Descent of the Demon Master

Kang Jin-Ho forcibly suppressed his boiling chest.

‘Fuu-woo…’

What a strange sensation this was.

Kang Jin-Ho knew better than anyone that he was a demonic cultivator, a person who deliberately chose demonic cultivation and accepted demonic qi into his body.

As a demonic cultivator, he also knew it was impossible to overcome the extreme aggressiveness and the intense desire to fight that even robbed him of his rational mind.

Since he had reached the True Demon realm, Kang Jin-Ho no longer thirsted for blood or got lost in the heat of the battle to the point of not caring about anything like other demonic cultivators. Even so, he still did not think about the potential aftermath once he started fighting.

However, the current Kang Jin-Ho was… in a slightly different state of mind.

The heightened sense of exhilaration remained the same. And his eagerness to fight boiled even hotter than before. Despite all that, his mind hadn’t blanked out like it usually did.

As a matter of fact, it felt like his still-rational mind was suppressing his viciously-pounding chest. Should he say he somehow retained a strand of rationality even in the heat of the battle?

‘I’ve really changed, haven’t I?’

The new martial path Kang Jin-Ho had laid out recently did not only improve his cultivation.

This sensation was noticeably different from when he had completely surrendered himself to the demonic energy.

There were times when Kang Jin-Ho was scared of himself. Once he completely unleashed his demonic cultivation, his vision would become extremely narrow. In those moments, he didn't feel like himself anymore.

At times, he'd wonder if the continued usage of demonic cultivation would turn him into a genuine devil. And that thought had frightened him numerous times until now.

Kang Jin-Ho rejected being Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor. Because that was not who he was.

He didn’t want to become a creature who didn’t care about others, didn’t want to have others around him, and only cared about himself.

However, his thirst for martial prowess demanded that he welcome Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor back into his life.

Whenever Kang Jin-Ho entered a battle with his allies in tow, the one thing he feared the most wasn’t losing. He also didn’t fear his allies dying, either.

No, his biggest fear in any battle was mistakenly slaughtering his own allies after he got too drunk on all the blood and destruction.

But now…

‘It seems I don’t have to worry about that anymore.’

He could vividly feel it.

Kang Jin-Ho's prior battles always unfolded this way.

Once he started his rampage, he stopped “seeing” others in his vicinity. That was why he chose to stay behind and control himself in a battle where his allies were also participating.

Usually, his choices were limited to two. Should he exclude his allies and wreck everything by himself? Or should he take the backseat and let his allies handle everything?

But now, he didn’t have to do that. Even though he was fighting at the front of the line, Kang Jin-Ho’s senses were also observing the situations in the surroundings.

He could sense what Vator was doing against the incoming enemies. He could feel how viciously Chang Min was rampaging around. Not only that, but he could also hear Bang Jin-Hun’s nonstop complaint-filled rants…

‘Huh. I guess I owe Bang Jin-Hun a vacation once we get back.’

Did Bang Jin-Hun think Kang Jin-Ho wouldn't hear him? Or maybe he knew his boss could hear him just fine but still chose to say all those things as a big F-U?

Even the one and only Kang Jin-Ho had to wince a little at the nonstop barrage of colorful language flying out of Bang Jin-Hun’s mouth.

‘In any case, others are doing fine.’

Lee Hyeon-Su not making any moves until now was proof of the situation going in their favor. So, Kang Jin-Ho decided to let his allies do their thing and focus on the opponents before his eyes instead.

‘So, these are the Knights of the Round Table?’

Kang Jin-Ho couldn’t help but frown a little.

The Knight who blocked Kang Jin-Ho's strike earlier seemed to have some backbone. But the rest were all bitter disappointments. Kang Jin-Ho couldn't help but admit that he had used the wrong yardstick to evaluate these Knights.

‘These people are not Wiggins.’

As it turned out, Wiggins was a special existence even among the Knights of the Round Table. Him becoming the next Master was almost a sure thing. His capabilities made him a standout even among the Knights. Not just in his martial prowess, but in every other aspect, too… Wiggins occupied the upper echelons within the ranks of the Knights.

Using someone like that to estimate other Knights' strength would obviously result in some serious errors in Kang Jin-Ho's calculations.

Kang Jin-Ho furrowed his brow. He couldn’t get over the feeling that the battle was resolving rather too easily. When he thought about it, though, this feeling made some sense.

Even when Kang Jin-Ho's cultivation wasn't as good as now, he could still kill someone on Wiggins' level in less than ten seconds if he got serious about it. So, what about now?

These people held no meaning as worthy adversaries. The Master was so much stronger than these Knights, but even he wouldn't be able to escape the same fate as Wiggins if Kang Jin-Ho decided to get more serious.

The gap in strength between Wiggins and the Master was quite massive. But the gap in Kang Jin-Ho's strength when he first met Wiggins and when he fought the Master was even greater than that.

In any case, these Knights were simply not good enough. Fighting these people wasn’t going to fill Kang Jin-Ho up with the same level of extreme tension as back when he fought against the Crimson King.

‘I guess it’s about time I wrap this up.’

Just as Kang Jin-Ho began thinking that…

‘...Hmm?’

He could see Knight Leveaux, or whatever his name was, crawling on the floor behind the rest of the Knights vainly trying to block Kang Jin-Ho.

That man got hit by Kang Jin-Ho's simple sword strike at the start of the battle. That seemed to have knocked him out for good, so Kang Jin-Ho stopped caring about him. However, the French Knight must've regained consciousness just now.

‘Where is he going, though?’

Leveaux was probably not thinking of escaping in his current state, so…

“M-my lord! We need to stop him! My lord!”

Wiggins’ urgent cries registered painfully in Kang Jin-Ho’s hearing. Even before his mind could process it, Kang Jin-Ho’s body reacted first. However, the Knights pounced on him simultaneously at that exact moment, too.

“Uwaaaaaaht!”

Judging from how they roared loudly and charged at Kang Jin-Ho, these Knights were clearly throwing their lives away.

Even if Kang Jin-Ho was strong, he still couldn't cut down five Knights in one sword strike when they gave up on defense and focused solely on attacking him.

Kang Jin-Ho’s expression crumpled a little. He used his Crimson Destiny with its blade seemingly burning in the demonic qi’s flames to slap the closest Knight away.

KA-BOOM!

The Crimson Destiny crashed into the Knight’s sword, creating yet another deafening explosion. The broken blade of the Western longsword flew up high into the air.

Kang Jin-Ho quickly smacked away the rest of the incoming swords, then rapidly swung his Crimson Destiny to behead the closest Knight. However, that was when…!

“Binding!”

Black tree roots suddenly shot out from beneath Kang Jin-Ho’s feet to tightly bind his legs.

“Binding! Binding! Biiiinding!”

As the voices of the Knights continuously casting their magic rang out, more roots sprouted out from the floor to completely cover Kang Jin-Ho.

‘Useless!’

Kang Jin-Ho unleashed his demonic qi, causing the tree roots surrounding him to shatter into a million pieces and fly off in every direction. He had already experienced enough of these cheap tricks while fighting against the Master.

If this was his first time dealing with them, Kang Jin-Ho might have gotten flustered a little. But he wasn’t dumb enough to fall for the same tricks the second time.

However, the Knights didn't seem intent on hurting Kang Jin-Ho. If anything, they seemed more focused on one thing. And that was to delay him!

...And they were ultimately successful in their endeavor.

FWHOOOOSH!

Blinding rays of light suddenly exploded from the center of the hall. Even Kang Jin-Ho had to frown deeply at this intense assault of bright light. Figuring out what happened was impossible, even for his sharp senses.

“Goddamn it!” Wiggins’ enraged cries entered Kang Jin-Ho’s hearing again. “My lord! We are in trouble!”

“Mm?”

“The path to the temple is now open!”

“The… temple?”

“Yes! The temple!”

Kang Jin-Ho had no idea what that even meant. Wiggins usually would have taken his time to kindly explain what was going on, but he was currently far too agitated to do that.

“Look, over there!” Wiggins urgently pointed at a spot up ahead. The blinding light had subsided enough to reveal something that wasn't there before.

The eponymous massive round table that symbolized this organization was split in half. And in the center of the broken table was a stairwell leading to somewhere deeper underground. Leveaux was nowhere to be seen, as if he had already thrown himself into that opening.

Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes. “Did he escape?”

“No, my lord!”

“Mm?”

Wiggins urgently explained, his expression stiff. “That’s not an escape path, my lord. There are no other exits in the Round Table except the one we used! After all, it’s meaningless to escape since losing the Round Table means it’s all over for the organization. They would rather die than flee from the enemy attacks!”

“Really? Then, what?”

“Those steps lead to the Knight’s temple!”

“Wiggins?”

“Yes, my lord?!”

Kang Jin-Ho withdrew his demonic qi, then sighed deeply. “How about you get a hold of yourself first?”

“…”

“Stop shaking in anger like that and explain, okay? So I know what’s going on here, too.”

“B-but, the situation was just so urgent that…”

“Explain. Now.”

“...Of course,” Wiggins nodded and hurriedly explained. “The temple is only accessible to the Master of the Round Table, my lord. Those who have the Master’s qualifications acquire a special treasure that unlocks the gateway. I thought Leveaux wouldn’t be able to open it since he wasn’t the Master yet… But that cunning bastard seems to have ignored the procedure and secretly brought the treasure with him!”

“Okay, so?” Kang Jin-Ho pointed to the stairwell with his chin. “What’s inside?”

“...Knights, my lord.”

“Mm?” Kang Jin-Ho furrowed his brow.

Knights? Weren’t there already Knights in this place? Did that mean there were more Knights down that stairwell?

“Elder Knights are in slumber down there, my lord.”

“Huh. Elder Knights, you say?” Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head.

“...My lord, the Master was a Knight before reaching his position.”

Kang Jin-Ho's head tilting intensified. Wiggins said something extremely obvious, after all.

“Then, what do you think will happen to other candidates after they fail to become the new Master?”

“...Mm?” Kang Jin-Ho stopped tilting his head and stared intensely into the darkness beyond the stairwell going deeper underground. He was finally getting some idea of what might be lurking down there.

“Such Knights, and those who didn't care about becoming the Master and solely focused on improving their martial prowess… Even then, only the chosen are allowed to enter the sacred temple, my lord. They are artificially put into deep hibernation by magic. They are the ultimate countermeasure against the potential existential threat to the Round Table!”

Kang Jin-Ho blinked his eyes. “...Really now? What a fantasy-like story that is.”

“Unfortunately, it is reality, my lord!”

“Okay, so? What now?”

“Leveaux must be trying to wake those Knights up. We must stop him right now!”

“No. Let him be.”

“...I beg your pardon?”

“I said, let him do it.”

Wiggins cried out in alarm. “But, my lord!”

Kang Jin-Ho deeply smirked. “If you’re going to smash some things, do a thorough job of it. If such mechanisms give these people a cause for hope, they won’t accept defeat no matter how many Knights and Masters we kill.”

Wiggins clamped his mouth shut.

“Since we're wrecking this place, why not wreck everything? Humans don't despair as long as they have hope. They will only submit to you after you stamp out their final rays of hope. So, leave Leveaux alone.”

“But… But…”

Kang Jin-Ho coolly shrugged. “Besides, it won't matter what that man brings out. The end result won't change, anyway.”

Wiggins shuddered grandly. Kang Jin-Ho, he was… So cold-hearted. So cool-headed. And…!

‘He isn’t wrong either!’

Kang Jin-Ho sometimes would enter this inexplicable mode. A mode where he still somehow accurately assesses the problem and finds solutions despite seemingly not giving the matter much thought.

As long as there was the possibility of waking the Elder Knights up, the Round Table would never earnestly submit to Kang Jin-Ho. Without a doubt, it’d pretend to bow in submission toward Kang Jin-Ho all the while planning a rebellion involving these Elder Knights.

Kang Jin-Ho was right. To make the Round Table completely submit, the Elder Knights had to be eliminated. The problem with that idea, though…

“My lord, those Elder Knights are unimaginably strong. Each one is stronger than the Master. Maybe… They could be stronger than one of the Three Kings!”

“Ah, I see,” Kang Jin-Ho nodded, then pointed with his chin again. “That means my role's been decided, then. I'll stay here, so you go and do your job.”

“...My lord?”

“Your job is now to go and bring the Master here.”

“…!”

“Hurry!”

“Yes, my lord!” Wiggins deeply bowed.

It wasn't as if his head had accepted this turn of events. However, his body was already on the move even before his brain had a chance to process Kang Jin-Ho's command.

This had to be the definite proof of Wiggins subconsciously accepting the man named Kang Jin-Ho as his one true lord regardless of potential benefits and losses to himself.

Wiggins turned around to leave, knowing Kang Jin-Ho would never change his mind once he made up his mind. In that case, the next best option would be to rescue the Master as soon as possible and resolve this crisis.

“Okay, let’s go!”

“Yes, sir!”

While leading the Garter Knight Order, Wiggins sneaked a quick glance behind him. He could see the back of Kang Jin-Ho standing in the center of the Round Table’s hall. For some reason, though…

Why did it feel like Kang Jin-Ho was smiling right now?

‘Does my lord truly understand the gravity of this situation?’

Maybe he just wanted to fight strong opponents?

Wiggins looked away and focused on the passageway up ahead. It didn’t matter either way, now did it?

One thing was for certain, however. These Elder Knights could very well be Kang Jin-Ho’s match. But Kang Jin-Ho could very well be one of the greatest, strongest enemies these Elder Knights have faced in their entire lives!

Without a doubt!

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