Descent of the Demon Master

Once the trio reached the deck, Nobuo's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

'What the hell happened up here?!'

Opening his eyes wide like that reawakened stabbing pain from his face. Despite the horrifying pain, though, he couldn't close his eyes again. The sight laid out before him was way too shocking for that.

"W-what…?"

Before Nobuo could say something, Vator beat him to the punch.

"I'm going down to the waters, so take care of this brat in the meantime."

Bang Jin-Hun nodded. "Don't worry about it. I'll take good care of him."

"My master wants this young man alive and well. Do remember that."

"Yes, yes. I have ears, you know."

"Oh, uh, you know my English is not good, so…"

Vator threateningly blinked his eyes once. The way he did that while furrowing his brow ever so slightly had all the power in the world to make anyone humble and obedient. And he didn't even have to do anything extra, either!

"T-then, be safe down there," said Bang Jin-Hun.

"Hmph!" Vator grunted, then turned around before lightly hopping off the deck.

Bang Jin-Hun slowly shook his head once Vator was no longer in his view. "Gee, whiz! So bloody scary."

Even if Bang Jin-Hun was a director of the Assembly like Vator, there was no way they would be on an equal standing. First of all, as a Korean, Bang Jin-Hun couldn't simply ignore Vator being older than him.

Besides, even if the age situation favored Bang Jin-Hun, didn't Vator boast a physique that rendered such things utterly meaningless?

Also, even if Vator had been weaker than Bang Jin-Hun… The latter would still refrain from starting a fight with the big man. Something about staring at a massive, hulking physique had this mysterious power to tighten a man's family jewels!

'Blooming hell. A grizzly bear is more adorable in comparison!'

That was Bang Jin-Hun's honest feeling. Even if a grizzly bear was almost three meters tall when standing on its hind legs, Vator was still way more terrifying. Forget a bear's claws and fangs, Vator's rippling muscles were far, far scarier!

Anyone who saw Vator in real life would have to agree with Bang Jin-Hun on this one!

Even as Bang Jin-Hun stood there tutting, Nobuo still hadn't finished wrapping his head around the current situation.

'What the hell? What is going on here? What is all this?'

Even though his eyes were wide open, his brain still couldn't process the visual information properly. Then again, who could?

First of all, he couldn't see any of the Japanese warriors. Even though they should have been completely filling this ship from top to bottom! Nobuo cast his glance behind and all around him before eventually spotting the figures of several warriors belatedly jumping into the cold ocean below.

Why were they doing that, though?

The reason seemed fairly obvious. They must've determined that staying on this ship was much more hazardous to their health. And not because those folks wanted to go for a dip in the icy cold waters in the middle of the night!

That alone wasn't enough to undo Nobuo's confusion, however. His assumption lacked one critical factor. And that was the absence of the Martial Assembly's warriors strong enough to threaten the Japanese warriors.

A cruise ship once teeming with excited people had morphed into a ghost ship. As if to back that impression up, Nobuo could also see…

'Corpses…!'

Nobuo's expression stiffened up.

Countless corpses littered the deck. And then, there was blood, too. Way too much blood for it to have come from all these corpses lying around!

It was as if someone had deliberately dumped buckets of crimson paint on the deck.

Only then did Nobuo realize that the floor wasn't the only thing covered in that vivid crimson hue. Everything his eyes could see was slathered in blood!

Questions and acceptance flooded Nobuo simultaneously. Questions were about how such a gruesome spectacle had come to be. And his acceptance was about accepting the potential explanation for all those Japanese warriors freaking out and abandoning the ship.

Nobuo carefully peeked his head over the side of the ship to take a gander at what was happening below. Was it because he was standing on the edge? He had an unobstructed view of the situation down below.

'And what is going on down there?'

Nobuo could see that yet another bizarre event was happening on the ocean's surface. The Japanese warriors were swimming like pods of dolphins across the dark ocean to urgently pounce on a boat nearby. And on this boat, walls of martial artists were holding their ground and preventing the Japanese from climbing aboard.

'Hold on… Is that water red?'

Nobuo's observation was correct. The sea had been dyed red.

His mind automatically recalled a TV documentary about whaling he had watched many moons ago. As the whalers cornered a whale and began slaughtering it by stabbing it with lengthy spears, the sea around the majestic creature became dyed red. Nobuo remembered getting shocked by that spectacle.

That shocking scene was being recreated right now. That ocean was unmistakably red!

Although the darkness of the night meant that the red color wasn't as vivid as the one Nobuo saw in the documentary, he still felt horrified to see the foams rising from the ocean being all blood-colored instead of their usual white hue.

What on earth was going on down there?

Not a single thing about these situations made sense to Nobuo's mind. Then again, who would be able to guess what had transpired here if they had not witnessed the beginning of this madness?

The one last thing defied Nobuo's attempt to understand. What caught Nobuo's gaze after he finished scanning the surroundings was the figure of a person standing in the middle of the deck. He could only see the back of this person, yet Nobuo felt his body temperature plummet from the icy chill running down his spine!

That person, he… He couldn't be a human being.

That was the first thought that popped up in Nobuo's head after he locked his gaze on that person's back.

Sure, he did think something similar after encountering Vator for the first time. However, the intensity of this impression was on another scale altogether.

Back then, Nobuo's mind was too frayed to think straight. What if he had been thinking straight, though? Then, Nobuo would've evaluated Vator as his fellow human being. Even if the big man's sheer physical size would've initially stunned him silly.

However, that person on the deck was… He couldn't be human.

Even though Nobuo had sobered up sufficiently enough, what he could see still remained unbelievable.

'I mean, look at that!'

Look at all the ominous black aura!

Something pitch-black was gushing out of that person's figure. It swirled and danced while enveloping that man like black flames.

Those black and ominous aura strands rose from the man's feet, reached up to his shoulders, and then spread out to the left and right to resemble a pair of burning demonic wings.

"…!"

Nobuo clamped his mouth shut real tight. He had been completely overwhelmed by this sight. And now, he couldn't tear his gaze away. Nor could he resist the power of his curiosity.

Not everything possessing the appearance of a person could be considered a human being. As such, Nobuo realized that that person was not human but some other creature. As for those black flames, they looked like clumps of wailing specters to Nobuo's eyes.

The one enshrouded in death… Yes, that description seemed apt for that man!

Nobuo stuttered ungainly. "Ah… Uh…"

"Hmm?" Bang Jin-Hun tilted his head before slowly but firmly squeezing Nobuo's shoulder.

Nobuo sobered up instantly. "Ah…! Uh…"

"Get a hold of yourself, brat." Bang Jin-Hun grunted while massaging the back of Nobuo's neck a couple of times. Then he sighed grandly.

'I understand, fella. That sight ain't something you can comprehend even after clapping your eyes on it.'

Not only that, but it was also not something anyone could get used to, either! Bang Jin-Hun obviously had seen Kang Jin-Ho put on a performance like this before, but his heart was still racing madly away. That demonic appearance still made his heart ready to blow up from sheer dread.

...And then, all the fear flooding in!

Bang Jin-Hun was obviously confident about Kang Jin-Ho never laying a hand on him. His brain was functioning, after all. However, his instincts were still forcing his body to back away.

Bang Jin-Hun's instincts were screaming at him to distance himself from that incredibly dangerous thing!

'Gee, whiz! So hazardous to my health and all…!'

Accompanying Kang Jin-Ho anywhere was the best ticket to shorten one's lifespan. Bang Jin-Hun sighed grandly again, then pounded on Nobuo's back a few more times.

Nobuo sobered up once more and urgently asked back, "W-what's going on here, uh, sir?"

"You're Nobuo, right?"

"...Yes, sir."

Bang Jin-Hun was certain that he got the right man after hearing the bruised young man reply in fluent Korean. He pointed at Kang Jin-Ho and began his explanation. "You can see that, right?"

Nobuo blinked his eyes and chased after Bang Jin-Hun's pointing finger. "I, I'm sorry?"

"That dude over there? He's our Assembly Master."

"…?"

Our Assembly Master? In other words… That really was a human being?!

Nobuo's trembling finger pointed at Kang Jin-Ho. "T-then, that's K-K-Kang…"

"Yup. That is Kang Jin-Ho. Our Assembly Master."

Nobuo's brows shot up high. Of course he had heard of that name many, many times already!

After all, Kang Jin-Ho was the most-talked-about topic in the Japanese martial society at the moment. So how could Nobuo not have heard that name before?

Kang Jin-Ho was the boss of the Korean Martial Assembly. Even if that organization was made up of a bunch of riff-raffs, it was still the largest, most prosperous martial art-related group in South Korea. And Kang Jin-Ho was the man who took over that place in one breath and united the Korean martial society.

He didn't stop there and even survived a life-or-death battle against the one and only Crimson King!

Kang Jin-Ho had far too many modifiers and titles attached before and after his name. Most importantly, though…

Wasn't Kang Jin-Ho the true purpose of this expedition?

All the information related to the man named Kang Jin-Ho messily circulated within Nobuo's head. But he didn't need long to realize all those pieces of information were ultimately meaningless.

Anyone who witnessed Kang Jin-Ho's current appearance would agree with Nobuo's assessment.

It was pointless to try to convey how strong Kang Jin-Ho was with mere words. And it was just as time-wasting to verbally explain how fiery and threatening Kang Jin-Ho was, too!

Without personally witnessing the truth… Without being here to personally experience the truth, no one would be able to fully grasp what or who Kang Jin-Ho was!

"B-b-but, uh…!"

"Don't get too shocked by… What the f*ck? You… What happened to your dantian?" Bang Jin-Hun scowled deeply. "Goddamn it! And the Assembly Master told us to bring you safe and sound, too! Bloody hell… He's gonna be real unhappy about this…"

Bang Jin-Hun, now pale-faced, hurriedly scanned his surroundings to look for someone.

That was when Wiggins appeared before him and casually raised his voice. "Were you looking for me, Mister Bang?"

"You're here!" Bang Jin-Hun's expression brightened slightly; then he urgently pointed at Nobuo. "This kid's dantian got a hole in it, Mister Wiggins. I don't think it's gonna threaten his life, but if we leave this alone, this kid will never cultivate again."

"...If you don't mind, please repeat that in English."

Bang Jin-Hun roughly scratched his head. He knew his rubbish English wouldn't be enough to properly explain this difficult situation.

In the end, he resorted to the time-worn method of various hand gestures and facial expressions while pointing at Nobuo's stomach to convey what he wanted to say to Wiggins.

'What is this man doing right now?'

As for Nobuo, he was left feeling a little despondent by this new development.

The condition on this ship could easily be described as hellish. Countless people had died, while the survivors were desperately jumping into the ocean to preserve their lives.

Worse still, a bona fide devil had descended on this ship, too!

That was the situation here, so why couldn't Nobuo sense any hint of nervousness or tension in these two men? Was it okay to behave like these two?

"Hmm, his wounds are quite deep. So, are you telling me this region is the core of Eastern martial artists?" Wiggins asked, clearly intrigued, while closely studying Nobuo's lower abdomen. Then, he grinned smoothly. "How convenient it is to gather energy below your navel instead of your heart like in the West.

"With this, you can subdue your enemies without killing them. We, the Knights, would usually pierce the other's hearts to achieve a similar effect, you see?"

Bang Jin-Hun urgently asked again. "Can it be mended?"

Wiggins cocked an eyebrow and stared disapprovingly at Bang Jin-Hun. "Mister Bang… Why do I get the feeling that you see me as the legendary magic hammer that can make any wishes come true?"

"Mister Wiggins, I wouldn't have asked you if you hadn't shown us that magic earlier. So, can it be done?"

"Well, hmm… I think it can be done. It will take some time, however. Even so, treating one person shouldn't be too difficult for me."

"Oh…!"

"However, as I said before, I'll need considerable time. And effort, as well. Unfortunately, I'm not the most efficient healer around, you see? The time I need to treat one person's abrasions might be enough to kill over a thousand people."

Wiggins frowned slightly. "...Please don't say scary stuff like that with such ease."

"For now, I'll perform emergency treatment first. That will allow me to take my time healing this fella," Wiggins chuckled, then pressed his palm against Nobuo's lower abdomen. That was when pure-white light burst out from his palm.

Bang Jin-Hun curiously asked, "How long do you need?"

"Hmm. Around two hours, maybe?"

"Huh? And that's supposed to be the emergency treatment?"

"Well, yes."

"...Huh. Taking him to the ER might be faster, you know?"

Wiggins scowled unhappily. "I told you, didn't I? That my efficiency is poor. First of all, this is not my area of expertise."

"Yes, yes. I hear you." Bang Jin-Hun groaned while turning his head away.

Wiggins ignored him and looked into Nobuo's eyes. "So, fella. Your name is Nobuo, yes?"

"...S-sorry? A-ah, yes, sir!"

"You can relax now. You're a VIP that our Assembly Master wanted to rescue, after all. Until he gets to speak to you, no one in this world will dare disturb even a hair on you. That includes us, of course."

Nobuo nervously gulped back his saliva. He never imagined he'd be treated like an important individual.

"That is why I recommend that you keep your eyes on the Assembly Ma… Hold on, that's not quite right, now is it?" Wiggins muttered while frowning slightly. "Nobuo, how about we talk somewhere else? Because staying here and witnessing the carnage will only make you wet your pants when you speak to our Assembly Master later on."

"…!"

Nobuo shuddered at Wiggins' threat that was not supposed to be a threat.