Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 994

Thud.

Boers’s corpse fell to the floor.

Gawain felt a terrible revulsion.

Boers’s body, pierced all over, was a gruesome sight. But the reason he felt revulsion wasn’t because of the state of Boers’s corpse.

That corpse was once someone called Boers.

But now, it was just a corpse.

A dead corpse could no longer be called Boers. Identity was something given to the living.

Life and death.

The stark transition between the two happened in the blink of an eye.

Then, wouldn’t this place be the closest place to both life and death in the world right now?

And in the middle of it all was Kang Jin-ho.

‘Lord.’

Gawain didn’t trust God. It was something he couldn’t tell others, but he thought of God as merely an observer.

If God was omnipotent, if he truly cherished and loved humanity, he wouldn’t just sit idly by and watch the countless misfortunes and miseries that befell the world. No matter the reason or purpose, he was just a being who watched.

But now, before his eyes, there was a god.

If the concept of defining a god was ‘an omnipotent being who creates transcendent results based on a powerful force that humans cannot control,’ then Kang Jin-ho before him was a being that perfectly fit that concept of ‘god.’

The god of death.

A hollow laugh escaped him.

To think that the being he encountered after waking up from three hundred years of slumber was the god of death.

His life had been too long.

But he had never wanted this kind of rest. If this being called Kang Jin-ho was sent by God to give him rest, then wasn’t this too cruel of a measure?

“Gawain.”

Gawain’s gaze shifted slightly to the side.

A young man with platinum blonde hair was looking at him.

“Lancelot.”

Among the Elder Knights, he was the most mysterious being.

Gawain was the de facto leader of the Elder Knights. But even he didn’t know when or how the Elder Knights came to be. The concept of the Elder Knights already existed when he was born.

If there was anyone who could unravel that secret, it would be this man.

Lancelot.

The first Elder Knight.

But a being who never spoke about himself.

Just a being who silently served as one of the Elder Knights.

The most enigmatic being among the Elder Knights was now slowly opening his mouth.

“It is impossible to kill him through normal means.”

Normal means?

That was a very nonchalant thing to say.

Then, if it wasn’t through normal means, did that mean there was a way to kill Kang Jin-ho?

Gawain couldn’t think of any way, no matter how hard he tried.

That was an invincible being.

The Elder Knights, who prided themselves on having built up mythical power, were now being killed like insects by that man’s hand. Even though they hadn’t let their guard down, even though they had done their best, they were being massacred because they couldn’t handle the overwhelming difference in power.

What could they do to kill that man?

“Create an opening.”

“Lancelot?”

“I can’t guarantee it, but…”

Lancelot’s eyes sank.

“If we can create an opening for me to exploit, there might be a way.”

Gawain bit his lip. Could Lancelot be trusted?

‘I don’t know.’

Normally, he would have said yes. But the trust he was talking about now was different from his usual trust.

Could he trust a man named Lancelot and take a gamble that risked his and everyone else’s lives?

That was the trust Gawain was thinking about now.

“Guarantee it.”

“We’re going to die anyway. We have to throw away all our lives to create a single opportunity. If that’s the case, then at least put on a show. Say that if we create an opportunity, you will definitely kill that man.”

Lancelot closed his mouth.

“We…”

Gawain gripped his spear so hard it felt like it would break.

“I’ll fall for that bluff.”

Lancelot nodded.

“You will die. But I will make sure the Round Table does not fall. I swear on my honor and my life.”

“Not bad.”

Whoosh.

Gawain’s spear swung wildly.

“Elder Knights.”

Gawain met the eyes of those who remained.

Galahad, Kay, Tristan, Percival.

If you excluded Lancelot, who remained, and the five who had already died, there were only five of them left, including him.

They couldn’t handle it with eleven, but they were going to handle it with five?

‘It’s a joke.’

All that was left for them was death.

That bloodthirsty demon would never allow them to survive. And the option of offering the Round Table to that man and begging for their lives didn’t exist for them in the first place.

“We will die.”

“But that bastard will die too.”

Everyone’s eyes became resolute.

“Let go of your attachments. We are already dead. Our names from when we were alive have disappeared. All that remains for us is the duty of honor. And today, we will protect our honor with death, and we will fulfill that duty with death. All for the Round Table!”

At the same time, heads nodded.

There was no need for long-winded plans. The moment they had confirmed each other’s faces, the best course of action they could take now had already come to mind.

All that was left was to create results with perfect teamwork.

Gawain gripped his spear and stepped forward.

One mage, one archer.

And one spearman and two swordsmen.

‘The combination isn’t bad.’

It might be optimal as a party. But that fact didn’t give Gawain confidence. He desperately moved his feet, which wouldn’t move.

Then, he hid his trembling hands and straightened his chest.

Death comes to everyone.

What’s important for a knight isn’t how they live, but how they die. And Gawain had no intention of ending his life in a shameful way.

“Warrior from the East.”

Kang Jin-ho raised his head and looked at him.

Drops of blood fell along Kang Jin-ho’s hair. Gawain, who had seen countless deaths on countless battlefields, felt strangely eerie at that sight.

‘Of course.’

Not all deaths are the same.

You can’t view a death left to chance and a being who creates death as the same.

He was curious.

What did death mean to that man?

Did Gawain’s death and that man’s death have the same meaning?

‘It’s a meaningless story.’

He wasn’t trying to buy time.

No… honestly, he wanted to buy time.

He was already a dead man.

The moment he decided to become an Elder Knight, he had abandoned himself. A person who had lost their name and past was not truly alive, even if they were living. The honor of giving their life and existence for the Round Table made him accept even death calmly.

But…

‘So I was alive after all.’

To think that he was this afraid.

He hadn’t transcended death. He had just foolishly believed that the result of death wouldn’t come to him. Even though he knew that no human could avoid death…

“You will die.”

Gawain gritted his teeth.

Yes.

No one can avoid death.

Even if it was someone who controlled death!

As long as they were human, they couldn’t avoid death. Just as they couldn’t avoid death, that man couldn’t avoid death either. So, he would bring death upon him.

Kang Jin-ho shook his sword.

Swish.

A clear streak of blood appeared on the pure white floor. Kang Jin-ho, who had shaken off the blood on his sword, lowered Red Ruin and Blue Ruin and slowly walked towards Gawain.

“Before that, I want to ask you one thing…”

Gawain spat out the words.

“How are you so strong?”

“We also thought we were strong. But your strength makes even our strength look pathetic. What was different between you and us? How can you be so strong?”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Gawain with sunken eyes.

The corners of his mouth curled up.

“If you knew?”

“What would change if I knew?”

Gawain bit his lip.

Kang Jin-ho was right.

What would change if he knew? He was going to die anyway.

“The reason is simple.”

But Kang Jin-ho showed him mercy.

“You were just enough.”

“And I wasn’t.”

It was too simple of an answer.

But everything was contained within it.

‘I see.’

Gawain laughed.

There would be countless reasons. If he were to look for each reason, there might be hundreds. But no reason was clearer than what Kang Jin-ho had just said.

Until he had come up here, Gawain had never doubted his martial arts. Even if there was someone stronger than him, he thought that he could defeat anyone if he was with the Elder Knights.

And that had created Gawain’s limit.

If he had known that a day like this would come, if he had felt the need to become stronger, he would have used the time given to him to become stronger in any way possible.

But instead of choosing that path, he had chosen to fall into a magical slumber.

To protect the Round Table…

He didn’t regret that choice. He still believed that it was the right choice.

However.

However…

Gawain pointed his spear forward.

“As a fellow martial artist… I express my respect for the martial arts you possess. On behalf of the Elder Knights.”

His spear touched his chest.

The others who were guarding Gawain’s left and right also lowered their guard and showed their respect.

The Elder Knights.

Those who protected the Round Table.

Those who were like the pride of Europe.

It was unprecedented for them to show respect to a single person.

And it would never happen again.

Even while receiving that solemn respect, Kang Jin-ho didn’t even raise an eyebrow.

“Let’s just end it.”

This tiresome fight.

Gawain gritted his teeth.

Forcibly drawn-out mana exploded and coursed through his entire body. His heart pumped madly, drawing up mana.

Excessive mana usage.

It was an action he wouldn’t normally do out of concern for side effects, but now he didn’t need to think about the future. All that was left for him was death.

“Let’s go!”

Gawain charged forward with terrifying speed.

Percival and Tristan matched his pace and charged with him. And Galahad soared into the air, drawing his bow.

“Freeze!”

Kay’s hands emitted pure white beams.

Everything they could do.

The Elder Knights, who contained all the purity of the Round Table, were throwing out the best attacks they could without regard for their lives.

An incomparably powerful force.

A tremendous storm of mana that made even the onlookers tremble was pouring down on Kang Jin-ho.

And looking at that storm of mana, Kang Jin-ho bared his teeth and smiled.

His blood was boiling.

His body was trembling.