Descent of the Demon Master

Chapter 997: Intense (2)

‘What is that?’

Tristan felt his heart freeze up from the shock at the surreal sight of black flames twisting and billowing like a devil’s tongue while rising up in the air.

Wasn't this ironic, though? Tristan and his fellow Elder Knights should have been the most absurd and surreal existences in this place, after all. They should have died eons ago, yet here they were, swinging their weapons around centuries later.

He wasn't agonizing about the absurd nature of an Elder Knight, of course. Tristan understood that, depending on one's point of view, Elder Knights could be seen as monsters.

However, that didn't matter anymore when the “real” monster was right in front of his nose! A creature that not even monsters like the Elder Knights, who were revived from eternal slumber by unnatural means, could not comprehend!

‘Just what the hell is that thing?!’

Of course Tristan knew. Even if those black flames were not something he could recognize, they still had to be another type of aura manifestation. That was the only likely explanation for the incredible power he could sense from those flames.

Even if that was true, how could a mere mortal unleash flames of aura from his entire body until they reached a dozen-plus meters in height! And how could that person envelop himself with so much aura as if it was his second skin?!

None of it made sense. Tristan's common sense refused to believe it!

“Kuk!”

Tristan's beautiful sword was immediately enveloped in a stunning silver aura.

All the mana gushing out of his heart raced through his arms to enter the sword. And then, it circulated at a crazy speed on the blade.

“Taaaa-aaaaht!”

“Take this!”

Determined roars coming from his left and right registered in Tristan's ears. Percival and Bedivere were ably matching the timing of Tristan's attack.

These Knights were so in tune with each other that they didn't even need to discuss anything before unleashing a coordinated attack like this.

‘We will… break through!’

Tristan hacked down with his sword brimming full of aura. A pristine silver-hued energy extended from the blade to create a massive crescent of light. That was an outstanding display of accurate and perfect aura utilization in a battle. 𝑅𝘈𐌽О𝐛Ë𐌔

The descending light of aura was as beautiful and smooth as silk. Finally, Tristan's highly regarded signature move, Silver Moon, has been brought to life in the modern era!

This utterly beautiful crescent-shaped sword aura clashed against the black flames.

Craaaaaaaack!

The deafening noise of metal scraping against another metal loudly tore through the air. Despite its aching beauty, the crescent-shaped aura failed to split open the ominous black flames.

Elder Knights swiftly attacked with a spear and a mace afterward, but the black flames held firm. The only thing these Knights managed to do was make those flames flicker for a bit.

‘How is that even possible!’

Just what were they fighting against here?! How was it even possible that flames roiling around like living creatures possessed hardness exceeding forged steel!

No, forged steel had nothing on these flames. After all, the Elder Knights could casually rip such steel apart like pieces of paper. But they grandly failed to put a dent in these accursed flames!

How could any flame possess the necessary vigor to burn so ferociously and endlessly? And also be so nonsensically tough that nothing could penetrate them? Only the literal flames of the devil fit those criteria!

And now, those ferocious flames were surging angrily toward Tristan!

Tristan's heart madly pumped mana to the rest of his body. He knew he absolutely had to cut down those flames targeting him like a living entity!

Or he'd die for sure!

Before he could take a swipe with his sword, however, the flames shot up at a scarcely believable speed and wrapped around his legs!

CRUNCH! CRAAACK!

“Kkuuuuhuph?!”

Much to his relief, Tristan somehow managed to avoid the shame of screaming in pain. That didn’t mean his situation was good, however.

The magic-reinforced armor was unceremoniously crushed and ripped apart. The resulting metallic bits began digging into Tristan's flesh next.

“Sir Tristan!”

Someone urgently cried out from behind him. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of the situation.

“Aaaaaahk!”

“Blast it all to Hell!”

Judging from the panicked yells, it seemed Tristan's companions jumping in at the same time were stuck in a similar predicament as him! He could clearly sense the fluster of his companions coming from his left and right.

Of course, he didn't have the mental leeway to worry about their situations at the moment.

Tristan was too busy sensing incredible pressure crushing his legs, after all!@@novelbin@@

It felt like a giant had grabbed him by his legs to crush his lower torso flat. Even before the pain from metal digging into his flesh could weaken, Tristan was wrecked by a sensation similar to his bones turning into powder. And then…!

“Kuk…?!”

What came after was yet more pain! But this one was different from the pain of his legs getting crushed. This was intense enough to momentarily freeze his thought process altogether! Even his trained body shivered as the pain akin to an undying flame burning within his gut tore through every fiber of his being!

“Tristaaaaaaaan!”

Just as the remaining Elder Knights rushed forward to rescue Tristan, a loud yell ripped through the air.

“Get out of the waaaaaaay!”

Elder Knights sensed the explosive surge of mana coming from behind them and hurriedly parted to the sides, creating a clear path to the burning black flames.

“Sir Galahad!”

One of the Elder Knights wielding a bow taller than an adult clenched his teeth while pulling back on the bowstring. And then…!

PAAAAAANG!

He let go, allowing the nocked arrow as thick as an adult man’s forearm to pierce through the air. Actually, calling that arrow a javelin would’ve been more appropriate!

Paaaaang!

Paaaaaaaaang!

As if he wasn't satisfied with one shot, Galahad fired several more arrows in quick succession. Each shot, containing enough power to destroy castle walls, tore straight through the air.

These massive arrows flew faster than human eyes could follow and pierced into Kang Jin-Ho's black flames.

KA-GAGAGAGAAAAK!

The arrows stabbed powerfully into the black flames as the noises of a high-speed cutter slicing through coarse metal rocked the surroundings. The Elder Knights clearly spotted the black flames shrinking back just then.

“Bedivere!”

“I know!” Bedivere yelled just as pale-blue mana rose up all around her figure like a simmering heat haze. She was forcing so much mana through her mana circuit that it began leaking out of her skin!

She hurriedly muttered the runic chant to finish the casting process, then thrust her hands out. She glared with her bloodshot eyes as all the mana gushing out of her created a massive image of a beast's maw. And then…!

“Die alreadyyyyy!”

Intense flames explosively poured out of this wide-open maw! As if a gigantic flamethrower had been unleashed, a literal flood of crimson flames crashed into Kang Jin-Ho and his black flames.

RUMBLE! WHOOSH!

The noise of flames rumbling and roiling sent chills down everyone here. These merciless flames, compressed till they couldn't be compressed any further, found the crack in the defenses created by Galahad's arrows and began pouring inside.

That was when Kang Jin-Ho’s black flames momentarily flinched and shrunk back even more. Almost at the same time, the black flames grabbing on to Tristan’s legs instantly disappeared.

Bang!

Tristan fell hard on the floor and immediately clutched at his legs while gritting his teeth. Since those black flames weren't real flames, he didn't suffer any burns, but the wounds were so grievous that maybe getting burnt was a better alternative!

His legs below the knees were completely destroyed. The armor got crushed and torn, its pieces digging all the way into his leg bones. Despite the grave nature of his injuries, though, Tristan got right back up without moaning once from the pain.

He knew he had no time to whine about getting injured. The enemy today was far too strong for that! After all, one less member participating in the battle could tilt the balance against the Elder Knights, resulting in their complete annihilation!

Gawain worriedly asked, “Are you alright?”

Tristan grimly replied, “...What if I am not?”

Gawain’s expression stiffened even more. “My apologies. I forgot that now isn’t the right situation to inquire about that.”

His stiff expression contained a hint of fear. A fear of realizing that… The enemy was strong. Far stronger than he imagined!

He already knew the devil, Kang Jin-Ho, was incredibly powerful. That was what his intuition told him after sensing the devil's aura before the battle began. However, now that he had thrown out a few moves… He had to admit that his estimation of Kang Jin-Ho's strength had been wrong!

“...Sir Gawain? What kind of martial training do you think that man has received?”

“I dare not venture a guess, sir. However…!” Gawain grimaced and chose not to finish his sentence. Then again, his sentence would have mentioned something about how destructive, unstoppable, and terrifying Kang Jin-Ho was, anyway!

Those things shouldn't be mentioned in this place. They would've only negatively affected the Elder Knights' morale.

Suddenly, the black flames seemed to gather in the center before completely getting sucked inside Kang Jin-Ho. After withdrawing the flames, Kang Jin-Ho's cold but calm eyes scanned the Elder Knights.

This indescribable dreadful chill! Even though Kang Jin-Ho wasn't even trying to threaten anyone, the Elder Knights looking into his eyes thought their hearts skipped several beats from the dreadful chill.

“Hmm. Can you see?”

“...Indeed. He was a mortal, after all.”

As befitting their title of Elder Knights, however, they still kept their wits about them despite the assault of that intangible dreadful chill and noticed the droplets of blood dripping from Kang Jin-Ho's fingertips. Blood meant he was injured.

...And getting injured meant he could be killed!

Confirming something as basic as that was enough for a wave of relief to wash over the Elder Knights. That was how extreme this situation had been for them.

“Listen up, my fellow brave Knights!” Gawain quietly addressed the Elder Knights. “That devil-like man's defenses are far too sturdy to break through by simply smacking at them. So, we will now focus on a single point and keep hitting that area. Sir Percival!”

“Mm!”

“...You must take on the role of landing the blow, Sir Percival.”

“Although it is quite a task, I don't have a choice, now do I?” The Elder Knight named Percival grunted while tapping the end of his massive lance on the floor.

Gawain sucked in a deep breath. They had finished strategizing what to do. As long as they didn't make any mistakes… They should be able to land a fatal blow on the enemy!

Despite thinking that way, Gawain still couldn't rid himself of this one worry.

‘If this is all that devil has to offer… Then we have a chance. However!’

However, what if Kang Jin-Ho had been holding back until now? In that case, would the Elder Knights be able to defeat him?

An unexplainable ominous foreboding crept into Gawain’s heart.

That was when Kang Jin-Ho suddenly broke his silence. “I want to ask you something.”

“…?”

Who should answer him? If this had been any other situation, an Elder Knight would've casually answered back. But now? All they did was glance at each other without saying a word.

This sight stoked flames of rage in Gawain and made him grit his teeth. He glared at Kang Jin-Ho and chewed his words out. “What do you want?”

“Are you strong?”

“…?”

What a strange and confusing thing to ask in this situation that was! Even then, for some reason, Gawain had no problem figuring out what Kang Jin-Ho wanted to know.

“Yes, we are. At least, as far as we know.”

“I see…” Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded.

The Elder Knights couldn’t tell how or where Kang Jin-Ho had acquired his incredible strength. Their limited knowledge of what things were like in the East meant they had to assume that some strange, unknown Eastern martial arts were responsible. And this story should be the same for Kang Jin-Ho, too.

Kang Jin-Ho was asking if these Elder Knights could call themselves the absolute best in the history of Western martial arts.

Since that seemed to be the case, Gawain decided to ask back. “Then, tell me. What about you?”

“…?”

“Can you confidently say your strength allows you to represent the East’s martial achievements?”

Kang Jin-Ho slowly shook his head again. “No.”

“…!”

Did he say no? Gawain’s expression stiffened like a rock.

“I’m still not quite good enough. My level is still not there yet. Not yet…” Kang Jin-Ho’s gaze drifted up toward the ceiling.

Could he proclaim that? That he was the strongest?

Actually, the answer to that question was not complicated at all.

Kang Jin-Ho had gotten stupendously powerful. After his return to the modern era, he began regaining his former strength several times faster than he had expected. Even so, he wasn't back at his former peak yet.

Even now, he still had a long way to go to match Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor’s strength!

Kang Jin-Ho ruefully chuckled. “I can’t say I’m the strongest, but…”

“But?”

“I’m good enough to beat you all down, at least.”

Gawain gritted his teeth at that reply. “It seems you’re too full of yourself!”

The Elder Knights quickly and smartly got into formation with Gawain in the center. Kang Jin-Ho leisurely watched this scene as a subtle smirk formed on his lips.

‘How bizarre…’

Kang Jin-Ho admitted that these Elder Knights were strong. No one he had fought until now was stronger than these Knights from the ancient past. Of course, that was excluding the Crimson King.

He even felt that even Vator would fall slightly short when compared to these Knights. In that case, would the big man lose if he fought an Elder Knight in a one-on-one duel?

No. Vator wouldn't lose. Not necessarily. That was because a crucial difference separated Vator from these Elder Knights.

Kang Jin-Ho muttered quietly. “It seems I was wrong.”

Gawain narrowed his eyes. “...What was that?”

“You were not martial artists, after all.”

“What inane nonsense are you on about, you devil?”

“I don't need to treat people who are not martial artists as martial artists, right? Either way, it doesn't matter to me,” said Kang Jin-Ho while baring his fangs in a toothy smirk. “I'm also used to dealing with such people, you see?”

Kang Jin-Ho resumed his leisurely walk toward the Elder Knights, his Crimson Destiny and Azuremourne resting by his sides.

“Well, then. Why don’t we start this… ‘war’ properly now?”