Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 947

The car zoomed, hugging the road as it sped along.

Kang Jin-ho’s driving skills were improving day by day. It wasn’t that his raw driving ability had increased, but rather that he had learned to drive with the flow of the road, adapting to its nuances.

However, Wiggins wore a displeased expression, voicing his complaints.

“We have a British car, don’t we?”

“This one’s a bit stuffy.”

“In my opinion, this car looks several times more stuffy. You have the best car with a comfortable ride and interior, yet you drive around in this toy.”

“It doesn’t suit the Lord’s dignity either. How about changing your ride now?”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

To have to get permission even for driving a car.

If he had known it would be like this, he would have told him to take a taxi back.

“It seems like you’ve met your old colleagues and your patriotism is rising. Is this some kind of ‘Buy Korean’ campaign?”

“I just don’t like these kinds of toys by nature.”

Wiggins was making a statement that would make any sports car enthusiast foam at the mouth, yet he said it so casually.

“Please respect my taste a little…”

“Tsk, I guess there’s no helping it.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

It had been quite a while since he and Wiggins had faced each other like this. They had many meetings and work to handle, but they didn’t have much personal time together.

“How’s the Master?”

“He’ll be returning tomorrow.”

“Aren’t you sad to send someone you haven’t seen in a while away like that?”

Kang Jin-ho sensed the subtle atmosphere between the Master and Wiggins.

Their relationship was not simply that of a boss and subordinate. It was a bit closer and more intimate. The reason Kang Jin-ho decided not to kill the Master was actually more because of this.

Kang Jin-ho wouldn’t want to live with someone who had harmed someone he considered family. Even if Wiggins was prepared for that, Kang Jin-ho’s position was different.

Protecting someone didn’t just mean protecting their life. It meant protecting all of their relationships and their life.

Since Wiggins was his man, he shouldn’t destroy his relationships.

“I am a little sad to see someone I haven’t seen in a while go, but he’s such a busy person that I can’t keep him here. And thanks to you, Lord, I spent a day with him yesterday, and now I’m a bit tired of him.”

Kang Jin-ho laughed silently. Looking at Wiggins’s dissatisfied face, he could tell how awkward it must have been. After all, from Wiggins’s perspective, he had quit his job without permission and moved to a new company, and now the former company’s chairman had come to visit.

If it were a regular employee, nothing much would happen, but if someone who was at least an executive director, or even a vice president, in charge of research and development, quit and joined a competitor, anyone would be furious.

But these two had spent 24 hours in the same room, so it was easy to imagine how uncomfortable they must have been.

“So, that’s enough?”

“I do have a thought of wanting to meet in a more comfortable and relaxed setting, but it’s okay. Today isn’t the only day, and we’ll see each other again soon.”

Kang Jin-ho turned his head slightly.

“Do you think the negotiation will go well?”

“Huh?”

Wiggins asked, sounding clueless.

“Saying we’ll see each other again soon means that the negotiation will go well and this deal will go through, right?”

“Not at all.”

Wiggins said firmly.

“Not at all?”

“Yes. The Master will fail. He will fail miserably.”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Wiggins with a puzzled expression. If he was going to fail, then why did he make such conditions and make such a deal? It didn’t make any sense.

“Then why?”

Wiggins wore a subtle smile.

“Failing isn’t that important. What’s important is that he will experience a truly miserable failure.”

“…Miserable failure?”

“The Master is a person who lives by theory. He’s an extremely rational person. The fact that he can find and propose conditions that neither side can give up, even in this extreme situation, is enough to make him a great man. However…”

Wiggins lowered the car window slightly. As if he was feeling stuffy.

“Others are not as great as the Master.”

“Humans can’t escape their emotions. The Master thinks that because he acted rationally, the other Knights will understand his actions. From the Master’s perspective, it’s a natural thing. The fact that he was a little more considerate of me was just to ensure that I could carry out my duties more smoothly when I took his position. It wasn’t out of personal feelings. He thought I was the right person.”

“So?”

“But that’s not how it looked to others. The fact that Knight Levo moved to kill me as soon as I arrived here is proof enough.”

Wiggins grinned.

“Everyone is not saying anything, but they are filled with dissatisfaction towards the Master right now. And they’re just waiting for an opportunity. But the Master, who went to Korea on his own authority without consulting the Round Table, is going back and proposing a plan to support Korea? What do you think will happen?”

“It’ll explode.”

“That’s right. It’ll completely blow up. The Master doesn’t know this obvious fact.”

It was strange to hear.

Why wouldn’t that cold and rational person know such a fact?

“Is it like ‘a monk can’t shave his own head’?” [A saying that means one can’t see their own flaws or handle their own problems.]

“It’s common. Those who are moral and dedicated to their work end up being pushed out of power. And they get purged thoroughly. The circumstances are a bit different, but…”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

He had seen such cases countless times. Back when he was leading the Demonic Cult, the ones who eliminated the most threatening enemies were surprisingly not the Demonic Cult.

It was the righteous sects. [Groups that claim to uphold moral and ethical standards.]

Ironically, the righteous sects couldn’t tolerate the most perfect righteous people.

Those who were overly moral and overly righteous. So perfect, but just seeing them made others feel inferior.

Those people fell at the hands of the righteous sects, not the Demonic Cult.

‘That’s how humans are.’

There was no need to bring up Kang Jin-ho’s own experiences. The fact that honest officials were killed by powerful or corrupt officials was a common occurrence in history. It wasn’t even considered a tragedy.

“The Master will be confident in his position. Because he hasn’t done anything wrong. The Master, who hasn’t done anything wrong, is going to push for the right thing. So, he’ll think that even if there’s some opposition, he can persuade them through dialogue. But that won’t happen.”

Kang Jin-ho put a cigarette in his mouth.

Just listening to it made him feel suffocated.

‘How ironic.’

Doing the right thing actually ruins one’s position. The reason why he couldn’t even manage a bitter smile at this black comedy was because such cases were surprisingly frequent.

Kang Jin-ho was the same.

His will to release the Asura Technique [A powerful and dangerous martial art] into the world was not wrong in itself.

But that action caused extreme backlash. Even if Kang Jin-ho hadn’t released the Asura Technique, his expulsion would have happened, but it was clear that it was brought forward by several years.

The same thing was going to happen to the Master.

“So, what are you going to do?”

“I have to intervene.”

Wiggins smiled brightly.

“Old people don’t know how to change their lives. The reason why old people taking on new challenges is a hot topic is because it’s rare. The Master is someone who has completely adapted to the Round Table system. There’s no way to change such a person.”

Wiggins’s voice gradually lowered.

“Unless we completely destroy it and start anew.”

Kang Jin-ho stared at Wiggins blankly.

“He’ll be expelled?”

“Yes.”

“Then he’ll contact us?”

“There’s no way he can. He’ll be immediately detained. But I’ve taken measures. My informants in England will track the Master’s location, and the escorts accompanying the Master will contact me as soon as there’s a problem.”

Wiggins turned his head and looked at Kang Jin-ho.

“Then, Lord, you can step in and clean up the Round Table. While the Master is absent, they can’t mobilize more than their private soldiers. So, their defenses will be weak. If you clean up all the Knights and leave only the friendly ones… The Round Table will fall back into the Master’s hands… No, into the Lord’s hands.”

Kang Jin-ho curled up the corners of his mouth.

“Knowing that, you’re still sending that old man back to England?”

“Ultimately, it will be a good direction for the Master as well.”

“What if the process doesn’t go as planned and the Master dies?”

“That would be a very unfortunate thing.”

Wiggins covered his face. After a brief pause, Wiggins lowered his hand and sighed.

“But progress requires sacrifice. Even if that sacrifice is the Master’s life, it can’t be helped.”

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t help but laugh.

“You’re a bad person.”

“Oh, so you’ve been seeing me as a good person until now. Thank you.”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

He had given him full authority, thinking he had his own ideas, but he didn’t know he was thinking so extremely.

‘Family?’

What a joke.

Wiggins was driving his father-like Master into hell. Even if everything went well, the Master would not be able to escape the shock that the Round Table, which he had devoted his entire life to, had betrayed him.

“That’s too cruel.”

“The Master’s fate was already decided the moment he came to Korea. So, at least we should leave the Round Table in his hands. That’s a way for everyone to win.”

“Hmm.”

Was that really a way for everyone to win?

Kang Jin-ho was relieved that this man was not in the Round Table. If he had remained in the Round Table and opposed Kang Jin-ho, it would have been a headache.

“By the way, Master, what happened that you’re in such a good mood…”

Kang Jin-ho’s phone rang, cutting off Wiggins’s words.

Kang Jin-ho lifted his phone with one hand, checked the screen, and lowered it with a subtle expression.

“…Aren’t you going to answer it?”

“No, it’s okay… Um, it’s okay.”

What’s with that subtle reaction?

Kang Jin-ho’s gaze kept glancing downwards. The phone, which had been switched to silent, kept ringing.

Finally, when the phone stopped ringing, Kang Jin-ho let out a small sigh.

“You’re in a good mood…”

The phone rang again, cutting off Kang Jin-ho’s words.

Kang Jin-ho stared at his phone with trembling eyes.

“Answer it.”

“O-Okay…”

“Go ahead.”

As if he couldn’t help it anymore, Kang Jin-ho picked up the phone and answered it. And before he could even say anything, a cheerful voice flowed from the other end of the line.

Loud enough for Wiggins to hear clearly.

[Honey!]

Kang Jin-ho flinched.

Wiggins also flinched.

But the difference between the two was that Kang Jin-ho’s flinch led to embarrassment, while Wiggins’s flinch soon turned into a wicked smile.

“I’m driving right now, I’ll call you later.”

[Okay. Drive carefully.]

Click.

Kang Jin-ho, who quickly hung up the phone, looked at Wiggins with a subtle gaze.

As if he was trying to read his expression.

“Honey… Honey, huh.”

Wiggins curled up the corners of his mouth even more.