Descent of the Demon Master

Humanity’s mechanism to comprehend their surroundings was surprisingly simple. And that was to rely on their five senses to perceive the world.

Through the senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch, humans acquired information about the world around them, and it was up to their brains to interpret these new sets of information. This series of actions allowed humans to figure out the situation they were in.

However, Masayoshi realized his body had failed to perform this simple but crucial process.

What a strange situation this was. Without a doubt, Masayoshi’s eyes were working fine. His ears could hear perfectly well. And his skin could feel everything as it should.

His eyes could see the enemy swiftly closing in while slicing and dicing his allies. Meanwhile, his ears picked up all the screams and the noises of human flesh getting sliced and chopped apart. And then, his body perceived the bone-chilling murderous aura in the air as his nose sucked in too much stench of blood to make him nauseous.

Even after all these had happened, Masayoshi still had trouble comprehending the current situation.

Four of his senses… No, since he could also pick up on the thick metallic taste of blood in his mouth, all five senses were clearly working overtime. However, his brain couldn't process all the flow of information.

Masayoshi simply could not understand it. Seeing didn’t necessarily mean believing, after all!

Who could fault him, though? Not just Masayoshi, but everyone else would have had a tough time accepting reality if buildings floated up in the air and water dripped from below to the skies above.

When information was received through their five senses, humans instinctively would try to filter it first before letting it reach their brains. And that filter was called… common sense.

This was the step Masayoshi’s mind kept failing at. Even though the information picked up by his eyes and ears was absolute and crystal-clear, the “common sense” rooted deep in his brain refused to accept it. No wonder he couldn’t comprehend the situation at all!

‘No, this can’t be real!’

Just who was Masayoshi, anyway? Wasn’t he one of the proud warriors of the Great Japanese Empire?

Masayoshi’s pride wasn’t simply him being an arrogant little fool. Even if it fell somewhat short against the damnable Chinese martial society, the Japanese martial society was still highly rated and acknowledged as a powerhouse by the rest of the world.

Even on the surface world, Japan was a first-world country. A global powerhouse. But its status within the martial world easily surpassed that.

Due to its location being East Asia, with China as its neighbor, Japan's prestige and strength had been overshadowed to some degree until now. However, if Japan was in Europe, everyone would've acknowledged it as a powerhouse nation capable of rivaling the European Union.

As for the people riding on this cruise ship? They were elite warriors handpicked from Japan, an expeditionary force comprised of the best of the best selected from the gumis in Kansai!

When Masayoshi heard the ship was headed for South Korea, he thought this level of combat power was a bit of overkill.

Since a large number of elites had been gathered, Masayoshi wondered if they were about to fight one of China's top factions, but no! They were headed to South Korea instead?

These warriors were simply too strong to waste time with the likes of the South Korean martial artists. That was what Masayoshi believed until a few minutes ago. That belief still didn't change when four insane bastards suddenly showed up on the cruise ship's deck.

Plenty of crazies existed in the world, so four of them calling South Korea home didn’t seem all that out of place. However, Masayoshi had no choice but to accept how fatally wrong he had been.

‘No, hang on a sec. I’m not exactly wrong about this.’

Without a doubt, those four were crazy. The problem with their craziness was, though… They weren’t merely some random crazies!

“Kuk!”

“Kehk!”

The screams were brief. Not even that loud, either. The sword strikes by that man covered in crimson blood were shockingly accurate and economical. Watching that blood-covered man in action made Masayoshi realize something was very wrong here.

That man was swinging his swords in the most obvious trajectories. Anyone with eyes should be able to see the movements and easily predict where that attack would land next. Yet… No one managed to stop the attacks or dodge them.

Was it because the blood-covered man was too strong? That didn't seem like the answer by the looks of things.

From the perspective of Masayoshi, who had been watching this massacre from the back, it eerily looked like his comrades were willingly presenting their throats at the swords wielded by that man named Kang Jin-Ho.

Masayoshi’s disbelieving eyes continued to watch this truly bizarre spectacle where the proud Japanese warriors craned their necks and clamored to get their heads severed whenever Kang Jin-Ho wielded his swords.

Slice!

Yet another severed head went flying. Masayoshi shuddered in dread. His brain might have failed to comprehend this situation, but his body had already figured everything out. Despite his head not sending any commands, Masayoshi's body still shivered like a lone leaf against the stormy winds. And he kept stumbling back to get away from the massacre up ahead.

He must not fight that blood-covered man! He should not even be in that man’s presence!

Never once did Masayoshi think he’d flee in the face of death. After all, that was what the martial world was like—anyone who tried to flee would meet a gruesome end.

The survivors were those who fought till the end and attained what they were after. This was Masayoshi's creed. The belief he had lived his life by.

Sticking to this creed was what helped him get acknowledged as an elite warrior. And it also helped him become an expert. But now…

Something about this situation was wrong. The gap in strength was insurmountable!

‘I mean, look at him!’

That man, covered from head to toe in blood while constantly chopping his fellow humans down! Whenever his crimson eyes revealed themselves in between the blood-soaked hair strands, Masayoshi felt his heart freeze up in dread.

That man was smiling. Even though his eyes remained dispassionate, his lips failed to hide a cruel smirk. His lips curling up occasionally revealed his pearly-white teeth.

That man had to be a beast. If not, a devil! At the very least, he didn't qualify to be called a human being!

Pride and one’s will mattered only when dealing with another human being. Just like how a man wouldn’t act proudly before God, a man wouldn’t demand beasts to understand their plight!

‘How is this even possible…!’

There were four enemies. Only four! And only two of them were fighting at the forefront!

Those two were Kang Jin-Ho, the leader of the Korean Martial Assembly, and a monster who resembled a giant appearing in mythical tales as he mowed humans down with his massive arms.

It was just those two… who were mercilessly pushing back the Japanese expeditionary force. And it wasn't merely “pushing back,” either. One of them chopped and diced humans apart into tiny little chunks while the other obliterated grown adults with his attacks.

Even if humans were thrown inside a mortar and ground to a pulp, they would still be in a better shape than the corpses created by that giant!

Just the two men were enough to create a Hell on Earth on this bloody ship.

‘How… How can something like this happen?!’

Masayoshi couldn't understand it. He refused to accept it. Regardless of his feelings, though… This massacre continued on unabated.

Even as Masayoshi’s brain desperately tried to comprehend the situation unfolding before his eyes, Kang Jin-Ho and Vator diligently marched forward while transforming all the people between them and Masayoshi into corpses.

Nothing worked against them.

The last-ditch lightning-quick sword draws were rendered useless against Kang Jin-Ho's sword strikes. Various Japanese blades landing on Vator's flesh cracked and shattered like rice crackers.

Warriors melding into the shadows below literally became shadows, never to stand back up again from the floor. Shurikens and kunais thrown at the targets miraculously returned to the senders and pierced their mouths.

The unstoppable calamities of nature! Was there any better description for these two men than that?

No matter how hard a colony of rabbits tried, it’d always be rabbits. It couldn’t even win against a single wolf. Every Japanese warrior on this ship was nothing more than a rabbit.

...And those men were hungry predators!

When that realization hit, Masayoshi finally figured out what he must do. What should a rabbit do after running into a wolf?

‘I… I gotta escape…!’

Masayoshi’s brain finally broke free from the fog of panic and issued a scream-like command to his body.

He must run away. He must get away from here! He must escape before those monsters… No, those devils catch up to him!

However, where could he escape to? Where was the escape path on a ship floating on the vast empty ocean?!

“Uwaaaaaahk!”

Masayoshi screamed while urgently turning around.

Where should he escape to? What a dumb question that was. Obviously, it should be the ocean!

People jumping into the sea in the middle of nowhere ran the risk of a certain death. Without divine intervention, surviving the ordeal would be impossible. One would have to be rescued by a passing ship or let the currents take them toward the nearest dry land. That would be the only way to survive, but…

At least one could pray for a miracle. However, on this ship? There was no such thing as miracles. There were no heavenly interventions here!

Devils ruled this ship, after all. The lucky chances granted by the heavens didn't work here. In that case…

If one was given a choice between a certain death and a near-certain death, shouldn’t the answer be obvious?

Masayoshi's body creaked and cracked as it ungainly turned around. It felt like his brain and his body were not in harmony. Even though his head desperately yelled at it to move, to run, to escape…! His body couldn't carry out those commands like how it usually did.

Masayoshi thought his entire body had become stiff like a block of wood.

“Hueh… Urgh… C-come… on…!”

He must get away, somehow! If his body didn’t work as intended, Masayoshi should resort to crawling to get away from here. If not, those devils would soon spot him and come after him. When that happened, there would be only one end for him.

Death!

The one thing he had never feared in his life was now swiftly closing in on him in reality!

Was he scared of death?

‘Of course I’m scared!’

He was terrified. Indescribably so. Death scared him. What scared him more, though, was that… His death would be meaningless. Worthless.

All his death amounted to would be nothing more than a punch from the giant or a casual flick of Kang Jin-Ho’s sword. And that would be it! Was there a more worthless, meaningless death than that in this world?

‘I shouldn’t have come!’

Masayoshi regretted getting on this ship. If not that, maybe he should’ve jumped into the ocean, no questions asked, as soon as those four devils appeared on the ship.

That one moment of indecision was quickly dragging Masayoshi into the netherworld.

‘P-please… Move!’

He began retreating just as everyone around him started having the same thoughts. It seemed no one was interested in exchanging their lives with some meaningless bullsh*t. They all quickly turned around and ran away, to get away from the deck.

Naturally, human bodies got into a chaotic tangle next.

Those at the far back still hadn’t fully comprehended the situation and failed to open up the escape path. But the ones in the front, their minds paralyzed by fear, tried desperately to escape through the back.

Unsurprisingly, the urgency of the situation and terrified minds collided to create more deadly incidents.

“U-uwaaaaah! Get out of the way, you bastards! Get out of my way!”

“I’ll kill yooooou!”

Their furiously swung swords stabbed into the guts and throats of their allies. Those who got attacked without knowing why crumbled to the floor as disbelief and resentment filled their faces.

This was… Hell!

A literal hell was unfolding on this ship. Even the real devils would’ve shaken their heads in disbelief if they were on this ship.

Eventually…

“Fuu-woo…”

Masayoshi’s body froze on the spot when he heard that low but distinct sigh.

There was nothing particular about that sigh. But it still sounded like the growling of a ravenous tiger staring at a juicy prey.

That was when Masayoshi instinctively realized something new. And that was his fate.

Masayoshi still didn’t give up on one final ray of hope. Maybe the devils would spare him?

Maybe Kang Jin-Ho was a warrior who upheld the Bushido, the warrior’s way? And refused to cut down the enemies who showed him their backs? In that case, wouldn’t he give Masayoshi a chance to flee from…

Slice!

Masayoshi’s mind froze right there and then. He momentarily sensed sharp pain from somewhere around his throat before everything stopped. And then, his consciousness began fading. Unlike the darkness closing in, though, Kang Jin-Ho’s voice sounded so vivid and knife-sharp in his ears.

“Too late.”

Indeed, it was too late now. Far, far… too late.