Descent of the Demon Master

“Fuu-huuph…!”

Wiggins stopped holding his breath and noisily sucked in a lungful of air.

The battle had entered a lull, but his expression remained deeply stunned by what he had witnessed.

‘How can anyone fight like this…!’

Of course, Wiggins was well aware that the current him couldn't even dream of mounting a challenge to either the Elder Knights or Kang Jin-Ho. Even then, this battle still made an utter mockery of his beliefs.

If he was being brutally honest, Wiggins… had never witnessed a desperate and wretched battle like this one. Never. A battle where everyone involved threw their everything away to defeat their enemy?

‘...It seems I can never casually talk about risking my neck during a fight now.’

Saying such a thing would be a show of disrespect, an insult, to all these people.

These people unhesitantly threw their lives away for a chance to win. Their incredible fighting spirit roused goosebumps on Wiggins' skin, making him shudder.

He thought he had put in a lot of effort to get this far. He believed he had devoted his entire life to improving his martial prowess. And he felt that he worked truly hard to become strong enough.

However, could he legitimately call that… hard work? That he had put in enough effort?

He used to think that everything he had done to get this far qualified as “effort.” He genuinely believed that his pursuit of ever-greater strength was more desperate and driven than anyone else's. However, he realized something painful after witnessing Gawain's fighting spirit.

Wiggins had never been truly desperate about something until now!

Gawain was incomparably stronger than Wiggins. But the desperation he had shown today was not something Wiggins would ever dare to emulate. To think that a man who had achieved so much more, not to mention so much stronger, than Wiggins would also be so much more desperate, too!

‘Just what have I been doing until now?’

Has Wiggins ever craved or been as desperate as Gawain before?

After trying his best for so long, Wiggins ran into a wall he seemingly couldn't overcome. He thought this was how far his talents could take him and stopped improving himself.

However, was that wall really the limit of his potential?

What if he had been as desperate as Gawain? What if he had risked his everything to focus solely on training? Wouldn’t he have become stronger than his current self, at the very least? ᚱ𝔞Ꞑö𝐁Еš

What an indescribably shameful thing this was for a martial artist like him!

“...I'm at a loss as to what to say,” the Master quietly muttered.

Wiggins couldn't help but notice that the usually relaxed Master was stunned beyond words by this battle, too. That relaxed demeanor was nowhere to be found. Wiggins was standing behind the Master, so it was easy enough to see the latter's shoulders subtly quivering away.

Of course, it made sense why the Master was so stunned. After all, his situation shouldn’t be all that different from Wiggins’, anyway.

Both men might have lived their lives proudly as martial artists, but today was still their first time witnessing a battle of such a high caliber as this one! And there was no guarantee of witnessing another battle of this level again for the rest of their lives.

How could anyone's heart remain calm after witnessing a once-in-a-lifetime battle of transcendental beings?

“Master…?”

When Wiggins cautiously called out, the Master silently nodded away. A mixture of many indescribable emotions ruled over both men.

After all, they were witnessing the downfall of the legends of the Elder Knights. They were being forced to watch the destruction of the Round Table’s pride.

The Round Table had never submitted to outside forces in its lengthy history, yet today, it was about to taste its resounding defeat. And the Master and Wiggins had to bear witness to it all!

Even Wiggins couldn't remain composed at this sight. He might have seen through the Round Table's hypocrisy and chose to live a new life, but didn't he spend most of his life with this organization?

There was no way he'd enjoy the sight of a place he called home for so long crumbling down like this.

The Master quietly mumbled while shaking his head, “A full moon is bound to wane, isn’t it?”

Even though he knew that was a part of the inevitable cycle of life, the Master couldn't do much about all the weight bearing down on his heart.

“Even then…!” The Master subtly bit his lip, the look in his eyes growing more determined.

His heart wasn't just wrecked by this weighty emotion. No, it was also coming alive from the pride he felt at the Elder Knights' demonstration.

“They were truly strong, weren’t they?”

“They were, Master.”

“So, that was the depths of strength those noble warriors possessed… No, wait. That was what the Round Table’s original strength must be like. It’s just that we the descendants have shamefully failed to preserve the inheritances.”

It was impossible not to wonder about a certain question when looking at Kang Jin-Ho and his incredible strength.

Maybe the Western martial arts were inferior to the East's? Was that why the Round Table couldn't win against Kang Jin-Ho and his horde? Was that why they had to concede the position of the world's strongest to the Three Kings?

No one dared to ask those questions in public, but they couldn't stop thinking about the potential answers.

However, the Elder Knights blew away that doubt from the onlookers’ minds.

As it turned out, the martial arts were not the key. What mattered was… the people mastering martial arts!

In the end, everything depended on who mastered something and how they mastered it. As an example…

If Wiggins tried to master the school of spearmanship that Gawain had mastered, would he be as strong as the Elder Knight? What if Gawain learned Wiggins' magic swordsmanship instead? Would he have stopped at the same wall as Wiggins had?

Of course not! Gawain would've still been extraordinarily strong even as a magic swordsman. Just like how Kang Jin-Ho was strong, Gawain was the source of his strength, not his chosen martial art!

Gawain had demonstrated that. He taught everyone here that one must reflect on one's past first and see how desperate they had been before doubting their martial arts. That was his final lesson for the Round Table.

The Master and Wiggins kept their eyes wide open in concentration. They now had the sacred duty to witness the final moments of the Elder Knights.

They must engrave these moments in their hearts and souls. They must forever etch the Elder Knights' spirits into every fiber of their being!

That was the duty of all those about to carry on the legacy of the Round Table!

***

Riiip!

Kang Jin-Ho yanked out the spear stuck in his chest. The hole left behind the polearm was big enough to fit a child's fist. Things could've been dangerous even for Kang Jin-Ho had the spear gone in any deeper.

Even then, Kang Jin-Ho wasn't angry.

Without saying anything else, he calmly studied the figure of Gawain, who had passed on while standing tall and proud. A satisfied grin was etched on the Elder Knight's face.

Kang Jin-Ho slowly reached out and closed Gawain’s eyes.

Sometimes, Kang Jin-Ho would run into people like this. People who were enemies but still deserving of Kang Jin-Ho’s acknowledgment.@@novelbin@@

They might not have been a martial artist in life, but in the moment of their death, they could proudly call themselves as one.

Kang Jin-Ho couldn't express his respect for an enemy. But he certainly could acknowledge them.

“Gawain, was it…?”

Kang Jin-Ho had a hunch that he'd not forget that name until his dying day. It wasn't just Gawain, though. Other Elder Knights also had proven themselves somewhat. They might not have earned Kang Jin-Ho's respect in the end, but they had given their absolute best nonetheless. They should be commended for that, at least.

The evidence of their struggle was visible throughout Kang Jin-Ho's body. The only other person who had inflicted this much injury on him after his return to the modern era was none other than the Crimson King.

Even if these Elder Knights had ganged up on one person, they still pulled off a feat only someone as transcendental as the Crimson King had achieved so far!

‘It seems I owe these people an apology.’

It was true that Kang Jin-Ho didn't view these Knights in a favorable light at the beginning of the fight. That was largely due to how different these people's attitudes were compared to what Kang Jin-Ho saw as a real martial artist.

Despite Gawain possessing superior strength compared to Vator, Kang Jin-Ho felt that the Elder Knight would never win against the big man. That was because he judged that Vator's desperation to win would easily surpass Gawain's desire to win.

But now, Kang Jin-Ho had to concede that he had been wrong. The mindset might have been different, but these Elder Knights were just as desperate as him.

Even if the source of their desperation was their undying loyalty to the Round Table, something Kang Jin-Ho could never understand… It was undeniable that their desperation had touched Kang Jin-Ho deeply.

“Fuu…” Kang Jin-Ho sighed softly before turning his head away from Gawain. The battle wasn't finished yet. It was still too early to get lost in his thoughts and emotions.

Kang Jin-Ho looked up at the sole remaining Elder Knight named Lancelot.

That man was staring right back at Kang Jin-Ho without flinching or blinking once. Being able to remain so composed, even as his comrades perished, did deserve some praise.

“I humbly express my awe and respect,” said Lancelot while raising his sword to press it against his chest. Kang Jin-Ho disinterestedly observed without saying anything. However, Lancelot's voice remained just as dispassionate. “I believed the Round Table would fall one day. After all… Nothing is eternal in life.”

That dispassionate voice still contained a trace of grief. Maybe that was his best attempt at expressing his emotions.

“Even so, I didn’t think one individual would be responsible for the Round Table’s destruction.”

Kang Jin-Ho stared at Lancelot before raising his voice. “So? Are you giving up, then?”

“No, that’s not it. I will still do my best to stop you, oh the one hailing from the East. However, it seems the Round Table’s fate will not change even if I somehow manage to stop you today.”

Lancelot glanced at his surroundings and saw the pale, stunned, and scared faces of the witnesses.

From today onward, the Round Table would no longer enjoy the protection of the Elder Knights. It'd be impossible for Lancelot to defeat Kang Jin-Ho today with his life intact, after all. Even if he survived, though, this organization's fate would still be the same, anyway.

For the Elder Knights to fulfill their role, they needed the strength to overwhelm and suppress everyone. Lancelot alone could not satisfy that prerequisite.

In other words… The legend of the Elder Knights was over for good now.

Lancelot glanced back at Kang Jin-Ho. “Do you mind if I ask you a question?”

Kang Jin-Ho silently nodded. Shooting breezes during a life-or-death fight was not his style, but Gawain’s display of backbone had successfully softened Kang Jin-Ho just a tad.

Considering Gawain’s action, Kang Jin-Ho had no reason to refuse to listen to the final words of the last remaining Elder Knight.

“Once you kill me, what will you do to the Round Table?”

Kang Jin-Ho shook his head. “Nothing.”

“...I beg your pardon?”

“I said, I’ll do nothing to it.”

Lancelot narrowed his eyes. “Didn’t you come here to take over the Round Table?”

“Why would I do that?”

“…! Hah… Haha.” Lancelot ended up chuckling hollowly just then. Did this devil from the East ask why?

Still, that one question was enough to convince Lancelot.

‘Well, he doesn’t need it.’

To a man that powerful, the Round Table would only be a burden. A cumbersome thing weighing him down.

Humans formed packs and let others handle the part they were lacking in. However, that logic didn’t apply to Kang Jin-Ho.

That man was already complete as-was.

“Then… Why did you do something so cumbersome, sir?”

Kang Jin-Ho shrugged casually. “Someone I know wanted this, you see?”

Lancelot’s searching gaze looked beyond Kang Jin-Ho’s shoulder. The Elder Knight studied the faces of the Master and Wiggins before shifting his attention over to Leveaux, currently plopped down on his butt on the floor. That was enough for Lancelot to more or less guess the situation.

“I see. It seems we owe you an apology, sir. This job should have been ours, to begin with.” Lancelot grimaced and apologized.

Kang Jin-Ho didn’t respond. After all, they had talked enough, anyway.

Lancelot looked up at the ceiling.

‘So, this is the end…’

What a strange feeling this was.

Gawain failed to keep his promise to Lancelot. That didn't matter, though, since Lancelot failed to fulfill his, too.

Gawain failed to create that opening where Lancelot could rush in for one desperate attack. But Lancelot was too absorbed in the battle between Gawain and Kang Jin-Ho to exploit the tiny opening that did present itself.

Those moments ultimately decided the fate of the Round Table.

Creeeeak…

The tip of Lancelot’s sword scratched the floor.

When he thought about it, he certainly had lived on for a long time. The time he must've devoted to the Round Table must be over a millennium.

Lancelot would wake up from the endless slumber and fight, then return to the embrace of this unending sleep again. He had

to admit that this was not something a person should be forced to endure.

It was safe to say that the Elder Knights didn't “exist” while they were locked away in magically-induced slumber. Lancelot couldn't remember doing anything else besides participating in a series of battles after becoming an Elder Knight.

One end of a battle would lead to the beginning of another. Once that was over, he and his comrades would enter a new battle.

...But here he was, finally staring at the end of that series of battles.

Lancelot looked back at Kang Jin-Ho. “May I ask you to indulge me for one last time, sir?”

“…?”

“Were we… strong?”

The corners of Kang Jin-Ho's lips curled up. “Yes, you were.”

That was all Lancelot wanted to hear. He silently scanned his surroundings once more. His descendants, his juniors in the path of chivalry, were staring back at him.

Lancelot felt the grave weight of creating a suitable send-off for the Elder Knights resting on his shoulders. He briefly drew a sign of the cross before his eyes, then raised his sword high up in the air.

“Death to our enemies!”

The lineage of the Elder Knights would end here today. However, the world will forever remember them.

Lancelot charged forward at Kang Jin-Ho at his full speed.