Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 951

“You foolish old man.”

Knight Levo gripped the mask. The coldness at his fingertips made his excited heart sink.

‘He’s digging his own grave.’

No matter how the Master reacted, the result wouldn’t have changed. The Master was impeached not because he made a critical mistake, but because of the accumulated dissatisfaction with him.

Knight Levo knew it.

The Master hadn’t done anything particularly wrong. But that wasn’t an excuse.

Being out of touch with the times was also a sin.

The Round Table was no longer a place that could be led by someone who blindly followed the old ways without any change. The times were changing rapidly, and the Round Table needed a new direction.

The preparations were thorough.

Even if the Master had come to the conclusion that Korea should be wiped off the map, the situation wouldn’t have changed. However, the Master’s statement cleanly erased even the slightest sense of guilt that had been subtly present in Knight Levo’s heart.

‘He’s gone senile.’

Supporting Korea to mediate between China and Japan? [This refers to a hypothetical scenario where Korea, a smaller nation, would act as a go-between for two larger, more powerful countries.]

No one in their right mind could think of such a thing. Even those who hadn’t agreed with him before turned to his side after hearing the Master’s words.

Even if they didn’t negatively evaluate the Master’s past actions, they agreed that he was no longer fit for the position of Master.

Although the direction was slightly different, the result was what Knight Levo wanted.

‘So, there’s no turning back now.’

The election of a new Master would take place within a few days. And Knight Levo could take that position without any competition. Wiggins, the only one who had bothered him, had left the Round Table, and the Master, who had kept him in check, had been deposed.

A vacant position.

Now, all that was left was to climb the mountain that had lost its owner.

The corners of his mouth twitched.

It felt like he was being rewarded for all the work he had done. And now, the greatest reward would be given.

Reaching the end of the hallway, Knight Levo pointed his chin at the door.

“Open it.”

“Yes.”

Creak, creak.

The large iron door opened to the sides with a grating sound. Knight Levo slightly frowned and stepped inside.

Unlike the modern hallway, the area behind the door was in the old, classic style. A circular staircase followed the walls made of large bricks.

The staircase led down into the darkness.

If it weren’t for the torches lit on the walls at intervals, he wouldn’t have been able to see an inch ahead.

Knight Levo moved his feet without hesitation.

‘Such bad taste.’

The times already considered the human rights of prisoners. But in this old-fashioned dungeon, there was no room for human rights.

As he reached the bottom of the stairs, the musty smell of mold stung his nose. Knight Levo covered his nose and walked forward. At the very end of the prison cells on either side,

The deepest prison, built the most sturdily.

An old man was sitting inside.

The old man, whose mask symbolizing the Round Table had been confiscated.

The Master.

He raised his head, his hair completely white, and looked at Knight Levo.

“How does it feel to be trapped in the prison you made yourself?”

The Master chuckled at the sarcastic remark.

“It’s cozier than I thought. I’m regretting that I should have paid more attention to it.”

“If you wish, I can make it exactly as you made it, Master. First, I’d have to bring in sewage to fill the floor, but that wouldn’t be easy either, so I’ll refrain.”

The Master’s gaze turned to Knight Levo.

“Are you still calling me Master?”

“Your duties have been suspended, and you have been impeached, but a new Master has not yet been elected. So, I’m calling you Master out of courtesy.”

“You’re pretending to follow the procedures quite well. Even though you have no intention of doing so.”

Knight Levo moved closer to the prison.

The closer he got to the prison, the more he felt his neck being pressed. This prison had a special magic circle installed to prevent prisoners from escaping or harming themselves. No matter how much of a Master he was, he couldn’t escape from here.

“I can follow the procedures as much as I want. There’s no reason not to. If I follow those procedures, I’ll be able to take the Master’s position, so why…”

“…It seems like you like my situation. Trying to become the Master.”

“You don’t have to worry. I have no intention of becoming like you. I will destroy the old order. I have no intention of maintaining this stale and moldy Round Table.”

“Then that wouldn’t be the Round Table.”

“No, it is the Round Table. Because the Round Table doesn’t mean that wooden table. The Round Table means the knights. If the knights agree with my opinion, then my opinion will become the will of the Round Table.”

The Master let out a hollow laugh.

“So, what are you planning to do, changing the Round Table as you please?”

Knight Levo no longer hid his sneer.

“What do you think I’m going to do?”

“…I don’t know. I can’t understand what’s going on in your head.”

“I’m going to get rid of all the damn pretense that you’ve filled this Round Table with.”

Knight Levo spat out the words.

“It’s only natural for those with power to use it. But you made it a sin. Just like your country, which has committed all sorts of atrocities and now pretends to be clean.”

“That’s quite good.”

“You don’t have to worry, Master. I won’t keep you here and mock you. The greatest punishment for you is to watch the Round Table change with your hands and feet tied. I will gladly give you that punishment.”

“Good, very good. But, you know.”

The Master looked at Knight Levo with cold eyes.

“What will you gain from that?”

Knight Levo closed his mouth.

“The Round Table wasn’t always right. To be honest, I also felt contradictions in the Round Table. But at least I have glory left with the Round Table. But what will you have left?”

“Glory!”

Knight Levo’s fist struck the iron bars of the prison.

Clang!

A deafening noise spread out.

“It was you who destroyed my glory! If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have had to do this!”

Knight Levo grabbed the bars and shouted.

“I did everything for the Round Table. I gave everything. But what did you do to me? Why Wiggins! Why Wiggins and not me! Do you think that brat can replace me? Answer me! Do you still think that foolish decision was right?”

The Master looked at Knight Levo with calm eyes.

Human.

In the end, he was just a human.

Humans cannot be completely separated from their emotions. In the end, even those emotional parts are human. He hadn’t taken that into account, so it was no wonder he ended up like this. Rather, it was only natural.

“I…”

The Master slowly opened his mouth.

“Yes, maybe. My judgment might have been wrong.”

“But if someone makes a wrong judgment, people can correct it. Is your way to exclude someone from the game just because they were wrong?”

“No, this isn’t my way. This will now be the way of the Round Table.”

“Watch, Master. I will destroy everything you have. What you wanted to protect, what you wanted to create, and what you wanted to hold in your hands. I will destroy all of it. I will let you enjoy the new order I will create.”

“Aren’t you overestimating the position of Master? Even if you take that position, you won’t be able to achieve it.”

“Didn’t I say, this isn’t my will, but the will of the Round Table?”

The Master’s eyes twitched slightly.

“You may have been wise, but you were foolish. Ironically, this is true. As the Master of the Round Table, you were more than capable, but as the head of the organization, you were foolish. While you were focusing on Knight Wiggins, I was winning over other knights who were out of your attention. This is the rule you created. Even the capable Wiggins is just one knight. The incompetent other knights also have the same rights.”

Knight Levo smiled.

“Those rights will now strangle you. Fall with the system you created, Master.”

The Master sighed softly.

“I think there’s a misunderstanding, I never created such a system.

The system was already complete.”

“You can’t be excused just for upholding a system that was already broken. Now you have to pay the price.”

Knight Levo’s mocking voice echoed in the dark prison.

“I’ll make sure you get your meals. You can’t get sick. Live as long as you can. That way, you can watch the world I create for a long time. Ah, of course… I doubt you can live long without mana.”

Knight Levo turned to leave when the Master’s voice stopped him.

“Wait.”

The Master’s calm voice caught Knight Levo.

“…Do you have anything left to say?”

“I’m thinking.”

“You’ll have plenty of time to think. There are still two days left until the election of the new Master. Think and think again until then. After that, I will come to punish you myself.”

“What does it matter what happens to this old body? That’s not what’s important.”

Knight Levo turned back around. Then he looked at the Master.

“Listen, Knight Levo.”

Knight Levo didn’t answer. But the Master didn’t wait for his answer either.

“To me, you guys are like my children.”

“Why now…”

“This isn’t to evoke cheap sympathy, so listen to the end.”

There was a strange force in the Master’s voice. A force that even the great Knight Levo had to shut his mouth and listen to.

With a slightly regretful face, the Master opened his mouth.

“Children are like that. They always rebel against their parents and deny their parents’ path. Sometimes they are so hateful that you want to die, but they are children you can never let go of.”

The Master sighed.

It was a foolish thing to do. An utterly foolish thing.

But it was something he couldn’t help but do.

“Prepare yourself.”

“…What?”

“Wiggins will come.”

Knight Levo’s eyes twitched.

“It seems Wiggins has been watching from here. So he will come to clean up this place. He will try to kill you and take the Master’s position. So you better prepare yourself.”

Knight Levo’s complex gaze turned to the Master.