Descent of the Demon Master

Galahad’s hands gripping the bow trembled unsteadily.

Obviously, he knew. He knew that there was nowhere to hide or escape in this cramped hall.

Even if there was an escape route, would Galahad be able to successfully evade that monster-like man? No, not a man, but a devil charging right in at the Elder Knights while crimson streaks of light gushed out of his eyes?!

Escaping from that devil was utterly impossible. And that was why Galahad had to work hard to steady his legs and plant them firmly on the ground. After all, his flinching limbs were trying to stumble back without his consent!

He did all that to stop himself from reflexively running away… And to steel his resolve!

‘Yes, I know! I know that I’m powerless!’

His arrows were supposed to be sharper and deadlier than anything in the entire world.

The vanguards fighting on the frontlines might hog all the glory, but the ones contributing the most were undoubtedly Galahad and Bedivere. That was because magic and arrows raining down from afar were usually several times scarier than knights wildly cutting enemies down on the battlefield.

However, that was the story when they were on a battlefield.

Galahad bit his lip hard. It was brutal to experience the school of martial art he proudly spent his entire life mastering instantly become useless trash. Worse still, this experience had gotten to the point where his life was now endangered, too!

‘Yes, I know! I know I’m weak!’

It was time Galahad acknowledged this fact. Only then would he be able to see what lay beyond that point, after all!

Galahad rapidly shoved his hand inside his subspace and extracted yet another arrow.

His arrows were all massive. Anyone who didn't know about Galahad would automatically assume that those were javelins and not arrows.

However, this particular arrow he pulled out from subspace was at least double the thickness of all the other arrows so far. Such was its thickness that one might even wonder if it could be used as an arrow in the first place!

‘It’s impossible to kill that devil with conventional methods!’

Kang Jin-Ho was clearly charging straight toward Galahad. Even with vanguards protecting his front, there was no guarantee of pushing Kang Jin-Ho back. But without anyone in the way? Would Galahad be able to stop that devil in human form? No, that would be asking for a miracle.

Especially more so when he was an archer! Facing an opponent of Kang Jin-Ho's caliber head-on would be a suicide. Actually, Galahad wouldn't be able to win against any of his fellow Elder Knights in that kind of battle!

Even so, Galahad still chose to break away from the formation. Since he wouldn't be much of a help anyway, he might as well…!

“Wait, Sir Galahad!”

Other Elder Knights cried out in alarm after realizing that Galahad had moved away from his usual spot in the formation.

‘Gentlemen, there’s no need to be surprised!’

Galahad gritted his teeth while nocking this new arrow. Even useless trash had a purpose only it could fulfill, after all!

He took aim with the unusually thick arrow, which was called the Dragon Killer. It was an arrow that had its destructive power maximized to literally slay a dragon, but as a result of its extreme design, it was not really practical to use in any other situation. ṛ₳NȪꞖĘṨ

As was the case with all lop-sided weapons, this arrow's overwhelming destructive power came with a fatal flaw. Even with Galahad's near-godlike archery skills, it was impossible to shoot this arrow as accurately or quickly enough.

That was why he chose not to use this arrow and instead sealed it away until this moment. But he now had figured out the best way to use this powerful weapon.

‘Yes, I am not useless anymore, my friends!’

Madness quickly dyed Galahad’s eyes.

The arrows he had fired killed two of his comrades. On the surface, at least, he tried to remain calm and unaffected, but his heart had already died from the overflowing emotions.

Galahad would be too ashamed to greet his comrades in the afterlife if he died now without doing anything meaningful. That was why…

He’d stick this damn Dragon Killer into that abominable devil! Even if he had to throw his life away to do so!

Squeeze!

He pulled the bowstring back as tautly as possible. The arrow was at least twice the length of the bow, but this bizarre appearance still resulted in enormous visual pressure.

However, Kang Jin-Ho didn't falter while charging straight toward Galahad. As a matter of fact, his speed seemed to have gotten faster instead!

Whooooosh!

Kang Jin-Ho arrived at his destination like a flash of lightning, then grabbed Galahad by the latter's throat. The impact force slammed Galahad's head back. Even his neck bones cracked.

Not protecting his body with a layer of aura would've resulted in Gawain's neck breaking on the spot from the impact… Or maybe his head might have gotten severed altogether!

“Kkuuuuu-huhp?!”

A pain akin to his entire body burning in flames wrecked Galahad’s senses. However, even as this indescribable pain tortured him, he smirked deeply. “Kuh…!”

“What were you trying to do?” Kang Jin-Ho asked while pulling Galahad closer. The two men’s eyes locked into each other’s.

Galahad looked into Kang Jin-Ho’s crimson eyes and cackled hoarsely. “...What an honor this is.”

“…?”

“To think that… Someone like you would care about… what a small fry like me was trying to do!”

Indeed, it was an honor. Although, he was only half serious. The other half was pure sarcasm.

“Well, I was…”

Crack!

Kang Jin-Ho unhesitantly cut Galahad off mid-sentence by breaking the Elder Knight’s neck. And now, no one would know what he wanted to yap on about. Then again, Kang Jin-Ho didn’t have a reason to take his time and leisurely hear his victims out, anyway.

Galahad’s eyes rapidly grew blurry and murky. Even a top-tier martial artist like him couldn’t live on after his throat was unceremoniously snapped in half. However, just as he faded away…

“L-let’s…” Galahad suddenly smirked away. “Go… to… gether!”

That was when Galahad's arms finally gave in and let go of the tightly clenched bowstring. Of course, it was now too late to fire the arrow. Unsurprisingly, the Dragon Killer came loose from its nocked position and fell on the floor with a loud thud. It seemed Galahad's final attack ended as another futile attempt.

Kang Jin-Ho was about to discard Galahad’s corpse without wasting any more time, but then…!

KAAA-BOOOOOOOOOM!!!

The Dragon Killer suddenly exploded, and its intense explosion swallowed up Galahad and Kang Jin-Ho in the blink of an eye!

The audience screamed at the massive explosion caused by the unexpected final attack!

“Assembly Master!”

“Galahad!”

The title of “magic armament” seemed quite fitting for the Dragon Killer. It created an incredible explosion, but its shockwave did not spread to the surroundings. As if the explosion had been trapped inside a large glass tank, the flames and dust clouds did not fill the hall and instead swirled and roiled within a fixed area.

Physically, such a phenomenon should have been impossible to produce, but with magic, it was eminently possible!

Eventually, though…

Whoooosh!

Along with cold, stiff winds blowing by, the flames finally died down. Only one man stood tall on the spot where the explosion had gone off.

“Ptooi!” Kang Jin-Ho roughly spat on the floor. His spit contained hints of blood.

“Assembly Master?!” Lee Hyeon-Su’s urgent yell echoed noisily within the hall.

Kang Jin-Ho somehow survived that intense explosion. However, his state couldn't be described as unscathed by any stretch of the imagination.

He was scorched and burned pretty much everywhere, with blood trickling out non-stop from various wounds. Despite the wretched state of his body, though, Kang Jin-Ho slowly raised his hand, then… casually wiped his face.

However, he staggered a little afterward. Although he was still standing on his own power, it was clear that the explosion had managed to wound him to a degree!

“...That was an amusing trick, alright,” Kang Jin-Ho muttered while reaching toward his chest.

Squeeze!

...And then, he grabbed something there before pulling it out.

Clang!

An item left Kang Jin-Ho's hand and clattered on the floor. It turned out to be a 20cm-long reinforced needle boasting an eerie black hue.

A needle that sent shivers down anyone staring at its eerie hue had been pulled out of Kang Jin-Ho’s chest!

Clang, clang!

And it wasn't just one, either! A stream of blood gushed out of Kang Jin-Ho's torso every time he yanked out another needle. He didn't even hesitate to pull out a dozen or so needles that had been embedded at least a handspan deep into his flesh!

As a reward for his hard work, Kang Jin-Ho's body was instantly dyed in crimson blood.

“…!” Lee Hyeon-Su’s expression crumpled in horror.

An ordinary human being would have already died from such grievous wounds. Obviously, Kang Jin-Ho was no ordinary man, but would he still be fine after that? Of course not!

Lee Hyeon-Su urgently looked at Wiggins. “Master! What should we do!”

Wiggins grimaced. “Don’t do anything rash, Mister Lee!”

“But!”

“I’m telling you to shut up and stay put!”

Lee Hyeon-Su clamped his mouth shut. He could sense urgency and nervousness within Wiggins’ voice. That indicated even Wiggins was taken back and couldn’t think of what to do.

Wiggins’ grimace deepened.

‘Bloody hell! To think such a weapon would be used now!’

Wiggins wouldn't have felt this way if Kang Jin-Ho had been injured by other Elder Knights. However, that arrow, it…

‘Blast it!’

That was when Kang Jin-Ho suddenly raised his head. After finishing wiping the blood off his face, Kang Jin-Ho glanced at the remains of Galahad, currently ripped apart and mangled beyond recognition.

“Well, that certainly was entertaining,” Kang Jin-Ho smirked by baring his fangs, then glared sharply at Gawain and other Elder Knights. “...What are you all doing?”

“…!”

“Isn’t this a great chance for you? If I was you, I would never miss this opening.”

“…!” Gawain glared back at Kang Jin-Ho, his expression pale and cramped.

‘To think Galahad would resort to that weapon!’

There was a time when reality and legends co-existed on this planet. Even now, people sometimes claimed to have witnessed things that should not exist outside of a fantasy.

To eliminate such creatures, certain weapons that mere mortals couldn't handle were necessary.

The only way to kill a mythical beast covered in forged steel-like scales was to attack a spot not covered in said scales. For this purpose, several divine relics had to be crafted.

The Dragon Killer was one of those relics from the ancient past, designed to take out the massive monster of yore in one fell swoop by exploding from within the creature itself. These weapons had been created in an era ruled by the kind of magic that even the Elder Knights weren't good enough to master.

That was the weapon Galahad used to kill Kang Jin-Ho!

As it was proven just now, a divine relic always required the wielder to sacrifice their life. After all, didn’t the premise of plunging a divine relic into the belly of the monster require the wielder of said relic to be inside the belly, to begin with?!

Despite taking on the full brunt of one such magical armament with his unprotected body, Kang Jin-Ho’s desire to fight had not wilted at all!

“Lancelot…!” Gawain gritted his teeth before yelling loudly. “See to it that you fulfill your promise to us!”

“I will!”

Even before Lancelot could finish his reply, Gawain raised his spear and charged fiercely at Kang Jin-Ho.

Even a weapon created to take down a mythical monster failed to kill that devil from the East. However, it was clear the devil was injured now.

For the first time since the battle began, they had finally managed to hit him! Even though the deaths of five Elder Knights had failed to leave a single scratch on that devil bastard!

Gawain couldn’t afford to miss this opportunity. Now was the time he must bet his everything, even his life, to win!

“Tristan! Percival!”@@novelbin@@

“Ohhhhhh!”

Two capable swordsmen rushed alongside Gawain on either side of him. Without looking at them, however, Gawain charged forward at the fastest speed he had ever run in his entire life.

He didn't care about his defenses. It would've been Breunor's job to stand as the vanguard and the protector as soon as the Elder Knights got into formation. The standard tactic was for Breunor to defend or deflect enemy attacks, giving Gawain an opportunity to thrust his spear into the enemies' hearts.

However, Breunor was already dead.

Of course, things wouldn’t have been different even if he was still alive. Anyone trying to protect their life while fighting that horrifying monstrosity in human form was an arrogant fool!

“Diiiiiie, you monsteeeeeer!”

Gawain’s spear wasn’t the only thing aiming for Kang Jin-Ho’s heart. No, it was also Gawain’s everything. Even his life!

Finally, he acquired the will to pierce through the enemy’s heart even if he had to burn his soul to do so. Only after reaching the last moments of his existence did Gawain learn how a martial artist must fight in a desperate battle!

That belated awakening imbued his spear with a power so much greater than what he had produced until now.

KWA-GAAAAAAAAAAH!!!

A Vortex containing a destructive potential that even stunned Gawain flew toward Kang Jin-Ho.

CLANG!

Unfortunately, that seemingly unstoppable Vortex was still far too easily slapped away by Kang Jin-Ho.

‘No! Do not be disappointed!’

If once isn’t enough, then do it again! If that’s still not enough, do it again and again! Do it ten times, a hundred times! Keep attacking! Attack until my body is crushed and my soul burns to ashes!

Gawain’s eyes half-burst after failing to withstand the extreme pressure. Tears of dark blood quickly streamed down from the corners of his eyes.

“Kang, Jin, Hoooooooo!”

Gawain, the Elder Knight who had faithfully guarded the Round Table for over a millennium… His soul burned brightly and fiercely in these final moments of his life.