Descent of the Demon Master

Bang Jin-Hun freaked out and hurriedly retreated from the spot. Why wouldn't he do that when Wiggins standing next to him suddenly began emitting bright light?

‘What the hell?! It’s not like he’s the Ultr*man or something, so why!’[1]

Why was everyone Bang Jin-Hun knew so abnormal!?

It was impossible to tell whether Kang Jin-Ho and Vator up ahead were humans or monsters at this point. And then, Wiggins, who looked like a fairly average person on the surface, began doing weird things as well!

For a perfectly “normal” and “mundane” martial artist like Bang Jin-Hun, this environment was simply too cruel and unforgiving!

‘Bloody hell. Maybe I should’ve stayed back in the Assembly, eating tangerines or something…?’

Bang Jin-Hun groaned softly under his breath.

Of course he had the justification to accompany Kang Jin-Ho on this trip. After all, wasn't this a battle between the Japanese and the Korean Martial Assembly?

Although it was a bit too arrogant to claim that the Martial Assembly represented every South Korean, the real target of the Japanese wasn’t South Korea itself, anyway. No, they were aiming for the Assembly’s destruction.

In that case, the Martial Assembly should be the one fighting them back. It should be their right. Leaving the fighting to the outsiders would be too humiliating for the Assembly, now wouldn't it!

‘I can never allow that!’

The unfortunate truth was that Bang Jin-Hun was the only person here with deep roots in the Martial Assembly.

Technically speaking, Vator and Wiggins were closer to mercenaries. Even though they were guiding the younger generation of the Assembly's martial artists and were in the middle of successful integration with the organization, more time was still needed for everyone to truly see those two men as their own.

Kang Jin-Ho was no different, either. He couldn’t really be called the “homegrown” hero as he joined the Assembly after reaching a certain level of strength outside.

Of course, Bang Jin-Hun wasn't the type to give a damn about stuff like that. He certainly had no thoughts of introducing a class system in the 21st century. And he certainly was not some stuck-up idiot who thought people's identities decided what they could or could not do. The thing was, though…

The Martial Assembly's younger generations had been with the organization since they were little kids. What would they think after witnessing the “outsiders” coming in and pulling off all these incredible feats?

Wouldn't they think that all the time they had spent within the organization was… in vain?

Bang Jin-Hun couldn’t stand back and watch that happen.

Those people had been trying their best up until now. And Bang Jin-Hun would do everything in his power to ensure they didn't doubt themselves.

Even if those who lived their entire lives within the Assembly couldn't become the organization's main force, at the very least, they shouldn't feel like they had been shut out and forgotten.

But why would Bang Jin-Hun go this far for them?

‘It’s pride, man. Pride!’

Men must be proud. That was Bang Jin-Hun’s motivation!

He wasn't trying to criticize those who had come to accept the limitation of their strength and tried to find a more pragmatic approach to their lives. After all, that was one of the many alternative ways to move on with one's life.

However, shouldn’t he provide a dependable shoulder, a shelter to hide from the storm, to those who didn’t want to live like that? This was the reason why Bang Jin-Hun vociferously argued for his inclusion in this trip.

So far, so good. Unfortunately…

‘Blooming hell…! In that case, what about me?! Where’s my dependable shoulder, dammit!’

Bang Jin-Hun wanted to cry right about now. Giving his disciples and young kids of the Assembly a source of pride was all good and well, but the trials and tribulations Bang Jin-Hun had to go through to achieve that goal were simply too arduous. First of all…

‘Gee whiz! Why are my allies more terrifying than my enemies?!’

This wasn’t Bang Jin-Hun’s first time witnessing Kang Jin-Ho’s rampage. And he certainly knew how bone-chillingly scary Kang Jin-Ho could be, too. However, how should he put this kindly…?

‘How?! How is it possible that that dude has gotten even worse than before?!’

The current Kang Jin-Ho was practically a different creature altogether from the old Kang Jin-Ho that Bang Jin-Hun first interacted with. Back then, Kang Jin-Ho was as sharp as a razor blade even during mundane daily activities. But he had mellowed out considerably these days.

Sure, he was very mellow to his family and friends even back then. These days, though? It felt like the range of mellowness had expanded to include a lot more people. As an example…

In the past, when Lee Jung-Geol was in charge of the Assembly, no one pointed out the oddness of his behavior if he did something illogical or not entirely above board. Bang Jin-Hun was probably the only person willing to take Lee Jung-Geol to task over such matters.

However, what about Kang Jin-Ho now?

Everyone and their uncle lost their minds. Not just Bang Jin-Hun but also Vator and Wiggins voiced their strong objections if Kang Jin-Ho did something illogical. The same went for Lee Hyeon-Su, too. And, didn't Lee Hyeon-Ju raise her voice recently, too?

If one thought about it for a minute, one would have to agree that it was a massive transformation. Of course Bang Jin-Hun understood that this transformation was only possible because Kang Jin-Ho was very open to the opinions and ideas of other people.

‘Yeah, these things are all great. But…!’

Bang Jin-Hun sneakily turned his head and glanced at Kang Jin-Ho. “...Urgh.”

Just looking at Kang Jin-Ho’s rampage was tightening Bang Jin-Hun’s bowels!

With Kang Jin-Ho at the center, pitch-black demonic qi was swirling and whipping around like a tornado. That thing wasn't as intense at the beginning of the battle, though! That was why Bang Jin-Hun couldn't help but get the impression that its intensity had only gotten worse as the battle raged on.

...If not that, then maybe Kang Jin-Ho had gotten more and more intoxicated by all the bloodshed instead!

Either way, Bang Jin-Hun’s feelings remained the same. He definitely did not want to approach Kang Jin-Ho in that state!

Even someone who perceived Kang Jin-Ho as an ally was sh*t-scared by his antics. In that case, what would Kang Jin-Ho’s enemies feel as he charged straight at them?

Their dread was totally understandable, at least that was what Bang Jin-Hun thought.

What about the situation next to Kang Jin-Ho, though…?

‘...Yup, let’s just not look that way.’

Trying to include Vator in this tale only exhausted Bang Jin-Hun even more. At least one thing was for certain in this situation; the battle taking place before him was not something Bang Jin-Hun could haphazardly wade in with his level of strength.

Before Kang Jin-Ho appeared on the scene and inflated South Korea’s average level of martial prowess, Bang Jin-Hun could legitimately claim to be in the top five of the country’s strongest experts. Even then, he wouldn’t dare get involved in the battle up ahead.

Perhaps that was why Bang Jin-Hun empathized with the Japanese more than with his own countrymen!

‘Yup, I’m sure those bastards must be shocked out of their skulls.’

Bang Jin-Hun evaluating himself as a top-five-ranked martial artist in the country wasn't him blowing his own trumpet. No, he was being quite objective about it.

Despite acting like a fool sometimes, he was definitely not a snobbish or egotistical man.

So, what would Bang Jin-Hun's ranking be if he was a Japanese instead? He wasn’t 100% sure, but warriors stronger than him might fill out the space ahead of him in four very lengthy rows. And their queue might go around an Olympic-sized athletics field at least twice over!

That was how vastly different the level of martial prowess was between Japan and South Korea.

Obviously, the Japanese should have known about South Koreans getting stronger recently. Their information network should be good enough to gather that much intelligence, after all!

The thing was, though… There was a limit to human imagination. People could assume that a cute little puppy might grow into a ferocious stray in a few years. But who would imagine the same puppy turning into a goddamn tiger?!

That was how things were, so the Japanese panicking and losing their minds made some sense. If Bang Jin-Hun was being brutally honest, though… If the Japanese had successfully entered South Korea and waged an all-out war with the Martial Assembly…

Their situation wouldn’t have reached this state.

Even though the Assembly's forces got an upgrade recently, they were still not quite good enough to fight the Japanese without the assistance of Kang Jin-Ho & Co. They still needed a lot more time to grow. Surely, the Japanese must've known that, too.

A tiger cub must mature first before it could be treated as a scary tiger. Before that happened, it’d be no different to a cute dog. Even a stray mutt could kill a tiger cub by tearing its throat out before it had enough time to mature.

That was all good and well, but…

Bang Jin-Hun glanced at his side again.

‘...Argh! Stop doing that!’

Wiggins was mumbling something, his right hand extended forward. He was obviously trying to use his magic, but the way he went about it was… Watching this scene from the sidelines only evoked images from a horror movie in Bang Jin-Hun's mind!

Wiggins’ hair strands were madly dancing in the air as storm winds whipped angrily near his feet. His clothes angrily flapped around as bizarre bluish aura strands swirled and coiled around him.

If Bang Jin-Hun saw this spectacle on his way home in the dead of night, he might have wet his pants before fleeing for his dear life. That was how freakishly eerie this scene was!

An average non-martial artist might find both martial arts and magic equally absurd and improbable. But not Bang Jin-Hun. He’d not blink an eye even if someone next to him suddenly produced a sword light several meters long.

However, magic was still an uncharted, incomprehensible territory for Bang Jin-Hun.

Just as his thoughts reached that far…

“Binding!” Wiggins finished his casting, his right hand stretching far in front.

Almost at the same time, the blue mana strands swirling around him rapidly got sucked into his outstretched hand. And then…

“Huh?! Ah?!”

Blue light began glowing ominously below the feet of the Japanese trying to flee from Kang Jin-Ho. As a matter of fact, a vast area was now engulfed in this blue light!

“M-my legs?!”

“What the hell?! Why can’t I move?!”

Even more panic spread among the escapees after their legs stopped moving for some unfathomable reason!

It was as if their feet had been glued to the floor. Even after they exerted extra strength to barely lift their legs, things didn’t get any better. It felt like invisible hands were grabbing and pulling down at their limbs!

Several panicky Japanese warriors tried to take their shoes off, but that was a grave mistake. When they lowered their hands, even their arms got caught in this bizarre invisible force!

“What’s going on!?”

“L-let me go! Let go of me! Damn you!”

If they had maintained even a semblance of composure, these warriors would’ve soon discovered a way to counter this situation.

Since no real ghosts were here to pull them down, they would've quickly realized that this phenomenon must be a manifestation of some kind of martial arts. In that case, they could have calmly circulated their qi to their legs and break free from this binding.

Unfortunately, they didn't even have a shred of composure left in their panicked, frayed minds.

Then again, how could they? When Kang Jin-Ho and Vator were right behind them? If these warriors wanted to live, they had to get away from here as soon as possible. But their allies behind them blocked off the escape path and made that practically impossible!

With the situation in this state, they were understandably in a rush, so for their legs to get tied down by an invisible force just as Kang Jin-Ho closed the gap on them?

Who would be able to maintain their rational mind in that situation?

The despairing warriors hurriedly looked behind them and saw Kang Jin-Ho and Vator closing in. To them, it felt like a thirty-ton truck was charging angrily at them just as they had stumbled and fell in a narrow alleyway.

Failing to escape meant a certain death. They couldn’t offer any resistance whatsoever!

“Ah… Aaaah…!”

The first one to make a move was Vator. He realized his victims had become immobilized and changed his approach.

Bang! Boom!

Vator planted both feet firmly on the floor, causing the steel deck to cave in. After securing his footing, Vator cocked his fist back, his back twisting like a screw.

RUMBLE! Wuooooong!

Bang Jin-Hun and everyone else on the ship could see it. They could see it oh-so-clearly!

The start was by Vator's feet. Two distinct auras, one boasting a pitch-black hue and the other pure-white, gushed out from his feet at the same time. Like two different paint colors swirling into an artistic blend, half of these auras twirled and danced around each other while the rest maintained their original coloring.

These energy strands traveled up Vator's legs to reach his hips. They didn't stop there and kept climbing higher until reaching his chest, then moved to his shoulders… before concentrating on his cocked-back fist.

While going through this process, the energy strands grew larger and more violent.

Gwuooooooong!

The energy strands violently pulsed and rumbled within Vator's tightly clenched fist. Anyone watching should be able to guess what might happen next.

Bang Jin-Hun hurriedly got down on the floor. Wiggins also cast a thick shield spell before him.

“N-no, wait!”

“Don’t! Don’t kill me!”

Despite failing to understand what happened to them, the Japanese warriors still could instinctively sense their impending demise.

...And then, in that brief moment!

Vator’s cocked-back fist punched forward.

KWA-AAAAAAAAAH!

Demonic qi jumbled up with the orthodox body strengthening qi to create a massive vortex of black and white light. It traveled in a straight line and swallowed up everything in front of Vator!

“H-huwaaaaaahk?!”

The spinning force was too vicious! It was like watching a lid-less blender busy spinning its razor-sharp blades. And this terrifying vortex instantly reached the helpless warriors.

With unbelievable sharpness and viciousness the world had never witnessed before!

1. The redacted word is “Ultraman”, an uber-popular series of Japanese TV shows about alien superheroes living on Earth. ☜