The only person who has pioneered the impossible realm of wielding magic and swords at the same time is the Master,” Wiggins stated.

“Oh!” Lee Hyun-soo exclaimed, looking at the Master with a slightly surprised look.

In his eyes, Wiggins was a genius.

He belittled his past by calling himself an arrogant brat, but Wiggins was someone who was qualified to have such arrogance.

Even Wiggins said that being a magic swordsman was not something a human should do. If he had not chosen the path of a magic swordsman and had focused on either swords or magic, he would have been twice as strong as he was now, wouldn’t he?

But now Wiggins was calling the Master the only magic swordsman in existence. It meant that the Master had achieved a realm that even Wiggins considered a failure.

“…He was an amazing person,” Lee Hyun-soo said.

“He’s a legendary figure. In many ways. As an individual, he’s a legendary martial artist, but nationally, he’s nothing short of a disaster,” Wiggins replied.

“Yes?” Lee Hyun-soo asked, not understanding Wiggins’ words.

Wiggins smiled wryly and explained, “Because of the Master, countless young people in England disappeared without ever being able to fully bloom their talents. The swamp of magic swordsmen sucked them in.”

“Ah!” Lee Hyun-soo exclaimed, finally understanding Wiggins’ words.

Just like young Wiggins, those who saw the Master’s exploits would have all tried to become magic swordsmen. If young Wiggins was fascinated, it must have been attractive to others as well.

However, there was no way that ordinary people could reach a realm that even Wiggins had failed to reach. That’s why they were weeded out.

‘But conversely… it means it’s that brilliant. Like a flame that lures moths,’ Lee Hyun-soo thought.

Lee Hyun-soo looked at the Master with different eyes than before.

What kind of appearance would that white-haired old man show?

“Let’s step back. It’s starting,” Wiggins said.

Seeing the two of them beginning to resonate with each other, Wiggins and Lee Hyun-soo hurriedly moved further back.