Descent of the Demon Master

"Having fun" was a very subjective thing.

Usually, enjoying doing something and staying interested in it was enough to be called "having fun."

However, as humans were all different, everyone's idea of what was considered fun and how much fun they could derive from it differed from person to person.

For instance, some people would find riding rollercoasters the height of excitement and fun. On the other hand, some others would be terrified by the prospect of a rollercoaster ride and even feel physical pain from it.

As such, it shouldn't come as a shock to learn that different people would derive a wildly different level of "fun" from the same activity.

However, Vator was currently learning the hard way that that wasn’t the end of the story!

‘This is driving me nuts!’

What Vator found "interesting" and "fun" was simple enough. It was fighting someone. And it'd be better if the opponent was someone strong.

Of course, he wasn't a battle junkie incapable of having fun outside of beating other people up. But it was also true that fighting someone entertained him the most.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say Vator lived for battles against other strong experts. He basically joined the Martial Assembly for that reason.

Yes, a part of his reasoning involved following Kang Jin-Ho to gain even more strength. But he believed standing on Kang Jin-Ho’s side to oppose the Crimson King’s faction would suit his tastes so much more than siding with the Crimson King and opposing the Korean Martial Assembly.

All of his choices were informed by his desire to fight against strong experts. So, the prospect of doing exactly that should fill him with endless excitement and joy. But now…!

‘What is the meaning of this!’

Vator learned that something he thought was fun could morph into something else in the blink of an eye!

Right now, he found himself in a situation he desired the most—to be able to fight a powerful expert. The usual Vator would’ve been brimming full of happiness.

Of course, this was merely a spar, so it lacked the kind of desperation and tension of a fight to the death. That was a bit lamentable, sure, but such a situation was obviously not easy to come by. Knowing that, a simple spar should still be more than enough to keep Vator entertained for a long while.

“Dammit!”

However, Vator wasn’t entertained at all. Forget fun, he was even feeling tortured right now!

None of his attacks worked. Absolutely none!

“Uwaaaaaaaah!”

Vator's punches rained down faster, sharper, and more fiercely than a missile on a full flight. His attack could instantly kill an elephant, never mind a human being!

Anyone with eyes could tell how powerful those punches were. And if those people were capable of noticing the darkish demonic qi permeating his fists, they would've realized these punches were far more dangerous than they thought, too!

Unfortunately for Vator… That didn’t mean anything this time.

Pat.

His dangerous attack was oh-so-easily stopped.

Vator’s fist was as big as an adult’s head, so seeing a normal-sized hand stopping it mid-attack was enough to rouse the feeling of incongruity. It was as if a three-year-old had grabbed the punch of an adult man.

“Euh… Euh!”

Vator’s eyes grew even more bloodshot than before.

‘This… This can’t be!’

Of course, the person stopping Vator’s punch was none other than Kang Jin-Ho. While Vator was shuddering away, his face distorted hideously, Kang Jin-Ho was calm and expressionless.

“Hmm…” Kang Jin-Ho slightly tilted his head as if… As if he wasn’t satisfied about something. “...Weak.”

“Kuk?!”

Kang Jin-Ho slightly pushed back, causing Vator to helplessly get shoved far back.

“What…?! How?!” Vator’s grimace deepened, his eyes burning crimson.

Even if he had been his normal self, Vator wouldn't have been able to remain patient in this situation. However, he was currently mastering demonic arts, which meant his temper had gotten sharper and more violent than in the past!

It felt like a massive ball of flames was burning in Vator’s heart.

‘How is this even possible?!’

Despite the blood rushing to his head, Vator still possessed a modicum of rationale. He was being ruled over by rage and disbelief.

Obviously, Vator was fully aware of Kang Jin-Ho’s strength. The gap between the current Kang Jin-Ho and the one who fought with his life on the line against Vator was so wide that he might as well be a totally different person now.

After that battle, Vator struggled to grow stronger bit by bit. At the same time, Kang Jin-Ho’s strength grew by leaps and bounds.

The ‘Kang Jin-Ho’ from the battle against Vator would not survive a single direct attack from the Crimson King. By the time he confronted the Crimson King, though…

Kang Jin-Ho had become strong enough to fight quite well against the Crimson King, even if overwhelming the latter was still impossible.

As such, Vator had already prepared himself for a sound defeat. But this kind of one-sidedness was well beyond his expectations.

‘How… How is this even possible?’

This was no longer in the realm of Kang Jin-Ho being merely stronger than Vator. No, it'd be safe to say Kang Jin-Ho was in a totally different league compared to Vator!

Vator’s thoughts became a tangled-up mess.

‘This is wrong! He… He wasn’t this strong not too long ago!’

Kang Jin-Ho, during his confrontation against the Crimson King, shouldn’t be strong enough to treat Vator’s punches like a toddler swinging his little fists around. In that case, this situation indicated he had gotten much stronger since then.

However, how was that even possible, logically speaking?

“Too soft,” said Kang Jin-Ho, his face still expressionless. “You’re distracted by other thoughts. Even though you’re supposed to be a martial artist.”

“You…!”

All the confusion making a mess of Vator’s mind was instantly blown away by Kang Jin-Ho’s provocative words. But the void left behind by the confusion was quickly filled up with rage and white-hot blood.

“I… I’ll kill you!”

Vator charged at Kang Jin-Ho as demonic qi gushed out from his massive over-seven-foot frame.

The image of a literal giant straight out of a fantasy novel pouncing in anger at another person with a speed human eyes could barely keep up was more than enough to rouse the feeling of trousers-wetting terror.

Although, not everyone was affected like that.

Wiggins muttered, “Looks like Sir Vator’s gotten a little too excited.”

“Isn’t it because of the demonic cultivation’s influence? As I thought, I must exclude demonic cultivation from my martial art…” Bang Jin-Hun frowned slightly.

“Demonic cultivation's influence, is it… Yes, that could be it,” Wiggins nodded while scratching his chin.

‘However, what’s really surprising is my lord.’

It was all thanks to Kang Jin-Ho that Wiggins and others could relaxedly observe this fierce battle.

Any concern that somebody could get hurt was the furthest thing in their minds, never mind dangers to their own lives. Why would they be when this ‘battle’ was perfectly under Kang Jin-Ho’s control?

Although this situation was unfortunate for Vator, who was trying so hard to the point of popping a vein or two, this battle could no longer be classified as sparring. If the bystanders were forced to label it something, it'd have to be a guidance session. Like a teacher educating his pupil!

‘The gap has widened this much?’

The clear proof on display left Wiggins shuddering in shock.

There was no denying the fact that Kang Jin-Ho's strength grew at an alarming rate. Around eighty percent of Wiggins' motivation for leaving the Round Table and joining the Korean Martial Assembly was his anticipation of Kang Jin-Ho's growth. As such, Kang Jin-Ho had an "obligation" to satisfy that expectation.

But here he was, over-satisfying that expectation by some margin!

‘Is this really okay, though?’

Kang Jin-Ho's rate of growth easily exceeded logic. Wiggins had already expected Kang Jin-Ho to surprise him with his growth, but this situation went far beyond that.

‘Also… Look at that!’

External qi was rushing inside Kang Jin-Ho in a terrifying vortex. Even though he was in the middle of a "battle", Kang Jin-Ho was somehow circulating his qi and replenishing his qi reserve at the same time!

Wiggins witnessed this spectacle before, back when Kang Jin-Ho was plugging up the hole in the aquarium. But this was a battle where the participants were moving swiftly around at all times! So, how could Kang Jin-Ho still use that ability so effectively?

‘This… is illogical.’

All the common sense Wiggins held about martial arts was falling apart in large clumps. At least, that was what it felt like. This powerful sense of disharmony was causing his stomach to churn. Staying here and watching this spectacle for a minute longer could lead Wiggins to vomit everything in his gut!

“Besides all that… That giant dude is giving his absolute everything in this battle, yes?” Bang Jin-Hun asked.

It seemed he couldn’t comprehend what was happening here despite witnessing it with his own two eyes.

Wiggins sighed softly.

‘It’s not that surprising, really.’

Someone who just learned how to paint wouldn't be able to appreciate the complexity and artistry of the works produced by famous painters. That was because such things had exceeded the newbie's ability to comprehend. That was Bang Jin-Hun's situation.

Even though Bang Jin-Hun was one of the top martial artists in South Korea, Kang Jin-Ho’s martial prowess, and for that matter, Vator’s, was simply too lofty for him to understand.

Even Wiggins was barely keeping up. In that case, who could recognize the terrifying awesomeness of…

“Ah! Aaaaah!”

“...Oh.” Wiggins cocked an eyebrow while turning his head. As it turned out, there was one more.

“M-my liege…!” Chang Min stood there clasping his hands. At any second now, he might break down in a flood of tears!

Vator mentioned that Chang Min was an equal to him in terms of combat strength. In other words, this old fart must be incredibly strong. Although his actions often gave off the unpleasant impression that Kang Jin-Ho had picked up some trash off the street and brought it home…

…Chang Min was undoubtedly a powerful expert.

Wiggins wondered if he had developed a problem after learning more about Kang Jin-Ho and joining the Martial Assembly. And that problem was his perception of powerful experts getting warped badly by his environment!

Of course, that wasn’t important right now.

‘...Chang Min’s getting a bit too emotional, isn’t he?’

Then again, Chang Min’s over-the-top emotion made some sense. He could obviously see how strong Kang Jin-Ho was, after all.

While Wiggins saw Kang Jin-Ho as the vanguard who would guide him to a better future, Chang Min saw Kang Jin-Ho as a god he must serve without question.

‘Well, think about it for a minute.’

What if the deity of a particular religion descended to the mortal realm and appeared before the believers, then brought on the miracles of parting rivers and bringing rain to a desert with just a flick of a hand?

Would anyone be able to verbally describe the overflowing emotions the believers feel? That was how Chang Min was reacting to Kang Jin-Ho.

His reaction was well beyond the level of "deeply moved." Then again, the demon cult was an actual cult, a religious organization, now wasn't it? In that case, Chang Min's level of emotion was more or less understandable.

‘...If only the sight of him being moved isn't so cringeworthy!’

Wiggins couldn’t explain it, but the sight of an old dude being so overly emotional—with his cheeks flushed, no less—was displeasing him to no end. It was as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have.

While suppressing the feeling of being ever-so-slightly dirtied, Wiggins turned his head away from Chang Min. He shouldn't continue staring at this sight. It might cause eye cancer!

BOOOOOM!

Vator blocked Kang Jin-Ho's punch, only to go flying away like a cannonball. Even though he didn't get hit but defended against the hit…!

The big man’s perfect defense had stopped Kang Jin-Ho’s punch dead in its tracks, yet Vator’s massive body couldn’t withstand the force behind the punch. As a result, he was sent flying away like a rock kicked by a kid.

‘That completely negates the point of defense, doesn’t it?’

The notion of offense and defense was only applicable when the participants were more or less evenly matched.

In a match between NBA players and an elementary school basketball team, what would be the point of defensive tactics? After all, the pros would simply jump over the kids and land one dunk after another, even if the latter group was playing the perfect defense game.

This so-called sparring had devolved into such a game.

Vator's defenses were perfect. But a man with the perfect defense would still not be able to defend himself against an incoming dump truck.

No matter how impregnable Vator was, his strength was simply not good enough to defend himself against Kang Jin-Ho's punch!

“Hmm…”

Strangely enough, though, Kang Jin-Ho slowly shook his head as if something still didn’t satisfy him. Even though he had unleashed such an incredible attack just now!

“It’s still not easy,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

Wiggins’ complexion darkened.

‘Oh, so it’s not easy, is it? Yes, my lord. I’m sure that’s the case.’

Considering everything Kang Jin-Ho had done so far, it'd not be a surprise to see him instantly teleport ramen from a bowl into his stomach with a flick of his hand, but…

‘...Yes, it must not be easy even if it’s you, my lord.’

Just as Wiggins was about to say something in protest…

“Uwaaaaaaaah!” Vator roared like a beast after rage and humiliation had robbed him of his reasoning. Demonic qi began gushing out of his every pore. It seemed the demonic qi he had been suppressing somehow had finally intruded into his brain.

This development should’ve been treated as a major disaster. A martial artist on the level of Vator losing his mind and recklessly unleashing demonic qi could cause incalculable destruction to the surroundings, after all!

However…

“...Looks like Sir Vator is in for a beating, then.”

“He needs to get a hold of himself. That’s the only way to lessen the severity of the beating, after all.”

The bystanders could only stare at Vator with pity.

As if to respond to Vator’s current state, Kang Jin-Ho clenched his fist slightly tighter.

Crack, squeeze…!

The noise from his fist squeezing and tightening rang out like an announcement of an execution. Gazes of sympathy and condolences immediately landed on Vator next.

‘Well, my lord probably won’t… kill him. Probably?’

At least they didn’t have to worry about that outcome, so that was something to be relieved about!