Descent of the Demon Master

"Run that by me again?"

The Master of the Round Table looked up and away from the documents littering his desk.

His workload was nothing to scoff at, and he'd never get through them all by relying on conventional work methods. So, he usually did two things at the same time. In this case, it'd be going through business documents while listening to reports from his subordinates.

Not doing this meant the Master might not get any time to train and practice his magic. However, right in this moment… Both his head and hands had stopped working.

"Report that again," said the Master of the Round Table.

"Sir!" The subordinate deeply bowed. "Japan's so-called expeditionary forces trying to invade South Korea were annihilated."

"...Annihilated? As in, completely, utterly destroyed?"

"Yes, Master."

"I see. Continue."

The Master's hands flinched a couple of times as if they wanted to get back to work. However, he eventually put his pen down.

This matter was not something he could multi-task with other things. Indeed, he needed to focus his entire being to interpret this report!

"Sir! It's still not verified yet, but the number of Japanese warriors in the expeditionary force was estimated to be over one thousand. That's what our agents in Japan have detected so far. However, if we also count those elite warriors emerging from the shadows that our agents didn't know about, that number will be even higher."

"Over one thousand…?" The Master grimaced.

One thousand-plus elite warriors from Japan? That seemed like an inconceivable combat force.

Only four entities could produce a combat force that powerful in the entire world. And those would be China, the USA, Japan, and finally… the Round Table!

However, the Round Table was an organization created through the cooperation of various European nations. That meant only three nations boasted enough experts to organize an army like that.

"But… Their invasion attempt still failed?"

"Sir, it's not just a failed attempt. They were wiped out."

"And South Korea did that…?" The Master's grimace deepened as the onset of a powerful migraine announced itself in his head.

Three things tormented him in this situation. One was how the Round Table failed to notice the Japanese organizing an expeditionary force to invade another country until it was too late.

This failure pretty much trampled on the Round Table's raison d'etre. Although East Asia was a region where the Round Table didn't exercise much influence, making it impossible to know everything happening in that region, to begin with…

The second thing was how the Koreans had managed to thoroughly destroy the enemy forces boasting such outrageous combat strength. Regardless of the methods they had resorted to, it still meant this one crucial thing: Korea's martial prowess was now on par with Japan's.

Lastly…

'How will the power dynamics of East Asia shift now?'

Merely thinking about it was worsening the Master's migraine. No one could blame him, though, when considering the fact that East Asia was akin to a nuke storage for the martial world.

Four pillars supported the existence of the martial world, and two of them were located in close proximity to each other in East Asia. If Korea hadn't acted as a buffer zone, the martial societies of China and Japan would have already waged several brutal wars by now!

East Asia managed to remain relatively war-free until now, thanks to two factors. One, the Chinese martial society was still embroiled in a civil war of sorts. And two, a neutral zone called Korea existed between China and Japan and acted like a chasm.

But Japan dared to invade this buffer zone. And their only reward was getting unceremoniously smashed to bits and pieces. In that case, what would happen to East Asia now?

The Master of the Round Table massaged his forehead. Even with his intellect, he couldn't predict what might happen next in this situation. Far too many factors were at play to assume anything at this stage.

"I see. Then, how bad were the Koreans' losses?"

"Well, that is…"

The reply wasn't as forthcoming as the Master would've liked. And that sent a wave of anxiety in his heart.

Since his subordinate was also a human being, they shouldn't be expected to report with mechanical efficiency every single time. However, the way the subordinate hesitated indicated something untoward must've happened.

The Master of the Round Table urged his subordinate on. "I need to hear this, so don't beat around the bush."

"Sir! It's not as if we didn't receive any intel from our agents. However, due to how unbelievable it sounded, I ordered our people to re-verify the information."

"Re-verify…?"

"Yes, Master."

The Master deeply furrowed his brow. "I see. I still want to know what the original intel said."

"But, sir…"

"I don't have a lot of free time to argue with you. Give me the original intel."

"Sir. Then… According to the initial report, the Koreans suffered practically zero losses."

The Master's brows shot up. "Zero losses?"

"...Yes, sir. Even I had the same reaction as you, and that was why I had to order the re-verification, sir."

The Master pointed to documents held in his subordinate's hand. "Is that the report from Korea?"

"Yes, sir."

"Give it to me."

The Master received the report and urgently read it. And when he got to the end, a hollow chuckle left his mouth.

"This report says the battle took place at sea, and…"

"That's correct, sir."

"...And only a few warriors from Korea were mobilized for the battle? And most of them returned relatively unharmed?"

"That's also correct, sir."

"...Did they use torpedoes to sink the Japanese ship?"

The subordinate slowly shook his head. "No, sir. We didn't find any evidence of the Korean military's involvement."

"Mm. I'm not surprised to hear that. Getting the army involved would've led to a serious escalation of hostilities, after all. And the Americans wouldn't have turned a blind eye."

Even if the martial world was cut off from the surface world, its denizens couldn't completely deny the importance of maintaining some kind of relationship with the surface world's military.

Americans strictly monitored firearm usage among martial artists, so they would've already done something if the Koreans had resorted to torpedoes and such.

Besides…

'Koreans would never do that… Unless they wanted to escalate things. Since the military wasn't involved, what did they do? Did the Koreans really crush a Japanese expeditionary force boasting over a thousand elite warriors?'

Something about this situation didn't feel right.

An error began manifesting within the Master's understanding of the combat strengths of South Korea and Japan. Of course, it was plausible for the Korean martial artists to have improved their strength to the point of catching up to their Japanese counterparts. But that should have taken a long time to achieve.

Only a variable no one, including the Master of the Round Table, had counted on could have pulled off this illogical feat.

'A variable, is it?'

The Master immediately recalled Kang Jin-Ho's name.

'I see. It must be him.'

No one suited the label of "Variable" better than Kang Jin-Ho. After all, wasn't he responsible for turning East Asia, which had been stagnant and unchanging for the past few decades, into a nuke storage in the proverbial blink of an eye?

Wasn't he also responsible for turning South Korea, often referred to as the wasteland of martial arts, into a land of mystery and intrigue that the whole world was now watching?

Kang Jin-Ho's influence had already exceeded the boundaries of East Asia and began impacting the Round Table on the other side of the planet. He was also responsible for completely ruining the Master's plan, wasn't he?

"In the end, it doesn't matter whether the Koreans suffered damage or not. The fact that they achieved a complete and overwhelming victory over the Japanese still doesn't change. Isn't that right…?" The Master pensively muttered.

"Yes, sir. That is correct."

"Mm. I see. I see…" The Master sighed softly under his breath.

'Wiggins…'

With the situation in Korea reaching this state, the Master couldn't help but think about what Wiggins had done. And what that man had done was cast aside the noble and sacred role of the Knight of the Round Table like an old shoe and throw his lot with a small nation in East Asia.

The Master couldn't understand why Wiggins would do something like that. And thinking about that matter made it impossible for the Master to maintain his composure.

He consciously tried not to think about what Wiggins had done, but how could he do that now when this report concerned South Korea?

'Did Wiggins predict all this?'

Did that man foresee the future where South Korea… Kang Jin-Ho surpassed Japan and rivaled China in terms of strength until East Asia's hegemony became theirs? Was that why he abandoned his post as a Knight of the Round Table and gave up on the possible future of becoming the next Master?

Did he choose Korea because of all this?

The Master slowly shook his head. "Has Britain's knight been decided yet?"

The subordinate stood tall while responding. "Sir. The selection process should end soon."

"...I see."

Once the new Knight from Britain was chosen, Wiggins' name would no longer be associated with the Round Table. And then, the Round Table would become complete once more. However, what would come after that?

Wiggins would not be able to escape the Round Table's punishment.

The only reason why Wiggins had managed to evade the Round Table's pursuit until now was… Rather ironically, it was because he had thrown his Knight position away. This unprecedented action destabilized the Round Table's rules and regulations.

To punish Wiggins, a former Knight, the members of the Round Table had to convene a meeting first. To decide on how to handle a matter this grave, the presence of a representative Knight from every nation was absolutely necessary.

But there was no Knight currently representing Britain.

Not once before did a Knight dare betray the Round Table while still holding on to their post. Zero precedence meant no one was sure how they should respond to Wiggins' betrayal.

Trying to uphold its law of every Knight attending a meeting meant the Round Table had to contend with the absurd proposition of Wiggins needing to show up on his own volition!

However, that absurd delay was about to come to an end. Once a new Knight was chosen, the Round Table should be able to resume operating as usual. And that naturally meant the Knights would finally decide Wiggins' punishment. Then…

'...Then, it's not going to be pretty.'

Wiggins casting aside his position of Knight left a deep scar of humiliation on every Knight of the Round Table. Maybe they would've been more understanding if Wiggins had thrown his position away in exchange for a cushy post in the Japanese or Chinese martial society.

However, he chose South Korea instead.

Didn't that imply that Wiggins viewed the sacred position of a Knight as less important than some unspecified role in a small country?

Humans were emotional creatures. No matter how much these Knights tried to remain cold-headed and objective, their pride was still wounded. And they would never forgive Wiggins for that. When that happened…

"Where is Wiggins? Is he still in South Korea?"

"Yes, Master. He accompanied the Koreans during the battle against the Japanese."

"I see…" The Master muttered while slowly reclining in his seat. His hand rose up silently to touch his face. But all he could sense was the hard surface of his mask.

Lately, the Master kept thinking this mask covering his face stifled him. That he couldn't breathe properly with this thing on. But he had never felt this way before, so why…

The Master looked up at his subordinate. "The next conference. When is it scheduled again?"

"Sir. It's at the beginning of next month."

That meant in a fortnight from today. The Master pondered his next course of action, then slowly nodded away. "Got it. You're excused."

"Sir! We will bring you any new pertinent information once we receive it."

"Good. Do that."

The subordinate smartly exited the office, leaving the Master alone. He sighed, then grabbed his mask… Before slowly taking it off.

"Fuu-woo…"

The mask revealed the face of an old man worn down by the ruthless passage of time.

"...Wiggins."

Once upon a time, that name represented "hope" for the Master of the Round Table.

The Master genuinely believed that Wiggins was capable of taking the Round Table to the next level.

The best possible outcome would've been for Wiggins to become the next Master. Even if he couldn't do that, he'd still lead the evolution of the Round Table as its trusted Knight. That was what the Master thought.

However, that name no longer represented hope. Wiggins became the number one enemy to be eliminated by the Round Table after he threw away the glorious position of the Knight and joined the Korean Martial Assembly! Maybe his fate had not been set in stone just yet. However, the upcoming conference should still seal the deal.

That was why…

'It seems I should finally meet that man for myself.'

The light in the Master's eyes burned fiercely.

He wanted to know what made Wiggins choose that side over this one. The Master wanted to see and hear for himself why Wiggins chose South Korea instead of the Round Table! And he needed to do that before everything was decided in the meeting in two weeks, and he was forced to kill Wiggins with his own hands.

"Yes, I need to see the truth for myself."

Why did a smart individual like Wiggins make such a stupid decision? What did he see in that place? The Master wanted to see that, too. And, also…

'...Kang Jin-Ho!'

What, or who, the Master needed to see for himself was not Wiggins but Kang Jin-Ho.

That man could be the only plausible reason for Wiggins choosing to betray the Round Table. Just what was so compelling about Kang Jin-Ho that Wiggins had no problem throwing away an organization he had dedicated his entire life to?

It was time to find out!

The Master tapped on the intercom button. "Get me a plane ticket to South Korea."

-Today, sir?

"No. In three days."

-Understood!

The Master leaned back against the seat.

'Kang Jin-Ho… And Wiggins.'

Soon, he'd see and verify everything for himself. Just what was the world they wished to create? Depending on what the Master found on this trip…

'I might have to wipe them out!'

The Master would even have to personally erase their existence from this world!