Descent of the Demon Master

The Martial Assembly was changing rapidly.

Until recently, the Assembly's "training" regime could only be described as a disorganized mess.

As a way to maintain the Assembly's sense of identity, all training was supposed to be held within the Assembly grounds, but that still didn't change the fact that people mastered different martial arts from each other.

Since everyone practiced the martial art of their sect, they naturally became wary of their secrets being leaked. Which, in turn, meant no training would get done most of the time!

This system held a lot of disadvantages. However, Lee Jung-Geol didn't stick to it because he was an idiot. No, he believed this 'process' was necessary to tie all the small sects existing messily within South Korea's martial society into one organization and gradually imprint the idea of the Martial Assembly into their subconscious.

...Even if his actions led to no one getting any proper training and the overall standards of martial arts plummeting to the pits!

Unsurprisingly, the scenes at the Martial Assembly's training areas were chaotic. Whether it was an individual-only room for closed-door seclusion, joint exercise rooms for smaller groups, or the massive training halls… Like how people called dibs on certain seats in a university library, people could be seen waging psychological warfare to occupy their favored training spots. The war of nerves had reached an insane point.

However, Kang Jin-Ho had no time of day for such nonsense.

“Level everything down.”

Lee Hyeon-Su had a sneaking suspicion that his boss had decided to set his identity as a bulldozer. That was because Kang Jin-Ho just issued an order to flatten all the training areas, even though those places were some of the most crucial pillars supporting the Martial Assembly!

“Sir, leveling everything down is a bit…”

“There is no point to them if gaps develop between those who train inside and those who are relegated outside. Let’s make things as fair as possible, shall we?”

“That’s… a rather extreme way to enforce fairness, sir.”

Being fair meant everyone received equal treatment, not dragging those who enjoyed privileges down. As long as those privileges had not been earned immorally, they should be acknowledged and left alone.

However, it was as if Kang Jin-Ho had become Karl Marx's avatar, judging from how he insisted all comrades must be equal in suffering! And like all the helpless goons groaning in resignation in the shadows of the tyrants they served, Lee Hyeon-Su had no choice but to faithfully carry out the orders.

The only saving grace in this situation was that one of the rules of the surface world also applied in this place. And that rule was… Tearing something down was so much easier than building something! Especially in the Martial Assembly, which was overflowing with human excavators and bulldozers!

With such workers freely available to exploit, dismantling buildings took no time at all.

Kang Jin-Ho only had to point at a building and say, ‘That structure is harmful to us,’ for martial artists to pounce on said building like an army of ants. And then, they diligently crushed and dismantled everything until not even crumbs of concrete remained on the spot. The empty spot was flattened to become an open plot of land next.

Kang Jin-Ho issued a new order afterward. “Turn it into a new training area.”

Lee Hyeon-Su frowned a little. “This space isn't quite large enough, sir. We need somewhere larger to accommodate all these people.”

“What do you mean? Anywhere is good enough for a training area as long as it’s a flat piece of land. How much space do we need, then?”

“But, sir, we lack such flat pieces of… Ah."

Lee Hyeon-Su realized he had said something he should not have. It was too late for regrets, though.

Of course, he hadn’t said anything wrong. The Martial Assembly’s HQ was located in the middle of a mountainside. With so many nameless peaks surrounding the area, calling this place naturally rugged would be selling the situation pretty short.

There was a reason why Lee Jung-Geol picked this particular location. Since this mountainside had nothing particularly significant about it, outsiders rarely approached the area. Even if they wanted to explore, the terrain made it hard to come and go as they pleased.

Those were all great advantages to have. However, this location also presented certain challenges, such as… Where would anyone find a flat piece of land in the middle of a mountainside?

Again, Lee Jung-Geol was no idiot. He ensured there would be enough room for expansion in the future while picking the right spot to build the Assembly HQ. Unfortunately, he was also not a god and obviously didn’t foresee a future where so many demon cult believers would join the Assembly one day!

So, to summarize… the current Martial Assembly faced a severe shortage of flat pieces of land that could serve as training areas.

“Oh, so we don't have enough flat grounds? Is that it?” Kang Jin-Ho muttered, then raised his head to look around.

Lee Hyeon-Su silently freaked out and tried to find something to say. He could already imagine what Kang Jin-Ho might say next. However, those words must not be said out loud, no matter what!

“That mountain over there. I don’t like it,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

Lee Hyeon-Su’s expression progressively cramped up. He definitely did not want to hear this, but…

“Cut it down.”

“Yes, sir…”

Kang Jin-Ho was now exercising absolute power through his fingertips. Anything he pointed at with that finger disappeared, whether it was man-made buildings or a mother nature-created mountain…!

The miracle of altering geography with just a finger pointing was unfolding right before Lee Hyeon-Su’s eyes! And all he could do was swallow back his tears of blood.

‘I’m happy about the Assembly Master becoming more fearless than before, but…!’

Instead of the previous Kang Jin-Ho, who displayed hints of hesitancy in his actions, Lee Hyeon-Su preferred the current Kang Jin-Ho and his manly ways of doing things.

Yes, this Kang Jin-Ho was preferable, but… But…!

‘Why? Why doesn’t he have, you know, a middle ground?’

Why did Kang Jin-Ho have to be so extreme?

Most people would be more gradual when they moved from one side to the other on a spectrum. As an example, if you thought the room was too cold, you'd either raise the temperature on the air conditioner or turn the device off altogether.

However, Kang Jin-Ho wanted the air conditioner destroyed for being too cold and a wood-burning stove installed in its place instead to warm up the place! That was the type of person he had become! No wonder the subordinates, like Lee Hyeon-Su, were going through Hell while trying to appease their boss!

“Calculate the number of people who will train here and prepare the training area accordingly,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

Martial artists wielding shovels like swords froze in their places and stared at Kang Jin-Ho, their faces sickly pale.

None of them were brave enough to openly voice their grievances to Kang Jin-Ho. So, they did the next best thing by ardently staring at Lee Hyeon-Su, their spokesperson!

“By the way, sir?”

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at Lee Hyeon-Su. “What is it?”

“...Cutting that mountain down still won’t be enough, sir.”

The shocked gasps of ‘Hiiiieeeek?!’ broke out from various places. What Lee Hyeon-Su said should have been strictly forbidden. He must not say those absolutely prohibited words…!

“Is it? Then, cut more down.” Kang Jin-Ho used his chin to point at a peak in front of his view, then another one behind him. “Those two should suffice, right?”

“Sir. We’ll proceed accordingly, then.”

“Sure. I’ll leave it to you.” Kang Jin-Ho turned around and leisurely made his way down the mountain.

In the meantime, Lee Hyeon-Su turned around and faced the despairing crowd. “Slaves! You heard the man!”

“…!”

“Work! Work, without ever standing up straight! You can stand up and rest after shoveling for one hundred times! Do you understand me! The demon emperor wishes to see that mountain gone! Gone!”

Everyone who heard Lee Hyeon-Su’s yell was suddenly reminded of the valuable lesson taught to anyone interested in the subject of human history. And that would be…

Forget tyrants and dictators, the real human scum were actually the bastards sticking to their bosses like leeches and going on a power trip!

***

“Too weak!”

Someone was sent flying. Someone, as in a person!

However, the passersby remained unperturbed by this spectacle.

“Oh? Hey, where did you get that coffee?”

“I guess you don't know? We have a cafe now. By the main building.”

“Heol? Really? How come I didn’t know?”

“Well, you never had a reason to go there, that’s why.”

BOOM!

Even though the scary noise of a human body hitting the floor echoed in the air, no one bothered to turn their heads and look at what happened. No one here cared, it seemed.

That was because this sight had become a daily occurrence at this point. What was happening right now was no longer anything special in their eyes!

“That’s weird, though. Is it okay to have something like a cafe in our HQ?”

“Apparently, the Assembly Master has okayed it?”

“...Really? Wouldn’t it lead to info about us leaking out or something?”

“Well… A few retired folks are running cafes in the surface world, right? One of them must’ve been called back to work here, I guess?”

“Wow, pigs must have really learned to fly, eh? We now even have a cafe inside the Assembly and all.”

As the passersby walked, they could faintly hear the following:

“Uwaaaaaahk!”

“P-please! Don’t kill… Uwaaahk! Aaaahk!”

BANG! BOOM! KA-BOOM!

“Oh, hey, did you hear about the cafeteria also going through a huge change?”

“As expected of our Assembly Master! Did he order the menu to be changed?”

“Nope, it's not that."

“Huh? What then?”

“Apparently, the cafeteria management got audited and was caught trying to embezzle money for side dishes. People say the head of accounting was seen throwing the dining tables into the kitchen while fuming like a witch.”

“...Holy sh*t.”

“Yeah, my sentiments exactly. I’m sure the cafeteria management wouldn’t have embezzled anything if they knew that scary sister would become the head of accounting. I hear they stopped skimming off the top already, but their past sins caught up to them in the end.”

“Huh. I'm guessing they got destroyed, then?”

“Well, yeah. Balls of steel on those guys, I tell you… Argh, so noisy!”

Everyone could acutely feel on their skin that the Assembly was gradually transforming. All the things that had been operating without any structure were changing into something more systematic and organized. Stuff these people took for granted were being changed and fixed one by one, and they could no longer take them for granted.

“That’s good news, though. The cafeteria food desperately sucked, after all.”

“Yeah. You can't even call that food, anyway. It's so bad the higher-ups always go down the mountain to eat at diners and stuff!”

“Don’t you think that’s the real reason why the cafeteria was flipped on its head?”

“Mm? What do you mean?”

“I mean, the higher-ups don't have the time to go to diners and stuff anymore, right? When the Assembly Master is watching them like a hawk and all.”

“...Oh, you’re right. That could be it, too.”

Humans could be patient when the food was meant for someone else, but their fuse would become surprisingly short when the same sh*tty food was meant for them instead!

“I don't think that's really the case here, but… Whatever the case might be, things are changing for real around here, eh?”

“Yeah, you can say that…”

BAAANG!

A person’s figure suddenly crash-landed in front of these two passersby.

“...Again.”

However, the duo simply ignored the collapsed victim and walked right over him. But then, the supposed victim shot back up to his feet almost immediately before rushing back to where he came flying from with ferocious intensity.

The passersby glanced at the man.

“He sure is working hard, isn’t he?”

They couldn’t help but feel sorry for the man.

‘I'm so glad that we're weaklings.'

The folks being thrown around in the air were elders of the demon cult. Kang Jin-Ho had taken umbrage at how middling their strength was, leading to the current situation.

“D-demon emperor, sir! I! I’m on my way!”

These elders were overflowing with undying loyalty and never whined or feigned injury despite getting punted around by Kang Jin-Ho’s punches and kicks. Even after landing painfully on the ground, they would pick themselves up and rush back to get beaten up again.

“Too weak!”

Kang Jin-Ho’s voice could faintly be heard coming from some distance away.

***

“F-finally, I…”

Bang Jin-Hun’s hands trembled uncontrollably. Those shaking hands grabbed the computer monitor hard.

“I… I did it!”

What a lonesome and mindnumbing battle this had been… Not to mention bloody painful, too! However, Bang Jin-Hun finally emerged from this battle as a victor.

“I, I, I! I’ve completed it!”

The computer screen displayed a Word processor page filled to the brim with words. In other words… After racking his brain to no end and doing more research than he had ever done in his entire life, Bang Jin-Hun had finally completed his goal. The goal of completing the Martial Assembly’s foundational martial art!

Although he couldn't proudly proclaim that his creation was perfect and faultless just yet, a few minor adjustments and refinements here and there to iron out the errors should be enough to give birth to the first martial art to bear the Assembly's name.

Emotions overwhelmed Bang Jin-Hun, and his hands continued to tremble unsteadily.

‘I… I did this!’

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say this challenge should have been beyond his capabilities. Even Bang Jin-Hun thought his odds of success were pitiful at best. Yet he still succeeded in this near-impossible challenge.

In that case, how could he not get emotional about it? His view quickly grew foggy by all the manly sweat coming from his heart.

‘I did it! Yes, I did!’

His happiness didn’t stem from the fact that he had completed the foundational martial art, though. No, he was happy because his creation would now contribute to the future growth of the Martial Assembly.

Kang Jin-Ho might be leading the Assembly along with Lee Hyeon-Su, Vator, and Wiggins, but their loyalty or affection toward the organization

could never match Bang Jin-Hun's.

However, Bang Jin-Hun felt that he hadn't contributed much to the organization lately. And that was why he was so happy to achieve a feat that would surely be recorded as significant in the Martial Assembly's history.

Kang Jin-Ho opened the office door without a knock and entered. “Sounds like you’ve completed it.”

Bang Jin-Hun’s expression brightened. “Oh, Assembly Master!”

“Congratulations are in order, then.”

“No, sir. There’s no need. You’ve basically created this martial art, after all. It was only through your assistance that we even got this far. That’s why… I’m truly grateful, sir!”

Bang Jin-Hun wasn't just paying lip service here. He was being serious. Without Kang Jin-Ho, this project would've never been completed. After all, it was he who gave form to all the vague ideas and concepts of a martial art floating around in Bang Jin-Hun's mind.

Everything Kang Jin-Ho did could be tallied up to less than 10% of the result. However, without that 10%, this martial art would have never seen the light of day. In that case, how could Bang Jin-Hun not be thankful for…

“So, shall I take a look, then?” Kang Jin-Ho swiftly approached the computer, prompting Bang Jin-Hun to vacate his chair and stand aside.

Bang Jin-Hun tutted softly. “Having it in my hand as an actual book would’ve been cooler, though.”

“That's an outdated mindset, don't you think?” Kang Jin-Ho asked with a soft chuckle.

The era had changed to the point where the martial art secret manual now came in the form of an MS Word processor. While chuckling away, Kang Jin-Ho grabbed the mouse and began perusing the Word document on the screen. After a while, though…

Kang Jin-Ho beckoned at Bang Jin-Hun.

Bang Jin-Hun leaned toward the monitor and spoke proudly. “Sir. I guess it’s unexpectedly…”

Kang Jin-Ho used the mouse to highlight a section of the document. “This part here.”

“...Sorry?”

“And this one, this one, this one too, and then… This one!”

With a drag of the mouse… Kang Jin-Ho deleted all the highlighted parts!

“K-kuh-huk?!”

With each and every deletion, Bang Jin-Hun felt like his heart was being ripped apart, one piece at a time!

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. “This is weird. I thought I was loud and clear, though? All these explanations and realizations are wrong.”

“…!”

“Do it over.”

“…”

Kang Jin-Ho coolly saved the Word document and stood up from the chair before heading toward the exit in light steps. “Don't worry, Director Bang. It shouldn't take long since you've done it before. Don't give up just yet, okay?”

Clack…

After closing the door behind him, Kang Jin-Ho quickly distanced himself from Bang Jin-Hun's office. He had a lot of work to do today, after all!

It didn’t take him long to leave the Assembly HQ, and as he set foot outside, he heard a howl of a beast coming from somewhere upstairs… And the noises of things shattering into pieces.

‘...Today’s weather is pretty good, no?’

Kang Jin-Ho casually dug his ear, then cheerily walked away.