Descent of the Demon Master

"It's over, then."

After muttering that simple line, Wiggins coolly turned around to leave.

The situation on the cruise ship's deck had already been wrapped up, and Wiggins' help was no longer necessary. Then again, the fate of this place had been set in stone once Kang Jin-Ho decided to come here personally.

Even then, Wiggins still stuck close to Kang Jin-Ho's side because the world was ripe with all sorts of remarkable and unexpected developments.

Strength was supposed to trump everything, but a top-tier expert would still get baffled and flustered after encountering something unfamiliar for the first time. And no one could guarantee such a thing would never happen to Kang Jin-Ho.

Wiggins was an expert in dealing with such unexpected situations. As a user of magic, his ability to adapt and respond was far superior than other martial artists. However, with the situation reaching this point, it seemed his help was no longer needed here.

'They have been surprisingly foolish.'

That was the impression Wiggins got. If he had been in charge of the planning, Wiggins would've undoubtedly included a group of sorcerers unique to Japan in his army. Doing so would have created variables, and such variables always played a major factor in a war.

The Japanese not even bothering to create any sort of variable had pretty much doomed their invasion from the get-go.

Wiggins stopped muttering, then sneaked a quick glance behind him. Then, a slightly dumbfounded grin formed on his face.

'That may not be it, perhaps?'

The leadership positions of the martial world were not inherited but occupied by the strongest experts of the era. However, that strength wasn't determined only through one's martial prowess.

The Round Table was a good example. The Master was undoubtedly a powerful individual. However, if someone asked Wiggins if he thought the Round Table's Master was Europe's strongest, most capable fighter, then... He'd have some trouble answering that.

The same applied to South Korea. The Korean martial society used to belong to Lee Jung-Geol and Kim Seok-Il before Kang Jin-Ho showed up. However, if the question of whether or not those two men were the strongest experts in Korea was raised, then…

The odds of Korea's strongest expert living in seclusion on some nameless mountainside were quite high. After all, an expert who doggedly spent every waking hour polishing their martial arts would obviously be stronger than those who must spend their time operating a large organization and scheming evil things behind everyone's backs.

The same story should also apply to Japan. If the "Iemoto" the Japanese warriors mentioned was indeed the head of the Shinichi-kai… That position could not be occupied by one's physical strength alone.

One's strength was obviously very important in the martial world. However, that didn't mean strength was everything to a martial artist. A muscle brain would inevitably expose their weaknesses to cunning enemies, after all!

Since that was the case, tonight's catastrophe could not have been the result of the Japanese's stupidity or ineptitude. No, it was more like they had failed to appreciate the truth. The truth of Kang Jin-Ho's incredible strength, that was!

Wiggins loyally served Kang Jin-Ho, but even he had a hard time comprehending how absurdly strong his lord was.

Kang Jin-Ho was a powerful expert back when Wiggins first met him. But Kang Jin-Ho of now had become so much more powerful that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he wasn't even the same person anymore!

Even Wiggins had given up on trying to comprehend Kang Jin-Ho's strength. In that case, how could these Japanese warriors have known? Considering all these points, making fun of them didn't seem right anymore.

Of course, the Japanese were not morons. They should learn some valuable lessons from this defeat. If they were dead set on invading Korea again, the next invasion would be much grander in scope than what they had prepared this time.

However, that was if only they had any wiggle room left.

'Indeed. Would they have any leeway left after tonight?'

All these warriors dying tonight would hurt Japan quite badly.

War was not fought with numbers. Losing 10% of one's forces in a video game could be written off as a minor setback. However, losing that much in real war was severe enough to consider giving up the fighting altogether. And tonight, Japan was about to lose well over 10% of her fighting force.

Could the Japanese still organize another wave of invasion even after losing so many of their elite warriors?

It would not be easy. Another defeat of this scale would signal the complete and utter destruction of the Japanese martial society. So, did they possess the will to do that?

'It's impossible to know.'

It was possible to see into outer space and deep oceans, but not into the hearts of men.

Common sense dictated the Japanese would not try another invasion anytime soon, but Wiggins knew only too well the world didn't always operate according to logic.

Besides, most wars didn't start from a logical reason, anyway. Whims of a crazed tyrant usually were to blame for most conflicts.

With the situation at this juncture, what should Wiggins do next?

"Hmm. It's time to wrap this up."

Wiggins reached out and grabbed Nobuo's shoulder. The latter flinched nastily and hurriedly looked back at Wiggins.

Nobuo's reaction was understandable, though, since he was clinging to the railing of the cruise ship for his dear life ever since said ship began tilting and sinking into the brine below!

Wiggins couldn't help but chuckle loudly at this sight.

'It seems this young friend has lost his mind.'

Wiggins could sympathize with this young man.

The only remaining railing on this ship was where Nobuo was clinging to. Despite the deck's material being steel, every corner of this place had been destroyed. Crushed. Pulled apart and ripped open! The edges of the deck didn't fare any better, as those had been crushed and flattened as well.

Wiggins wasn't fazed by this sight, but what about Nobuo? This spectacle must be like an unbearable hell to him.

"Well, then. Shall we go somewhere a little less hectic?"

Wiggins held Nobuo firmly, then casually rose up in the air.

"U-uwaaaaaaht?!" Nobuo screamed in alarm.

The two of them eventually landed on the bow of the cruise ship. The entire bow section was sticking out of the water after its stern had sunk below the surface.[1]

Wiggins took advantage of this unobstructed view of the surroundings afforded by the ship's bow, now sticking up in the air like a tall tower, and scanned the area.

'It's less messier than I feared,'

Corpses and blood would've littered the area had this battle been fought on dry land. However, the ocean seemed to make it less gruesome than expected.

Although the sight of crimson sea water splashing about was still not pleasant to look at, nothing seemed too out of place other than a large number of swimmers on the surface. That must be due to all the corpses sinking into the depths.

All those people in the water were crowding near the Koreans' boats.

"Young man?" Wiggins glanced at Nobuo, prompting the latter to hurriedly turn his head and look at the Englishman. "Are you okay with being the center of attention?"

Nobuo tilted his head at that strange question. "...I, I don't follow, sir?"

"I hope you can handle it, then." Wiggins smiled brightly, then raised his hand in the air.

Whooooooosh!

That was when something shot out from the tip of his fingers. This thing flew rapidly into the air before blowing up to create a loud and bright explosion.

KA-BOOOOOM!

Rather than an explosion, though, that was more like fireworks going off. The loud sound was the perfect soundtrack to the bright rainbow of colors spreading in all directions against the dark night sky.

Of course, this phenomenon wasn't exactly like the real fireworks, but that was the closest comparison Nobuo could think of right now.

This distraction was exactly what Wiggins wanted. Everyone in the water looked up at the bright fireworks above their heads before shifting their attention over to Wiggins.

"Well, then. Your role is to translate what I'm about to say into Japanese. Shall we begin, then? This battle is now over, everyone!"

Nobuo hurriedly nodded. Although he still couldn't wrap his head around this situation, his brain strongly suggested obeying this older gentleman's instruction was the correct course of action.

-This battle is over!

Nobuo's voice, now amplified through sound magic, echoed thunderously in the surroundings. It was as if his voice was the only sound permitted to exist within this deathly silent ocean.

Whether the Japanese warriors in the water heard Nobuo or not was irrelevant. The only thing that mattered right now was if they understood the content of this broadcast.

The battle was over!

None of them wanted to believe that, but how could they not?

The cruise ship was already halfway sunk into the ocean, and Wiggins stood tall on the bow. That could only mean no one stopped him from climbing up there.

In that case, what happened to those who stayed on the ship? The answer seemed obvious. They must be dead. All of them.

Those people were the representatives and elite warriors of all the gumis participating in this expedition. Since they had all died, this so-called war couldn't possibly continue even if it wanted to!

What little remained of the fighting spirit in the warriors' hearts instantly evaporated when the meaning behind the declaration finally sunk in.

-That is why you should stop with this meaningless resistance. We will spare you, but not out of the goodness of our hearts. If our irritation level surpasses the inconvenience of dealing with the aftermath, we shall kindly end your existence for good.

The voice sounded flat. Emotionless.

Nobuo was translating what Wiggins said. As such, he couldn't convey the nuances of Wiggins' speech and ended up sounding like a robot.

However, that monotone voice fit the situation even better. In any other circumstances, that declaration might have been laughed out of the room. But in this ocean of death? Every Japanese in the water felt goosebumps breaking out on their skin!

Eventually, a handful of warriors began letting go of the boats. Once these people distanced themselves a little from the boats, others followed suit and swam away.

"Whew…" Yi Myeong-Hwan sighed in relief while wiping his forehead. Cold sweat strands were still trickling down to his chin.

'Things could have been even dicier if this situation had carried on!'

The task of stopping the enemy from climbing aboard might not sound difficult on paper, but said enemy this time was a large group of desperate Japanese warriors boasting a considerable level of strength and abilities. As such, Yi Myeong-Hwan and Co. had to struggle with every ounce of their being to defend their boat.

If this battle hadn't been bizarre siege warfare unfolding on an ocean but on open terrain, things wouldn't have favored the Koreans.

Yi Myeong-Hwan had grown confident in his skills to some degree lately, yet he still felt this way. In that case, how much worse would it be for the occupants of other boats?

That had been the situation, but thankfully, Wiggins came in at the nick of time to break the Japanese resistance.

However, it seemed someone was less accepting of this situation.

"What was that?! It's over already?!" Vator roared at the top of his lungs. "What are you talking about! I only just got started down here!"

Despite floating on the ocean like everyone else, Vator still exuded an overwhelming presence. In fact, with his torso floating above the water's surface, it was like watching a whale expelling water from its blowhole! And such a man was pointing and shouting unhappily at the bow of the sinking ship.

"Tsk, tsk… No one told him to go into the water, so why all the fuss?" Wiggins slowly shook his head. Vator did something no one asked him to do, so why was he getting unhappy with other people? Wiggins glanced back at Nobuo. "Well, then. Shall we continue?"

"S-sorry? Y-yes, sir!"

Nobuo hurriedly composed himself and waited for the next part of Wiggins' declaration.

-Distance yourselves from the boats. As for your fate, our Assembly Master shall decide that.

That was the decisive blow.

The Japanese warriors in the water didn't know much about the Korean Martial Assembly's hierarchy, but they still knew that only one person in this place could be referred to as the Assembly Master.

...And that was Kang Jin-Ho!

The mere mention of that devil's name was enough to sap the last remaining desire to fight out of these Japanese warriors.

Since all those people trying to stop Kang Jin-Ho on the cruise ship were dead, didn't that mean the devil was now free to do whatever he wanted?

Insisting on stealing the boat and extending the battle any further only meant they would have to contend with Kang Jin-Ho. However, didn't these warriors willingly jump into the ocean to escape from Kang Jin-Ho's clutches in the first place?

No matter how cold the ocean was, it still wasn't cold enough to rekindle the fighting spirit in these warriors' hearts.

With that, everyone had to accept that this battle was over.

The Japanese warriors all swam away from the boats. The soul-chilling silence also descended in the area at the same time.

Wiggins looked on pensively at this sight.

'They are all waiting, it seems.'

This war didn't end with one side getting annihilated and its remnants fleeing for the hills. Both sides had retained their combatants. Which meant someone had to close the curtains on the proceedings. Everyone here tacitly understood this, and that was why they were all silently waiting.

...Waiting for the one man qualified enough to end this war!

"Hmm, my lord is taking longer than expected…" Wiggins muttered while rubbing his chin. It could only mean Kang Jin-Ho was genuinely furious.

Acting this way didn't seem quite right at the climax of a war, but what could Wiggins do about it? When that was how Kang Jin-Ho operated?

Wiggins glanced below him, to somewhere on the ship's deck. However, he reflexively averted his gaze after noticing what Kang Jin-Ho was doing down there.

Even Wiggins couldn't help but shudder in dread every time Kang Jin-Ho acted like that.

Without a doubt, a monster was slumbering inside Kang Jin-Ho. And this monster would rouse up from its sleep to rampage every once in a while.

Once that monster had awakened, Wiggins knew not to disturb Kang Jin-Ho. And to never agitate him!

Wiggins clamped his mouth shut and patiently waited for Kang Jin-Ho to finish. However, it wasn't just him. Everyone in this part of the ocean also silently waited for the demon emperor.

1. Yes, I know the previous chapters said the ship was tilting to the side. However, this is what it says in the raw. ☜