Descent of the Demon Master

“Obviously, your boss isn't a moron,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

His words were shattering Morigawa Atsushi's mind into a million pieces.

Nakata Yuji-sama had sent him and these five hundred warriors to die? In this place? That didn't make any sense!

Everything this monster said was wrong! Morigawa Atsushi was a loyal subordinate of Nakata Yuji who came here to carry out his boss's orders.

So, why would Nakata Yuji drive his loyal underlings to their graves? Why?

Besides...!

'Five hundred men came here! Five hundred!'

The original plan was to dispatch one thousand warriors, even if only five hundred reached China in the end. In that case, was Kang Jin-Ho suggesting that NakataYuji wanted to sacrifice... a thousand of his fellow countrymen?!

What kind of nonsense was that?!

A human being with a conscience would never do something that insane. No one would be willing to sacrifice a thousand of their allies just for the sake of achieving some unknown goal!

That was why this monster's words could not be taken at face value. No, everything Kang Jin-Ho said had to be nothing more than a delusional rambling of a lunatic!

That had to be it, so why... Why was Morigawa Atsushi feeling this way? Even though his brain was shouting at him that Kang Jin-Ho was wrong... Why was his heart bursting from rage and sorrow?

Kang Jin-Ho was obviously lying. He was obviously mistaken. So why...!

“...! Wuuuuhup!”

Even so, Morigawa Atsushi desperately contorted and twisted his body to escape.

That accusation had to be false. Yes, it was definitely wrong! Why would Nakata Yuji-sama sacrifice a loyal subordinate who served him with everything they had? For what purpose?

Morigawa Atsushi's mind was filled with chaos and confusion.

That was when Kang Jin-Ho's voice dug sharply into the Japanese's hearing. “If only your sacrifice was actually worth something...”

His voice contained a hint of laughter. Morigawa Atsushi's body suddenly lost all strength when his brain comprehended Kang Jin-Ho's muttering.

He had been trying to deny and reject the notion, but why did he do that? Didn't he already know the truth?

If Nakata Yuji had understood how strong Kang Jin-Ho was, he wouldn't have been troubled by the notion of losing five hundred soldiers if it would serve his goal. Actually, he wouldn't have cared if a thousand warriors were sacrificed! If Kang Jin-Ho could be killed with only a thousand lives lost... It'd actually be a fair trade in Nakata Yuji's book.

Besides, a man like Nakata Yuji would've initiated a scheme like this without a moment's hesitation. After all, wasn't he a man who committed unimaginable acts without batting an eyelid? It was just that he was a self-proclaimed pacifist... And used his scheming mind to prevent wars from breaking out until now.

When those thoughts popped up in Morigawa Atsushi's mind, his body went limp, all desire to fight back leaving his mind. And now, all he could think about was if this sacrifice was worth something. Would this sacrifice help Japan grow even more powerful than before?

“No, that's not it,” said Kang Jin-Ho while yanking Morigawa Atsushi close. He brought his mouth closer to the Japanese's ear, then whispered like a devil. “Things like worthy sacrifices do not exist. Even if you think there is... The worth of your sacrifice belongs to someone else, not you. You will be dead, after all. So, how can any potential benefits from your death be yours? You're about to die, so I better teach you well. Death is just that, death. Nothing more, nothing less. Dying like a dog, sacrificing yourself, blowing your own brains out... All those things are still death, okay? And you? You don't need to worry about the significance of it all. Because... Such a thing belongs to the ones you leave behind, not you.”

Kang Jin-Ho's words ripped Morigawa Atsushi's heart apart.

“Oh, and let me add one more thing, okay...?” Kang Jin-Ho growled like an apex predator. “I'm sure you already know all this, don't you? That your death is pointless?”

A sneer of ridicule was etched on Kang Jin-Ho's face. When Morigawa Atsushi saw that sneer, his entire body began shivering.

Yes, he admitted it. He already knew the truth!

Even if Nakata Yuji was really sacrificing them, and even if letting five hundred warriors die tonight was a part of a grand scheme...

Morigawa Atsushi simply could not imagine the death of Kang Jin-Ho!

This expedition, this entire scheme, was unquestionably a failure! A failure where five hundred men died a meaningless death, no less! That was all Morigawa Atsushi could see.

“I... I am...!”

That was why Morigawa Atsushi had to say it. That was why... He needed to prove that his death was not meaningless. That was why he desperately cried out, “I am...!”

POP!

Unfortunately, his voice couldn't continue on.

After the noise of a ripe watermelon bursting eerily resounded in the air, Morigawa Atsushi's headless body crumbled lifelessly to the ground.

Kang Jin-Ho silently withdrew his hand. It didn't matter to him what the circumstances of his enemies were. He had zero pity for them, to begin with. Anyone daring to attack him would die—that was the rule Kang Jin-Ho rigorously adhered to since he started his martial journey. And that rule was about to be applied to the rest of the Japanese warriors.

KA-BOOOOOOM!

Vator was going absolutely berserk. He treated Kang Jin-Ho's order as a supreme command that he must carry out no matter what.

The previous Vator seemingly had all the time in the world during battles, which boasted a certain charm of his own. But now? He resembled a killing machine created solely for the purpose of destroying everything before his eyes.

“Heh...”

A suppressed chuckle leaked out of Kang Jin-Ho's lips.

Yes, they were in China, weren't they? Not just any part of China but somewhere deep in the boonies, too! A location where no one monitored him or annoyed him... A location where no one would show up to intervene at the first hint of a loud explosion!

It felt like something inside Kang Jin-Ho's mind snapped just then. At the same time, even more demonic qi gushed out of Kang Jin-Ho's body.

***

“Huuuuhph?!”

That was a gasp of shock and panic. Which was understandable since Kondo was watching a giant possessing a divine physique utterly sweeping everything away!

That giant couldn't be a human being. That had to be the only explanation for this carnage!

The Japanese katanas could easily slice through steel like pieces of paper. However, when such blades chopped down at the giant's figure... They shattered and broke into bits like potato chips! And when Japanese warriors hit Vator's body with their fists brimming full of qi... Never mind bouncing off, their mighty fists disintegrated instead!

'How are we supposed to fight someone like that?!'

Of course the enemy could be someone strong. Plenty of strong individuals existed around the world, after all! However, surely none of them could gift the Japanese warriors with this much despair and hopelessness.

Not a single attack worked on the giant. Attacks containing every ounce of their strength couldn't even leave a scratch on Vator. How were they supposed to fight someone like that in that case?

The sole reason why lower-tier martial artists dared to fight stronger experts was because they believed swords could cut through human flesh. And no matter how strong an expert was, they were still human beings, weren't they? Of course, the odds of hitting the expert with a sword strike were pretty slim, to begin with. However, as long as lady luck was on their side...

Such anticipation and hope drove the lower-tier martial artists forward into battles against someone stronger than them. However, what about against Vator?

What could these men do about Vator's extreme defensive capabilities that could easily break any swords coming in contact with him? Even the attacks containing the heart and soul of the martial artists didn't work on him, so what else could they do?

Realistically speaking, what these men should be doing wasn't wielding their weapons but rushing toward the nearest army base and mobilizing a platoon of tanks instead. Even though nobody knew for certain if tank shells could break through Vator's defenses, it should still be a hundred times better than this unseemly spectacle of humans made of flesh and blood charging in at a monster wielding nothing but some flimsy metal objects!

However, if that option wasn't available? The next best thing would be... To run! Right this moment!

BANG!

A vehicle knocked into the air by Vator's massive forearm spun angrily while sweeping away everything in its vicinity. If the same thing happened inside a video game, players would've swore incessantly at how laughably broken the physics engine was. In a world where gravity and friction and all the other laws of physics-related stuff functioned properly, a car wouldn't fly away like a toy regardless of the force applied to it!

Unfortunately for their argument, this wasn't a video game but the real world. Something that wouldn't happen inside a video game was happening in reality!

'We are all going to die!'

Not just Kondo, but everyone else had realized that unfortunate fact by now. Never mind killing Vator, they didn't even have a hope in hell of winning against him! They were being reckless with their own lives here!

Hundreds of frogs might be able to fight and win if the opponent was a lizard. However, against an anaconda? Thousands of frogs still wouldn't be enough. The whole thing would quickly morph into a competition of who might get eaten first.

“Suppress him! Hurry!”

Even so, the frogs didn't stop struggling. Having realized their attacks were ineffective, the Japanese warriors discarded their weapons and resorted to tackling Vator instead. They rushed in to grab the big man's waist, head and limbs. In the blink of an eye, dozens of warriors clung to Vator and tried to bring him down. One of them even climbed on top of Vator's head and used his qi to push the giant down.

They weren't simply relying on their weight here. Every single Japanese warrior was unleashing their qi with the attitude of going out with a bang. An average martial artist would've been crushed into a pancake by the combined force already. Unfortunately for them, though... Vator was no average martial artist.

“Hmph!”

After letting out a quiet but sharp snort, Vator's large body began quaking ominously. His huge hand exploded out from the pile made out of human bodies, then began grabbing at whatever came in contact with his fingertips first. And it happened to be someone's leg.

Vator powerfully swung the leg captured in his grip.

Pow! Bang! Smack!

Those noises sounded like a wooden paddle pounding on the still-soaked laundry. Anyone realizing that those sounds were produced by the collisions between human bodies would instantly be creeped out, though!

Vator roared like a madman. He viciously swung whatever he could get his hands on. Any object getting in his way was mercilessly punted away. He head-butted, then crushed with his elbow drops.

Vator knew better than anyone how lethal his body was. He didn't even bother to use techniques or footwork. No, he simply grabbed, threw away, swung around, and kicked at his hapless targets. And the Japanese martial artists boasting dozens of years of training were being hopelessly crushed by the big man's indiscriminate attacks.

'We gotta run away!'

This was not right. This wasn't the result the Japanese had been dreaming about.

But what about the concept of no retreat, no surrender? Obviously, that was all bullsh*t!

Not backing down from a fight, and blindly running into a wall while knowing it was a dog's death were two very different things.

If the Japanese could acquire something by not retreating from this battle, they wouldn't mind throwing their lives away. However, what could they possibly acquire from this fight? Absolutely nothing, that was what!

Not retreating meant they would die sooner. That was it. If anyone dared to yap on about the ideals of 'No retreat, no surrender!' now, Kondo was prepared to shove his fist right through their throat!

“R-run away! We gotta run!”

The hurried cries came from seemingly everywhere. It sounded like everyone reached the same conclusion roughly at the same time. Any sane-minded human being would've obviously decided on this course of action.

Unfortunately, they needed a reminder. A reminder that Vator wasn't the only enemy they had to face.

Grrrrrrrk...!

That noise was shockingly weird and alien. It might sound like something the Japanese warriors had heard before, but that couldn't be it since they had never heard it until today.

Out of all the noises and combinations of sounds found throughout the world, that noise had to be the only one that could produce this unnatural dissonance in everyone's heart.

Everyone's head instinctively turned toward the origin of that noise. And when they did... They saw it.

They saw the massive flame burning vigorously away. Not just any flame, either... But a massive black flame!

No, could that be even called a flame? Indeed, that was... something else, something a little different from an actual flame.

The darkness even darker than the pitch-black emptiness of space that seemed too dark to be natural danced and wavered like a living flame. Licks of black flames as thick and sticky as tar billowed like a small mountain!

In the center of all this... There was a pair of crimson-hued lights from Kang Jin-Ho's eyes!

Those crimson lights were so tiny compared to the flames of demonic qi as large as a mountain. Weirdly enough, though... Everyone's attention was drawn toward the burning lights of Kang Jin-Ho's eyes. They were far, far prominent not to be seen!

That was when everyone here realized something. And that was the meaning behind those eyes. That... was death!

If death had a form, it should look like that. A figure of a creature that could not be evaded. A creature that never compromised. The only option left after encountering it was to pray!

That was death in a nutshell, wasn't it! In that sense, nothing in this world suited the term 'death' more than Kang Jin-Ho's current appearance.

Everyone here instinctively sensed their impending doom right after staring into the billowing black flames. And this doom could never be avoided or delayed!

The grim reaper was gradually closing the distance toward the Japanese warriors. They weren't the only ones who froze still from this... 'spectacle'.

Even Vator had to stop rampaging like an insane bear and watch this incredible scene with his jaw dropped to the floor.

Finally... The flames began moving.

The massive strands of demonic qi enveloping Kang Jin-Ho's figure gushed out toward the Japanese like turbid floodwater exploding forth from the broken levee.

The moon watching the carnage from above trembled in fear and quickly hid behind cloud covers.

The demon emperor! This was the moment of the demon emperor, the individual destined to rock the heavens and earth, finally revealing his true form to the world.

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