Descent of the Demon Master

The breaking of dawn was meant to smite the darkness.

At least, that was what the Crimson King's fist told him. The gathered energy shining radiantly from his right fist was more than powerful enough to end the life of the evil monster destined to usher in an era of untold suffering to the world.

However, the Crimson King still hesitated a little.

'Is he really the evil monster?'

If Kang Jin-Ho was the incarnation of evil, why was he suppressing that evil monster? Unleashing it would've been enough to contaminate the entire world in darkness, after all!

Kang Jin-Ho designated that other personality 'Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor'. Due to the vicious and destructive nature of that personality, the Crimson King was forced into re-evaluating the current Kang Jin-Ho.

If Kang Jin-Ho genuinely pursued the path of evil and deserved to be called the demon emperor... Why was he refusing to become Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor? Shouldn't that persona be the 'role model' all demonic cultivators aspire to become?

'What am I supposed to look at here?'

A conundrum, indeed. A confusing conundrum!

Despite all the confusion, though, the Crimson King never strayed from his path. It didn't matter who his opponent was. It also didn't matter if Kang Jin-Ho wasn't as villainous as the Crimson King had initially feared.

None of that changed the fact that Kang Jin-Ho must die tonight. Along with the evil monster sleeping within!

“Fuu-woo...!” The Crimson King sucked in a deep, low breath, then fixed his glare at Kang Jin-Ho slowly floating back up to the ocean's surface.

'Doubt indicates how lacking I still am.'

He must follow through with the principle of immediately punishing all evil. If his enemy was a villain, he should stop looking for logical arguments and pretexts to make his move. No, he should simply focus on destroying this evil!

With this single decisive strike... The Crimson King would finish this evil off!

After steeling himself once more, the Crimson King got ready to punch at his unmoving target. All doubt and confusion instantly dissipated from his heart just then. At least, that was what was supposed to happen. Unfortunately, the Crimson King had overlooked something.

Before all things could come to a close, an unexpected variable would always rear its ugly head. And this variable wasn't just rearing its head to interfere in the metaphysical sense, either!

No, these variables were actually targeting him!

Splaaaash! Splash!

Just as the Crimson King punched, water sprouts exploded in several directions, and a dozen-plus figures leaped into the air.

“What?!” The Crimson King cried out in alarm.

What a stunning slip-up from him this was! Even if his body was in tatters and his focus was solely on Kang Jin-Ho, how could the Crimson King not notice enemy combatants creeping closer like this? He wouldn't have any excuses to offer for this mistake!

Worse still...!

Paaaaaaht!

The assailants rapidly closing in on the Crimson King all emitted dense demonic qi!

'Where did bastards like them come from?!'

The Crimson King's fluster deepened. This demonic qi was clearly different from the one emitted by the demonic cultivators filling up the pier earlier. It was much purer and more refined... And more destructive!

Actually, it was a lot similar to Kang Jin-Ho's demonic qi. And that was what flustered the Crimson King the most.

It was unthinkable for him to make a mistake in analyzing demonic qi. The Crimson King was convinced that these demonic cultivators weren't part of the earlier crowd. In that case... Where had they come from? And where have they been hiding all this time?

The Crimson King didn't have much time left to choose his next course of action.

These assailants wouldn't even last a single punch from the Crimson King... Had he not been injured so badly, that was.

However, his body was in tatters, just like Kang Jin-Ho. Most average martial artists would've died already from all the grievous wounds on his body.

Even so, he was the one and only Crimson King. His remaining strength was sufficient enough to rip apart these assailants to death. However, that would mean he'd have to withdraw the energy focused into his right fist and spare Kang Jin-Ho. That was all the remaining qi he had, after all.

The Crimson King's eyes powerfully quaked. He now faced two choices.

Kill Kang Jin-Ho at the cost of his own life... Or redirect the attack meant to kill Kang Jin-Ho, then rip these assailants apart instead.

The Crimson King just might survive if he chose the first option. However, if he chose the second option, one of the assailants would undoubtedly snatch Kang Jin-Ho away and flee.

If that happened... The Crimson King didn't have the strength to give chase. In that case, what should he do? What choice should he make now?

His brain rapidly kicked into higher gears. Even as he racked his brain, the demonic cultivators were making a beeline toward his position like bullets!

“Euuk! Uwaaaaahk!” The Crimson King suddenly erupted with a roar. It contained all of his rage, irritation, and more crucially... his determination! “I am... The Crimson King!”

He remained resolute in his decision. And that was to... kill Kang Jin-Ho!

Even if his decision resulted in his death, the Crimson King couldn't afford to let Kang Jin-Ho escape from this place. That man could potentially dye the world in darkness at any given moment. There should be no negotiation with someone like that!

The Crimson King's shining right fist rapidly extended toward Kang Jin-Ho.

Gathered qi transformed into a beam of fist light as it flew toward Kang Jin-Ho's head. No matter how durable Kang Jin-Ho was, his head should still shatter like a ripe watermelon after getting hit by this strike while unconscious.

Once unleashed, no one could stop the Crimson King's punch!

The fist light containing the last remnants of the Crimson King's qi flew toward Kang Jin-Ho. And then...!

The Crimson King's eyes opened wider in sheer shock. That was because... Someone had suddenly appeared right next to Kang Jin-Ho!

That wasn't some figure of speech, either. It wasn't the case of that man sprinting toward his goal at the speed the Crimson King's eyes couldn't chase. He just... showed up out of nowhere. Quite literally. Like an illusion, a man who wasn't there before had appeared out of thin air!

'No!'

The Crimson King instinctively knew. Regardless of who that was... That man was not his ally!

“Tsk...” The unknown man tutted slightly. This man, an elderly gentleman kitted out in a neat formal business suit, put the cane in his hand down, then reached behind him to grab Kang Jin-Ho without even bothering to look once. He glanced at the Crimson King. “Until next time.”

KWA-BOOOOOOOM!

The fist light exploded, brightly illuminating the world in the process.

The Crimson King's wide-open eyes didn't blink once as he glared at the exploding ocean.

“You...!”

The blinding light and water spray eventually quietened down to reveal... nothing in the spot of the explosion. No, that wasn't quite right. Some things remained, like the seawater, but none of them belonged to Kang Jin-Ho!

He had escaped. He had completely slipped out of the Crimson King's grasp!

When the Crimson King finally confirmed the truth with his own two eyes, his body suddenly jerked back.

Splut!

The uncontrollable rage instantly spread to the rest of his injured body, causing pure crimson fresh blood to splutter out of his mouth. Several more mouthfuls of blood gushed out, finally allowing the Crimson King to roar to the heavens in pure, unbridled fury.

“Kang Jin-Hoooooooo!”

The world in the Crimson King's view quickly lost all color. A titan respected and revered by all of Zhongyuan was now pounding the earth below in frustration. He was ungainly kicking and screaming like a furious little child!

The rage burning in his heart couldn't be restrained anymore. The shame akin to wallowing in the Hell's dirty mud tormented him like crazy! And when he looked up, his eyes showed him the sight of the dozen-plus demonic cultivators.

Even though they were facing the Crimson King in his most furious state... Their expressions could only be described as content.

“I... I will kill you.” The Crimson King growled menacingly like a wounded beast. “You're all dead! Dead! I will rip all of you apart! You stinking sons of b*tches!”

“Woah, there.” The demonic cultivator facing the Crimson King's fury, Yi Myeong-Hwan, exaggeratedly shrugged his shoulders. “I guess you're seriously pissed off, aren't you?”

“You...!” The Crimson King grimaced when he heard Korean coming out of the demonic cultivator's lips. With that, he figured everything out.

Thinking that the Martial Assembly couldn't do anything in China and leaving them alone proved to be a grave mistake.

Another mistake was letting these bastards approach him. A mistake the Crimson King wouldn't have made if Kang Jin-Ho hadn't turned him into a tattered rag!

“I will kill you all...!” The Crimson King growled as tears of blood began trickling down his eyes.

Yi Myeong-Hwan looked away from the glaring Crimson King and glanced at where Kang Jin-Ho used to be. “You told us you'd show us Hell, and well…”

He had no idea that that 'Hell' would be like this!

“I guess dying like this isn't a bad way to go,” Yi Myeong-Hwan grunted before shifting his gaze back to the Crimson King. “However, you better put your affairs in order, too. When you meet that fella again next time, you'll be the one kicking the bucket, after all!”

“Uwaaaaaaah!”

The Crimson King charged at the demonic cultivators like an enraged boar.

For one last time, Yi Myeong-Hwan looked away from this terrifying scene to gaze at a distant spot on the horizon where a faint light could be seen. “You mustn't forget about us, Assembly Master.”

...That we were here for you.

Please don't forget.

Yi Myeong-Hwan smiled brightly as the Crimson King charged at them.

***

“Nooo! We can't let that happen!”

There was one more person who had lost his mind in this place.

And that was Cai Kechang, who had instantly figured out what just happened.

Kang Jin-Ho quite literally vanished from everyone's sight, and it seemed obvious to Cai Kechang where that bastard had disappeared to!

“...! Ships! We need ships! Prepare them right now!” Cai Kechang urgently cried out at his adjutants.

“S-sir?”

“We're going after them! We need to track that bastard down! Right now!”

“B-but, sir! There are no ships around here...”

“What?! Why not?”

If looks could kill a person, dozens of people would've died from Cai Kechang's glare alone! That was how agitated and angry he was right now. It was a small miracle that he didn't pop a blood vessel or two in his brain already.

“S-sir. You told us to get rid of all the ships near here.”

“What?! Who told you that! Wait, I did?”

“...Yes, sir. You were worried about the bastards escaping through our grasp, so you ordered us to get rid of all the ships in the...”

Smaaack!

Cai Kechang suddenly punched his adjutant and roared in anger. “Listen here, you stupid f*ck! When did I give you an order like that?! Who was it?! Which stupid motherf*cker told you that f*cking bullshit?! Who! Who?!”

“M-my apologies, sir.”

Obviously, everyone here knew that Cai Kechang was being unreasonable. But it was meaningless to argue about that in the current situation. The smart thing to do was avoid the storm, after all.

“N-no, we can't... let them... escape…”

The furious Cai Kechang's complexion suddenly changed and became deathly pale. He even crawled on all fours to get closer to the shore. He helplessly reached toward the distant dot of light on the horizon.

There it was, that light coming from a ship! Kang Jin-Ho must be riding on that thing. The abominable demonic creature destined to destroy everything of the Crimson King and his faction had finished pillaging and humiliating his opponents before leisurely escaping China!

Cai Kechang sobered up and yelled again. “Contact the Public Security, now!”

“S-sir?”

“Hurry up! Mobilize and utilize everything we have at our disposal! And sink that goddamn ship, now! Blow that sh*t up! Make sure that ship cannot return to Korea! Hurry the hell up, would you?! E-even if that ship enters the Korean waters, chase after it and blow it up! I don't care if you have to use guns and cannons! Hurry the fuuuuu*k up!”

Despite Cai Kechang's desperate cries, no one moved. They knew his order was impossible to fulfill.

Being able to see it didn't mean the object was somewhere close by. That ship was already getting further away, undoubtedly traveling at full speed toward the South Korean territorial waters.

Catching up to that ship at this stage was not going to happen. The international waters weren't the territory of the martial artists, after all!

“T-that demonic entity, it... It's...!” Cai Kechang mumbled helplessly, his expression dazed. “Even though... We did so much... And the Crimson King himself has personally stepped up... Yet... What are we supposed to do... Now that that evil creature has escaped?”

Cai Kechang had also witnessed how dangerous that evil entity was just like everyone here. He saw how the monster releasing a copious amount of pitch-black demonic qi ruthlessly trampled on the Crimson King. And now, that dangerous existence was slipping through their fingers!

A man they all viewed as a mere unexpected variable evolved into the worst-possible enemy in their own backyard before heading back home!

What would happen if Kang Jin-Ho was allowed to regain his strength?

'It will be the end!'

The dagger sneakily targeting the Crimson King's faction from behind had now transformed into the claws of a predator, ready to rip them apart at a moment's notice!

Cai Kechang had no confidence in dealing with that horrifying future.

“Uwaaaaaaahk?! Kang, Jin, Hoooooo!”

Cai Kechang began thrashing around like a madman, only to suddenly freeze stiff where he stood. Then, he silently crumbled to the ground with a loud thud.

“S-sir!”

Cai Kechang's subordinates hurriedly rushed to his sides and tried to wake him up. However, they freaked out and urgently yelled at the others after noticing that Cai Kechang's eyes had rolled back and foam was gushing out of his mouth.

“Doctor! Get a doctor, now!”

Desperate yells of people searching for a doctor and confusion from those who hadn't figured out what was going on descended on the pier.

In the distance, the Crimson King's rage rumbled in the ocean. And on the dry land, Cai Kechang was despairing. As for those who risked their lives for a chance to live...

The morning sun slowly broke out of the horizon while dismissively putting all those things aside.

The night that proved too long and too eventful for many people was finally drawing to a close. And no one had any idea how much this night's events had distorted the fate of the rest of the world.

Not a single person did.

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