Descent of the Demon Master

Chapter 531: Coming to a Conclusion (1)

Disharmony. That was perhaps the most fitting word to describe this feeling.

Lee Hyeon-Su was beset with a ruthless sense of disharmony right now. Even though he could see, hear and feel through his skin, his brain simply refused to process this spectacle.

Even as Lee Hyeon-Su was flying away after getting swept up in the massive shockwave, he couldn't accept what was happening to him. The reality didn't seem real at all. All he could do was ungainly flail about like a drowning man.

The sky and ground were dizzily spinning around in his view. The sky became land, then land became the sky again. Lee Hyeon-Su couldn't help but chuckle hollowly at this extremely surreal situation.

At this point, Lee Hyeon-Su couldn't even tell if he was still awake or asleep. However, his philosophical stroll into the surreal came to an abrupt end when a brutal landing on the unforgiving ground woke him right up. Unfortunately, that presented a different kind of problem to Lee Hyeon-Su.

Creaaaaaak!

Lee Hyeon-Su's airborne body finally landed, but that wasn't the end of his troubles. The fall didn't weaken his body's momentum, and Lee Hyeon-Su continued to slide across the rough terrain.

“Urghk?!”

A pained gasp leaked out of Lee Hyeon-Su's mouth. He reflexively reached out and thrust his hands into the ground. He was rewarded by the pain akin to his wrists snapping off.

Still, he managed to stop his body by doing that. While wheezing and panting, Lee Hyeon-Su raised his head but couldn't see anything. The tidal waves of swirling dust clouds made it impossible to determine where he had landed.

'What's the point? I must be in Hell, anyway!'

That was probably the accurate description for this location now! A fierce battle between two humans created a natural disaster? Lee Hyeon-Su had been walking on the road of martial arts for over two decades, but this scene was still way beyond the scope of his understanding. So, he decided to just give up.

Don't bother trying to understand, just accept the reality as it is! Besides, the question of how those two men could cause destruction on this scale wasn't really important in this situation, anyway.

'Who won?'

Indeed, reality was more important than anything else. And the reality of the situation would rapidly change depending on who won. Was it Kang Jin-Ho or Vator?

The result of this battle would cause powerful ripples to spread to the rest of East Asia. All Lee Hyeon-Su could do right now was pray for Kang Jin-Ho's unequivocal victory.

Lee Hyeon-Su scanned the surroundings while opening his eyes super wide. The dust storm tore into his open eyeballs, but Lee Hyeon-Su dared not close his eyes. Tears trickled down, but he forced himself to keep his eyes peeled.

He simply had to see it. He needed to find out who won!

The dust storm blowing around with enough force to shred a normal person's body gradually died down. And all the dust torturing Lee Hyeon-Su's eyes finally began calming down, too.

'Who won?! Who is it!'

Lee Hyeon-Su's vision wasn't clear enough, but he still spotted a person's silhouette in the distance.

“...Oh, no!” Lee Hyeon-Su immediately began shuddering. He could instinctively tell whose silhouette that was. It was... Vator!

That distinctive body shape definitely didn't belong to Kang Jin-Ho. That giant standing all alone... was undoubtedly Vator! However, the size of the silhouette wasn't enough to determine who it could be. Lee Hyeon-Su didn't know how far the dust storm had carried him away, after all.

However, the abnormally wide shoulders compared to the head, plus the narrow waist creating a perfect upside-down triangle, could've only belonged to Vator.

Lee Hyeon-Su unconsciously chewed on his lip. Vator didn't fall? Didn't that mean he endured that massive collision and the subsequent explosion?

'Where is Mister Jin-Ho, then?'

Lee Hyeon-Su urgently scanned the surroundings. Vator survived that encounter, but what happened to Kang Jin-Ho? No matter how much he searched, though... Lee Hyeon-Su couldn't see anything that might be Kang Jin-Ho's silhouette beside Vator's figure.

“N-no!” Lee Hyeon-Su's thoughts unconsciously jumped out of his mouth.

This couldn't be. This... should not be allowed to happen! Kang Jin-Ho's defeat to Vator would herald the destruction of South Korea's martial society! And the impact of that destruction wouldn't just end with the hidden world, either. The rulers of the underworld becoming subordinates of China meant the surface world would also be subjected to the neighboring nation's influences.

In other words, Kang Jin-Ho must not lose! No matter what! Even if defeat was inevitable, it must not happen now! The Martial Assembly had only just begun taking baby steps toward transformation, after all. And Kang Jin-Ho's defeat now would rob the organization of its momentum.

“No, it can't be!”

Lee Hyeon-Su hurriedly shot up to his feet. Every part of his body screamed in pain as if his bones were broken and his muscles torn to shreds, but he didn't care. Who cared about someone like him dying here? If Kang Jin-Ho really did lose tonight, the fate waiting for Lee Hyeong-Su and everyone else would be worse than death, anyway!

The dust cloud cleared a bit more, and more blurry things registered in Lee Hyeon-Su's eyes. And he saw something else in front of Vator.

It resembled a small hump on the ground, as if... As if someone had collapsed there?

'No! That... can't be him!'

Definitely not! That could not be Kang Jin-Ho! No!

The concept of falling down did not suit Kang Jin-Ho. Like, not at all. No one alive would be able to picture Kang Jin-Ho losing in a fight and collapsing to the ground like that. Never!

Lee Hyeon-Su kept screaming in his mind in order to desperately reject reality. As if mother nature wanted to console him, cool winds blew by to completely clear away the dust hindering his view.

“...Oh.” Lee Hyeon-Su sighed and plopped to the ground after strength abandoned his legs. 'Whew... Thank God.'

That suspicious hump was literally a mound of dirt. It was nothing more than a newly-added geographical feature, born after the impact of Kang Jin-Ho's collision against Vator had distorted and destroyed the land.

In that case, where was Kang Jin-Ho?

“Wuuh-wuuk...!”

That gasp leaking out of Vator snapped Lee Hyeon-Su awake, prompting the latter to hurriedly look up toward the giant. This second look after the dust had cleared painted a very different picture of Vator's condition.

His shoulders, which seemed solid and unyielding like forged steel, remained the same, but... The rest of Vator's body was cracked open, with various lines crisscrossing his flesh like the patterns on a turtle's shell. And crimson blood was flooding from all those cracks, too!

Of course, that much alone wasn't enough to transform the impression a man like Vator gave off.

Although Vator didn't seem to have changed too much outwardly, Lee Hyeon-Su still thought that the giant resembled a large sandcastle for some reason. A sandcastle that would instantly crumble at the hint of a breeze or a moderately strong wave, that was!

As if to prove that Lee Hyeon-Su's thoughts weren't wrong, Vator suddenly began shuddering and quivering... Then, he staggered precariously. Like a falling castle, Vator's figure... collapsed to the ground.

“Wuu-wuuuuoook!” Vator grunted in pain as his knees buckled. He fell, and his large hands landed on the ground first to prop his torso up. At the same time, Kang Jin-Ho and his expressionless face stopped hiding behind Vator's massive frame and revealed themselves to Lee Hyeon-Su's eyes.

“...!” Lee Hyeon-Su sucked in a deep breath. 'Bloody hell!'

No wonder he couldn't find Kang Jin-Ho until now. Vator's massive figure had been hiding Kang Jin-Ho from Lee Hyeon-Su's view!

Lee Hyeon-Su tightly clenched his fists, his trembling eyes locked on Kang Jin-Ho.

Despite the clear crimson streak trickling down from the corner of his lips, Kang Jin-Ho was undoubtedly standing on two feet. Lee Hyeon-Su couldn't even see any life-threatening injuries on Kang Jin-Ho, either!

Of course, there was no way of knowing how many internal injuries Kang Jin-Ho had picked up during this fight, but...! On the surface, at least, Kang Jin-Ho's condition was appreciably better than Vator's.

Vator's pained voice leaked out of his mouth. “You... win.”

That declaration was spoken in a quiet whisper, yet it was as succinct as any declaration could possibly get. Lee Hyeon-Su felt electrical jolts suddenly coursing throughout his body when he heard that declaration.

Vator... had admitted his defeat. Kang Jin-Ho had emerged victorious against the fearsome Vator!

So shocking was that declaration that Lee Hyeon-Su doubted his hearing several times even after Vator had clearly said it.

Just who was Vator? Wasn't he a top-tier expert acknowledged even in Zhongyuan? Yet, someone like him was brought to his knees by Kang Jin-Ho!

What happened here was so monumental that Lee Hyeon-Su could barely get a grip on himself. However, Kang Jin-Ho, the man responsible for this feat, remained utterly expressionless.

Not even the ecstasy of victory, not even the appreciation of fighting someone as strong as Vator... No emotions could be spied on Kang Jin-Ho's stoic face. It was as if he only did what needed to be done.

Lee Hyeon-Su suddenly felt that his current location, behind Vator, was quite unfortunate. He couldn't help but wonder about the expression Vator must be making right now. Was it the face of a relieved man after leaving nothing behind during the fight? Or could it be an expression of frustration and lamentation for losing?

Lee Hyeon-Su got curious about the emotions ruling over Vator right about now. However, even if he had been positioned in front, Lee Hyeon-Su wouldn't have read Vator's feelings. That was because Vator... He was making a far-too-complicated expression.

Vator quietly muttered. “You are... the second expert... to knock me down into this wretched state.”

Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes. “I'm guessing the first was the Crimson King?”

Vator slowly nodded. “Yes... He's strong. Truly powerful...! So strong that even if I challenged him again, victory would still be... a hopeless dream.”

Grief was clearly evident in Vator's voice. He lost, after all.

Obviously, this wasn't his first defeat in life. However, he believed no one under the heavens could rival him after he perfected his martial arts. However, the Crimson King shattered that notion. And then, Kang Jin-Ho shattered it again.

Vator raised his head and looked at Kang Jin-Ho. He now had to accept these two defeats. The second defeat felt different from the first, but that didn't mean Vator wouldn't acknowledge the man before his eyes.

Kang Jin-Ho was a different type of the strong compared to the Crimson King.

In simpler terms, the Crimson King's strength was refreshing. He was so strong and heroic that even Vator had to laugh gladly after tasting his defeat. However, Kang Jin-Ho's vibe was completely different.

Rather than defeat, Vator felt more like he had been hunted down by a wily hunter. When he realized nothing could stop Kang Jin-Ho, Vator suddenly felt like a fish laid out on a massive cutting board. Fear immediately washed over him. He tried, but his body continued to shudder all on its own.

“I want to ask you something, Kang Jin-Ho...”

Kang Jin-Ho wordlessly nodded.

Vator grimaced. “Why... Why did I lose?”

“...”

“I believed I... I have perfected my martial arts. By... By attaining the perfect body, I believed no one could defeat me. Sure, I might lose once. Humans make mistakes all the time, after all. Even so... How did I lose to you?”

Vator's voice gradually became a despair-filled cry toward the end of his question. Every word he spoke dripped with resentment and frustration, as if everything he believed in had fallen pathetically apart. Unfortunately for Vator, however...

The man subjected to this resentment, Kang Jin-Ho, didn't seem particularly bothered by it. “You said your name is Vator.”

“...”

“Your words are as foolish as you look.”

Vator's face reddened from anger and humiliation. That was because he felt the ridicule. The cutting sneer in Kang Jin-Ho's voice was so merciless that it almost drew blood from Vator's heart.

“Perfected?” Kang Jin-Ho snorted derisively. “There is no such thing as 'perfection' in martial arts. No, scratch that. There is no such concept as perfection in this world. Even those things that seem perfect on the surface still have room to improve. The so-called perfected martial arts are actually dead martial arts. Because it means those martial arts cannot evolve or improve to become better.”

“...!” Vator dazedly stared at Kang Jin-Ho, seemingly left speechless by what he heard. 'Dead... martial arts?'

Was that why? That was the reason for Vator's defeat tonight...?

Kang Jin-Ho tutted. “That's enough talk.”

Vator's faltering head shot back up.

“You are an idiot for one simple reason. You asked me about something that even a three-year-old child would have known.”

“I... I'm an idiot?” Vator chuckled hollowly.

“The reason for every type of defeat is simple,” said Kang Jin-Ho, while reaching down and yanking free his two swords stabbed into the ground. Then, he slowly walked over to Vator. “It's because you're weaker than me.”

Vator sucked in a deep breath. Kang Jin-Ho was right. The defeated didn't need justifications and excuses. It was as simple as the strong would win while the weak would lose. That was the unchanging, inalienable truth of the world, after all.

“And defeat comes at a cost. You should know this, Vator.”

Vator chose to close his eyes rather than stare at Kang Jin-Ho approaching him with a devil-like smirk.