Descent of the Demon Master

Inside the Round Table entourage's car…

"Sir, that wasn't like you back there," said one of the subordinates.

What he said could constitute insolence. No, forget "could." It was undoubtedly an act of insolence.

However, the Master didn't lose his cool. That was because he was an incomparably gracious and generous man.

He certainly thought his subordinate's criticism wasn't without merit.

"Sir… Fighting that man will not change anything. It's a fight where we stand to lose so much but have nothing to gain."

The Master glanced at the subordinate. "Do you think I'll lose?"

"Sir, it won't matter whether you win against that man or not."

"...Indeed," the Master slowly nodded. "I have nothing to worry about the future of the Round Table, then."

"So many people in the Round Table are capable of making better decisions than I am. In that case, why should I be worried about our future?"

The atmosphere in the car became heavier. Gloomier, even. On the surface, at least, it seemed like the Master agreed with the subordinate that he made a bad choice. However, what he actually did was point out how the subordinate had overstepped his boundaries.

The Master sighed inaudibly.

'How petty…'

Being a member of the Master's entourage didn't mean one lost their right to speak. Wasn't one of the Round Table's core values that everyone had the equal right to speak their minds?

Since it was physically impossible for everyone to attend meetings, representatives in the form of Knights had been created, but that still didn't change the basic tenet of the Round Table being an open space for everyone. Even if that was just an ideal at this point…

If the Master of the Round Table failed to uphold that ideal, who would be able to protect it, then?

Despite knowing all this, the Master still responded sourly because his sore spot had been prodded just now.

A fight with nothing to gain? The Master certainly agreed with that notion.

Regardless of how the upcoming fight turned out, it would not affect the Korean peninsula's current situation. Only the act of the Master killing Kang Jin-Ho could flip the script on its head.

However, would he be able to pull that off? It should be incredibly difficult.

Even if the Master could somehow overpower Kang Jin-Ho, Wiggins was here to overturn the situation. If he was serious about it, Wiggins could easily rescue Kang Jin-Ho from the jaws of defeat. ṝ�

The Master must not forget that he was in the middle of the enemy territory. And his entourage wasn't strong enough to defeat Wiggins.

In that case, who or what was this fight for?

The Master already knew the answer to that question.

'I haven't even considered things like benefits and losses this time.'

Even though that sounded quite surprising when coming from the Master, it was the truth.

Ever since ascending to the position of the Master of the Round Table, he never once stopped calculating and scheming for the sake of ensuring humanity's peace. Everything he said and did could determine gains and losses. Depending on what he saw and heard, the world itself could be shaken up to its core.

So, he should have calculated things before making his decision. But the Master completely forgot to do that when Kang Jin-Ho provoked him to a fight. He didn't think about what he'd lose or gain depending on the result of this fight.

Why did he do that, though?

Maybe Kang Jin-Ho's continued provocation finally managed to break through the Master's barrier. Or the Master might have thought fighting Kang Jin-Ho was the best way to undo this twisted situation.

If he wanted to find a reason to blame, there were hundreds of them to choose from. Countless. Even then… none of them could be called the real reason, and the Master was fully aware of that.

After all, the real reason could be only one thing. One thing stashed deep within his heart! And that was because… he wanted to do it.

The Master carried far too much burden on his shoulders. His position demanded him to be neutral in everything in this world. The moment he ascended to this role, the man filled with passion and drive had to vanish into the ether, replaced by the Master who must judge things with machine-like rationality and unfeeling objectivity.

However, he sometimes wished to shed this role and be free. That would usually be when he got fed up with the frustration of his job.

All in all… The Master could find the justification for his choice if he wanted to. But he couldn't do the same for the basis of said choice.

Going off script once or twice was understandable. However, the deviation just so happened to be right now, and the location for said deviation just had to be the Korean peninsula currently experiencing a great upheaval. And that fact forced the Master to mull in silence.

Why did he do this? Honestly, the Master also knew the answer to that question. It must've been the same story for Wiggins.

Kang Jin-Ho possessed something special that ruffled people's feathers. Or, to be more specific, not just any people but martial artists.

There was no doubt that Kang Jin-Ho was shocking and unconventional. Shockingly inconsiderate and unconventionally spontaneous, that was who he was. An existence like him would never be fully allowed to flourish in society.

However…

'That is exactly why he's shining even brighter.'

The Master quietly closed his eyes. In the darkness of his mind was a young boy standing tall. This child was before the Master was the Master. A boy who ardently dreamed of joining the Round Table in the future.

Back then, he didn't dare dream of reaching the lofty position of the Master of the Round Table. He naively believed that merely joining the organization would have been his greatest achievement, his dream coming true.

If that boy saw the current Master… What would he say? Would he say the Master had succeeded far beyond his wildest imaginations and had become a great man?

No, he wouldn't. What the Master wanted back then was not this, after all.

Just like how it was for every martial artist under the Sun, the future the young boy dreamed of was a little different. More extreme. A little bolder and daring!

Becoming a hero who suppressed all opponents through his martial prowess alone and stoically protected justice and righteousness! Any kid born into a family of warriors would inevitably dream of that future.

However, that dream was steadily and ruthlessly eroded away by something called reality.

The child would learn the differences between what could be done and what must remain in the realm of fantasy. Once he started discarding and abandoning those things as futile dreams that could never come true… Eventually, the future he had dreamed of would become a little different, a little less ambitious.

The product of all those erosions and wearing-downs was the current Master.

Did that mean he regretted his past, then? Of course not.

The Master was fully satisfied with where he was in life. And he was definitely satisfied by all the things he had achieved. Although he was rueful about not going that extra mile or fighting with a little more intensity in some of his past dealings, the Master was not ashamed about who he was and how he got this far.

...Those were his thoughts until he ran into Kang Jin-Ho.

What Kang Jin-Ho agitated wasn't the Master's competitiveness, but… But the memories of all the things the Master had to lose.

Things that got eroded away by life itself, and thought he could console himself with the notion that everyone else went through it, too…

Who could blame him for thinking that way, though? Since everyone discarded those things, the Master also saw nothing wrong with doing the same thing.

The severed wounds sometimes burned like hell, but the Master told himself that… Everyone had to carry around the same wounds as his since that was what life demanded from them.

But then, Kang Jin-Ho appeared before his eyes. A man who had not abandoned or thrown anything away!

The unconventional power to shock, the boldness only seen inside dreams, and the arrogance of never bowing down to anyone… A man who possessed all these qualities was now nonchalantly conversing with the Master.

What the Master felt afterward was not amazement. No, it was sorrow.

Kang Jin-Ho still possessed what the Master had lost. Life should have taken its toll on Kang Jin-Ho and robbed him of his ideals and dreams, yet he didn't yield once and stood proudly before the Master's eyes.

No, what he did went beyond that. Not only did Kang Jin-Ho not yield to the reality of life, but he also built a fortress that not even the Master of the Round Table had managed to.

After seeing all this… How could the Master hold himself back? When his everything had been denied and rejected by Kang Jin-Ho's existence?

Wiggins chose to walk alongside Kang Jin-Ho. Since he still had a future, he was able to make that choice for himself. Wiggins might not understand his choice himself, but the Master could see why he chose Kang Jin-Ho over the Round Table.

Because Wiggins could regain what he had lost again. He probably believed that by accompanying Kang Jin-Ho on this journey, he'd be able to regain all the things life had taken from him. And maybe, just maybe, he might evolve and become even better than his old self.

Unfortunately, the Master couldn't do that. It was impossible for him to abandon what he was now. And it was just as impossible to reset everything and start anew.

His life had already entered its twilight years, and he should be getting ready for the curtains to fall on his story soon.

Could someone like that start again? Start from scratch?

Just because a building he had spent his entire life constructing didn't come out right due to faulty foundation work, would he be able to demolish it and start from the beginning again? Even though he didn't have long to live?

Of course not!

Anyone in the Master's shoes would never do that. And this was the crucial difference separating him from Wiggins.

Wiggins was still youthful enough to chase after the ideal he had witnessed. Although the notion of calling Wiggins young might seem strange, the Master simply used that term to refer to people who still had a chance to start their journey anew.

In that sense, Wiggins was eminently qualified to be called "young" in the Master's book.

However, the Master couldn't start anew in his life. That was what made him feel so uncomfortable with himself.

He couldn't join Wiggins nor could he start from the beginning again. In that case, he should at least try to get the confirmation.

It was time to confirm how far a man who walked on the path the Master couldn't tread had reached. He'd confirm the truth not with his eyes or ears but through his fists and body. Through… his martial way!

Although it might sound impulsive and reckless, nothing was more certain than this method.

"Master, I have to report this development to the Round Table," said the subordinate.

"Sure. Go ahead," the Master nonchalantly muttered while leaning against the seat. Then, he rested his head on the cushion.

'It's… heavy.'

His whole body felt heavy. No, rather than heaviness… It felt more like countless weighty things were pulling down on his arms and legs.

People living in high altitudes weren't consciously aware of their living environment being deprived of oxygen. After all, things you took for granted would never consciously be at the forefront of your thoughts.

Only after climbing down from the tall mountains they called home would they realize how harsh and unforgiving their lives had been.

This example applied to the Master. Never before did he view the countless restrictions and regulations tying him down as wrong. That was because everyone around him also was bound by the same restrictions. So, he took this situation for granted, never questioning it.

However, he now saw the other side. He witnessed a man without restrictions.

Of course, Kang Jin-Ho should also have plenty of things to worry about. However, they were not shackles or restrictions pulling him back like the ones the Master must deal with. Shackles that could be undone at will were nothing more than decorations, after all!

Shackles had to be inescapable. Restrictions were supposed to be all-binding. And in that sense… Kang Jin-Ho was free. Unfettered.

Completely free!

"Please forgive me, sir. However, I have a duty to carry out," said the subordinate, obviously unaware of the Master's inner thoughts.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

'Yes, your duty… Everyone has those. Including myself. However, sometimes…'

The Master turned his attention to the front of the moving car. He could see the back of Kang Jin-Ho's vehicle just beyond the windscreen.

'...I'm sure that man is free.'

An event like a martial artist agreeing to a fight only to get chided by wet-behind-ears hatchlings should not happen with Kang Jin-Ho. Probably. And he most likely didn't have to sit through the indignity of some punks inspecting and judging every one of his moves to see if he followed the rules.

Kang Jin-Ho was a martial artist. A warrior! A tyrant who seized authority through the martial prowess he had cultivated and wielded that authority to his whim! That was Kang Jin-Ho.

He enjoyed the unfettered freedom that shone so brilliantly. So brilliant was his luster that the Master couldn't help but get jealous.

The Master was not envious of Kang Jin-Ho's inconceivable martial prowess or all the incredible feats achieved in a relatively short period of time. However, Kang Jin-Ho's freedom was so blindingly radiant that the Master just couldn't stop himself from turning green in sheer jealousy.

"Do what you want. It's alright," said the Master.

That was why… Wouldn't it be fine for the Master to enjoy this little bit of respite? This small freedom where he didn't have to worry about the aftermath and do whatever he wanted?

At least for now?

"Whatever you want…" The Master quietly muttered, his gaze chasing after Kang Jin-Ho sitting in the backseat of the car up ahead.

Going off script this once was nothing in comparison to the true freedom Kang Jin-Ho enjoyed. Even so, the Master dearly wished to stand opposite Kang Jin-Ho as an equal, even if it was only for a flitting moment.

The Master might have never made such a dumb decision before. And it was unlikely he'd do something like this again in the future, but…

'...Being able to make that dumb decision is a part of being free, isn't it?'

After a lifetime of swimming in the murky depths of the water, the Master had finally found the courage to peek his head outside the surface. And it was…

'It's so blindingly brilliant.'

So brilliant, indeed.