Descent of the Demon Master

“So, how are you holding up?”

Knight Leveaux smiled brightly while staring at the former Master of the Round Table through the steel bars.

In a matter of few days, the former Master's complexion had gotten noticeably gaunt. He was not tortured. No one came down here to torment him. Even then, he still ended up looking this way. It could only mean his psychological torment must've been rather unbearable.

“I should be asking you that, Leveaux.”

Despite his gaunt face, however, the former Master’s voice had not lost his previous composure.

Leveaux curiously asked, “Did you say you want to ask me that?”

“That I did.”

“That's odd. Since you've lost everything, it makes sense for you to stew in anguish, but I've acquired everything I could dream of. In that case, why do you want to ask me how I'm doing?”

“If that’s true, what are you doing here, Leveaux?”

“…!” Knight Leveaux clamped his mouth shut.

“Are you here to revel in your victory at the expense of the defeated? No, of course not. No matter how twisted your character is, you should still be able to realize now isn't the right time. After all, you should be quite busy right now. In other words, you shouldn't have a reason to come here and waste time like this. You can do that as much as you want after becoming the next Master.”

Knight Leveaux didn’t respond and simply listened.

“Yet, here you are, seeking my company,” said the former Master. “It could only mean you are nervous.”

“I am not nervous, sir!”

“That's not what your expression says, Leveaux,” the former Master smirked deeply. “Trust me. Accepting it will make things easier. This is what humans are like, after all. All the overflowing confidence in your heart will vanish in an instant and get replaced by fear once the event is set in motion.”

“I am not a coward!”

“You're misunderstanding me, Leveaux,” the Master slowly shook his head. “I'm not criticizing you here. No, I'm simply stating that's how humans behave. I'm also like that. I worked so hard to put on a facade of unshakable composure. However, without the mask covering my face… My expressions back then should've been something else.”

Knight Leveaux reflexively touched his own mask. The cold metallic surface greeted his fingertips.

The tactile sensation of this mask usually worked wonders in calming Leveaux’s agitated mind. But not right now. The mask was failing to do its job.

“Isn't it ironic?” the Master smirked again. “That mask symbolizes the Round Table. It is undoubtedly meant to serve as the proof of only the Round Table's system existing, not us as individuals, in this organization. However, if you flip that around, that mask is also the best proof of how unstable humans and even the Round Table can be.”

“You speak as if staying down here has given you an epiphany. Did you realize something new after losing your power and status?”

“No. It’s not because I lost those things,” the Master slowly shook his head. “It’s all thanks to my experience, Leveaux. Even if I had succeeded in subduing your rebellion and retained my position as the Master of the Round Table, I’d still have arrived at the same conclusion.”

Knight Leveaux narrowed his eyes and stared at the Master. “It doesn’t matter now. And I don’t feel like arguing with you, either. Because I agree with you that the Round Table’s current system is not working.”

“Unfortunately, your idea of fixing it doesn’t match mine.”

Knight Leveaux didn’t bother to respond to that and simply turned around to leave. “...Enjoy your stay down here, former Master.”

“Wait, Leveaux.”

Knight Leveaux stopped walking and glanced back when the Master called out to him.

“How is your preparation going so far?”

“...My preparation?” Leveaux frowned slightly.

“Yes. I mean the countermeasures against the ones coming to pay you a visit soon.”

Leveaux’s expression beneath the mask crumpled even more. “I do not know what delusions you’re under, but such a thing isn’t going to happen!”

“Delusions, you say?” The Master casually chuckled.

Knight Leveaux spun around to face the cell again. “What will those men acquire by coming all this way? Surely you are not thinking that they want to rescue you! If so, I advise you to wake up. Your worth didn't come from you but from the position you held! Right now, you're nothing but a worthless old man who got pushed out of his former position!”

“That might be true,” the Master smirked deeply again. “But you’d do well to remember, Leveaux. Humans don’t always behave logically. Sometimes, something completely illogical will happen. And such a thing can change the course of history.”

“My apologies, but the days of you teaching me have ended already. You have nothing left to teach anyone, after all!” said Knight Leveaux, his cold glare locked squarely on the Master. “You don’t have much time left to relax like this. In fact, now could be your final moments of relaxation. So, I hope you enjoy what little time you have left.”

...And then, he strode away from the cell in angry, hurried steps.

“Wait, Leveaux!” The Master called out, but Leveaux didn’t bother to turn around this time. Still, the French Knight could hear the Master’s voice coming from behind him. “You’d do well to research more about devils. If you don’t… Your soul might get ripped apart to shreds.”

‘You insane old fool!’

Knight Leveaux hurriedly walked up the stairwell, his expression deeply crumpled. A hint of rage. And a dash of disappointment. That was the mixture of emotions swirling in his mind.

The former Master’s cold-blooded, unquestioning objectiveness was now nowhere to be found. What remained was a fading old man who spewed nonsense.

The realization that he had been serving such an individual irritated Knight Leveaux to no end.

He emerged past the massive steel doors and entered the modern corridor. He unhappily yelled at his subordinate waiting for him near the doorway. “Are you still monitoring everyone entering the country?!”

“Yes, Knight Leveaux! We’re keeping a close eye on everyone!”

Knight Leveaux narrowed his eyes. “Are you willing to stand by that?”

“Yes, sir. I’ll bet my life on it.”

Leveaux grunted. He still didn’t like this.

That confident reply only made the subordinate less trustworthy than before! At any other time, he'd have no problem believing this report, but not now. He just wasn't in the trusting mood for some reason.

‘Is it because I’m all shaken up?’

All because that old man said some inane things?! This realization only worsened Leveaux's irritation.

“Two more days!” Knight Leveaux gripped his mask tightly. “Two days…! As long as we can navigate the next two days without any incidents…! I will be able to resolve anything. No matter what that is! So, I need you to go the extra mile for the next two days. Do you understand what I'm trying to say here?”

“Yes, sir!”

“...I hope you did understand me. I really do,” Leveaux grunted deeply, then resumed walking down the corridor.

‘What the former Master said is not worth my consideration.'

Even so, Leveaux still mulled over it for one reason.

‘Wiggins…!’

Leveaux at least agreed with the Master on one thing. If Wiggins somehow learned of the events taking place in the Round Table, he'd never sit back and do nothing about it. He should know better than anyone what would happen if Knight Leveaux successfully seized power, after all!

‘However, what can he do all by himself?’

The Round Table was a massive, mighty organization. Indescribably so. The power of a lone individual meant nothing against its might.

Since Wiggins couldn't do it alone, would he resort to mobilizing that Martial Assembly or whatever it was called from that minor nation in Asia?

What an absurd notion that was! No matter how much stronger the Martial Assembly had gotten, it'd never stand as equal to the Round Table. Even if some miracle happened and the two organizations were evenly matched in strength, the situation wouldn't change by much.

After all, the Martial Assembly existed on the other side of the planet. There was a clear limit to the number of combatants it could deploy this far away.

Even the mighty United States of America tried to avoid waging wars that far away. That was why Leveaux couldn't see any potential issues after trying to think about it as logically as possible.

In that case, why…

‘Why do I feel so nervous!’

Knight Leveaux's irritation was clear enough to see from his angry steps.

‘It doesn’t matter!’

He only needed two days. Two! Whether his worries were unfounded or not, everything would be settled in two days. He only had to hold on until then.

“Nothing will change even if you come here, Wiggins…!”

...Other than Wiggins losing his head, of course!

***

“How are you feeling, my lord?”

Kang Jin-Ho heard a familiar voice calling out to him and slowly opened his eyes. Wiggins was staring back at him.

“Is there a problem, Wiggins?”

“No, not… particularly.”

Kang Jin-Ho silently observed Wiggins. The latter was subtly fidgeting like a puppy itching to use the loo.

This had to be the first time Wiggins behaved this way. After all, he was a man who could keep his composure even after losing an arm.

“You should try to relax a little more, Wiggins,” Kang Jin-Ho quietly said.

Wiggins sighed deeply. Even he had to admit he was not his usual self. “My apologies, my lord.”

“Why are you apologizing?”

“...When I suggested this course of action earlier, I was confident that all of my calculations were based on logic and that I was in an objective state of mind. However, now that I had time to reflect, I'm no longer certain that my decisions had been entirely objective.”

Wiggins grew a little despondent just then.

“I honestly believe that you should absolutely take up a challenge if shouldering a small risk could reward you greatly at the end of the day. However, that is only when your life is at risk, not other people's. I should have considered my options a little more closely since other people's lives could be at risk now…”

Wiggins stopped there and sighed deeply again. He realized something only after boarding the plane. And that was the grim possibility of not everyone in this plane going back home alive.

He had no idea. Even though Wiggins had commanded many battles and issued countless orders, his battlefield had always been the Round Table. He saw people as numbers and statistics. He calculated benefits as assets and wealth and some numbers on a document.

However, all these people in this plane could not be substituted with mere numbers on some spreadsheets. They were people who worked their butt off and racked their brains together with Wiggins. And now, the possibility of them dying because of Wiggins' judgment was not low at all.

The weight of this reality was not something Wiggins had experienced before.

Kang Jin-Ho calmly replied, “You’re worried about something unnecessary.”

“…”

“What would you have done if you must put your life on the line for what we’re about to do?”

“...I would not hesitate, my lord.”

“That's good enough, then.” Kang Jin-Ho explained in a calm manner. “If you keep focusing on the fact that people might lose their lives, you will get nothing done. However, there are times when we simply have to risk everything.”

As he spoke, Kang Jin-Ho deliberately held Wiggins’ gaze.

“It's fine to think yourself to death before making a move. Ponder away as much as you want. However, do not second-guess yourself once you start moving. If the man leading the charge is trembling in nervousness and fear, the ones following him will do the same.”

“...I’ll engrave it in my soul, my lord.”

Kang Jin-Ho closed his eyes again and silently leaned against the plane’s wall.

Wiggins could only sigh softly at this sight.

‘I see. My lord, he… He’s always under the weight of this burden.’

Being in this position helped Wiggins with guessing how much of a burden Kang Jin-Ho had been under all this time.

Wiggins was “only” under the weight of one hundred lives, but Kang Jin-Ho had to bear the weight of tens of thousands of people. How was he enduring the burden of knowing his choices could lead to the deaths of all those people? People who shared his joys and sorrows?

Wiggins viewed Kang Jin-Ho in a new, much more appreciative light now.

He and others could dodge the responsibility by leaving the decision-making to Kang Jin-Ho. However, Kang Jin-Ho couldn't do that.

Making decisions was left entirely up to him. And so did the responsibilities of his choices.

‘...And that is why we can trust him and keep forging ahead.’

Just as Wiggins’ thoughts reached that far… Kang Jin-Ho lazily opened his eyes and glanced at the Englishman.

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask.”

“Yes, my lord?”

“Once we’re on British soil… What are we supposed to do next?”

Wiggins dryly swallowed his saliva. “My lord. I know where they are. And what they are doing.”

“I see. So what?”

“So, we eliminate the core of the Round Table.”

“…”

“The Round Table’s heart is its Knights. All decisions are made through the consensus of these Knights. If you flip that around… Eliminating the Knights is enough to paralyze the Round Table’s operations.”

“I see. Then, there’s nothing to worry about.”

“...I beg your pardon?”

The corners of Kang Jin-Ho’s lips suspiciously curled up.

“That is my specialty, after all!”

What a chill-inducing statement that was. However, it was also more trust-inspiring than any other statement imaginable.

Wiggins tightly clenched his fists while staring at Kang Jin-Ho.