Descent of the Demon Master

Clomp, clomp...

Without saying a word, Wilson continued to trudge through the corridor. Wiggins was right behind him, but neither man tried to start a conversation.

Wilson quietly chewed on his lips.

‘What the hell am I even doing?’

He couldn’t understand his own actions. Didn’t he resolve himself after Knight Chadwick ordered the Garter Knights to stop the intruders, which included Wiggins? Didn’t he swear to himself that he’d do whatever it takes to stop Wiggins and Co.?

Obviously, Wilson understood that Wiggins had a nice-sounding justification. But didn't Wilson's side have an equally nice-sounding justification, too? In a chaotic situation where two justifications collided against each other, Wilson believed his role was to stand firm and stick to his principles.

After all, he was never taught to change his stance depending on the situation. Things he had to learn to become the Garter Knight Order's captain were unquestioningly obeying the higher-ups' commands and strictly adhering to the rules and regulations of the Round Table.

But in the proverbial blink of an eye… Everything fell apart.

Wilson stole a glance behind him. Kang Jin-Ho was there, silently following from a little distance away.

That man looked outwardly ordinary. Yes, so unremarkably ordinary. However, Wilson could still vividly recall seeing the truth. Right as his face was being grabbed, he witnessed Kang Jin-Ho's hidden demonic side!

If Wilson obstinately said no back then, Kang Jin-Ho would’ve nonchalantly squeezed his skull till it burst apart.

That man, Kang Jin-Ho, he… He didn't have the heart of a human being.

‘No, wait. Let me take that back. He doesn’t view me as his fellow human being!’

Kang Jin-Ho’s eyes back then weren’t looking at his enemies. “Enemies” implied humans who held hostile intentions against him. But Kang Jin-Ho’s gaze didn’t contain the usual emotions reserved for hostile entities. It seemed more like he was staring at inorganic something rather than other human beings!

Indeed, that was the kind of gaze one might unconsciously use while looking at things like a desk or a chair. And that was what got Wilson spooked so much.

Inorganic substances would get thrown away once they were deemed no longer useful. And that story would've applied to Wilson, too. Kang Jin-Ho would have thrown Wilson away like garbage if he thought the captain of the Garter Knight Order was useless to his cause.

There was nothing honorable about being thrown away like trash. Certainly nothing to be proud of, either!

Living in the martial world was similar to constantly walking on a knife’s edge. No matter how strong you were, you’d inevitably run into someone stronger sooner or later. That was why a martial artist should always be prepared to meet their maker.

Wilson had never forgotten that fact. He knew his death could be around the corner at any given moment. Even then…!

Even then, he didn't want to be treated like trash by an enemy he hadn't even fought before and then die an ignoble death!

‘Yes, I know. That’s nothing more than an excuse. But!’

But Wilson wanted to live!

When Kang Jin-Ho's hand grabbed his face, Wilson was beset with this visceral sensation of facing his own death. It was so much stronger than anything he had experienced in his entire life. After facing death like that, which had been nothing more than a vague concept residing in his head up until that point, what awoke inside Wilson was… an equally visceral desire to live!

‘That’s right! I… I wanted to live. But, so what! Is that so wrong?’

“You seem to have a lot on your mind, Wilson.”

Wilson flinched at Wiggins' voice and quickly turned his head to look. Wiggins was now walking right next to Wilson, but the latter had been too immersed in his thoughts to notice it.

“No need to overthink it, Wilson.”

“…?”

“I was the same as you, you see?” Wiggins grinned wryly.

He could easily guess how shocked Wilson must be right now. After all, didn't Wiggins also experience a similar gamut of emotions when he first confirmed Kang Jin-Ho's incredible strength with his own two eyes?

However, Wiggins wasn't threatened by Kang Jin-Ho back then, so one could argue that Wilson's circumstance might be a bit worse off overall. Even so!

“...Knight Wiggins, sir, were you really the same back then?”

“I told you I’m not a Knight anymore, Wilson.”

“...My apologies. A force of habit, you see.”

Wiggins grinned wryly again.

‘Knight Wiggins, is it…?’

Wiggins could only grin after realizing that Wilson wasn’t the only one dealing with his old habits. Even Wiggins would often introduce himself as a Knight… despite knowing he shouldn’t do that.

Then again, he had been serving as a Knight of the Round Table for well over a dozen years. It'd be unrealistic of him to change his habits overnight.

“Mister Wiggins, may I ask you something?”

Wiggins nodded slightly. “Yes, go ahead.”

Wilson cautiously asked, “Why… Why did you do it?”

“…”

Wiggins found this timing somewhat ironic. Wilson didn't ask that when the situation probably demanded it the most. And he finally summoned enough courage to ask it after the heat of the moment had cooled down.

“It’s because I must’ve felt the same as you, Wilson.”

“...I don’t follow?”

“Tell me, Wilson. What do you feel now?”

Wilson clamped his mouth shut. What were the emotions running rampant in his mind right now?

Confusion. Terror. Violated. Rage. And finally…

‘...Powerlessness.’

Out of all the emotions, the crippling sense of powerlessness was perhaps the strongest.

Humans tended to overestimate themselves. Evaluating oneself as objectively as possible was perhaps twice as hard as viewing the world without any emotion clouding one’s judgment.

Wilson always saw himself as a man who’d never surrender to power. He believed himself to be a true “knight” who would gladly sacrifice his life to uphold his honor.

But his real self, the one he was forced to confront today, turned out to be nothing more than an ordinary man, nay, a humble nobody who readily discarded his honor for his continued survival.

It was no wonder he felt so powerless right now.

Wiggins slowly shook his head. “It’s not your fault, Wilson.”

“…”

“I’m not trying to console you. I genuinely think this way. You haven’t done anything wrong here.”

“Where are you going with this, Mister Wiggins?”

“Humans judge themselves according to how they have responded or reacted to various experiences in their lives. If you insisted on upholding your honor, then well, it wouldn’t have been strange to judge yourself as a knight who valued his honor above all else.”

“…”

“So, yes. It’s not as if you’ve made a wrong judgment call. It’s just that, hmm. How should I explain it…?” Wiggins sneakily turned his head and looked behind him. “Let’s just say that some situations can’t be experienced within the confines of the Round Table.”

Wilson had to agree with that assertion. Not because he was looking for more excuses to defend himself, though. No, because it was demonstrably true.

Since he was a little kid, Wilson had always lived his life for the Garter Knight Order and the Round Table. He went through countless battles and experienced many events. Even then, he had never encountered a man like Kang Jin-Ho. Wilson could swear on his life that Kang Jin-Ho was an irregular who defied any attempt to classify him.

“Do you think my experience would've been different from yours?” Wiggins smirked mysteriously. “The shock I felt back then must've been similar in impact to the one you're feeling right now. Back then, it felt like the world I knew had crumbled down. I believed the Round Table was the answer to everything, but that one moment taught me that there are still plenty of incomprehensible things left to be discovered in this world.”

Wilson grew dejected. “...I’m sure the Round Table cannot be compared to a well, sir.”

“That’s what I used to think. But now… Do you still believe that, Wilson?”

Wilson couldn’t immediately respond.

The Round Table supposedly controlled the world. That was why Wilson figured staying within the bounds of this organization would be enough to teach him about the wider world. But Kang Jin-Ho’s existence had grandly shattered that mindset.

“Is that why you left the Round Table, sir? To learn more about the world?”

“I’d love to say that is the case, but…” Wiggins smirked softly. “You want to know the truth? I thought it might be fun.”

“…!” Wilson promptly clamped his mouth shut. This revelation didn’t flabbergast him, though. And it certainly didn’t anger him, either.

‘That’s right, he…’

The “Wiggins” Wilson knew always had been like this. A man who knew how to hide his real intentions behind humor; a man seemingly more cunning and crafty than anyone, but in reality… Wiggins was more compulsive than anyone Wilson knew! And that made Wiggins such a fascinating individual.

“Mister… Sir Wiggins?”

“Mm?”

“I know that you’ve always been this way. Even so, allow me to say this one thing as a piece of advice.”

“...I see. Let’s hear it.”

“Sir, if you think you’ll do something as compulsive as this again in the future, at the very least, think about the ones you will be leaving behind.”

“Mm…!”

“We didn't even get the opportunity to choose to follow you or not. So how could we agree with you, in principle at least, when you suddenly come back and say all these self-righteous things?”

“Let me apologize for that,” Wiggins frowned, his expression one of genuine regret. "But I do have an excuse. The situation back then did not allow me to come home and put my affairs in order first.”

“Sir, phones exist for a reason.”

“...I’ll just apologize now.”

“Hmph.” Wilson snorted in displeasure. However, unlike what his scowling expression suggested, his heart was much more at ease.

Chatting with Wiggins had lessened Wilson's fear of Kang Jin-Ho to a manageable degree. And even his accumulated dissatisfaction toward Wiggins had dissolved until it seemed no longer as significant.

Wilson grunted slightly. “Now that we’ve come this far, it seems I have no choice but to pray for your success, sir.”

“Indeed. We’re on the same boat now, Wilson.”

“...Please don’t smirk like that, sir.”

Wiggins cackled. “I can’t help it. This has turned into a rather enjoyable situation for me, you see?”

“It seems that while you were gone, your character has gotten a little more peculiar than before, sir.”

“That I can't deny. At all. I've been in the company of a rather rough crowd, you see? So, it's been… Argh.” Wiggins ruefully shook his head.

Even Wilson had to sigh under his breath. For sure, Wiggins seemed to have changed somewhat. He always knew how to be humorous in the past but was never this mischievous.

‘Just what has he been doing during this short time away?’

Wilson couldn’t understand it. But one thing was for certain now. Wilson simply had no choice but to assist Wiggins with everything he got.

The Round Table never forgave traitors. Regardless of the reasons or justifications, the Garter Knight Order still sided with Wiggins and helped Kang Jin-Ho. Since that was the case, Kang Jin-Ho's defeat tonight would lead to the Round Table eliminating all the traitors without mercy.

Worse still…

‘It’ll give Knight Leveaux all the pretexts he needs.’

Knight Wiggins' betrayal could be settled without things going too overboard. After all, the Round Table didn't usually blame the entire group for a lone individual's breach of rules. Besides, Leveaux's hands were tied on this one since the members of his own Chevaliers had technically betrayed him and the organization, too.

However, when the Master's ousting became official, and the Garter Knight Order's rebellion was added on top of it? Knight Leveaux would have plenty of justifications to reduce Britain's influence within the Round Table and to push for a thorough “cleansing” of the British martial society!

In other words, Britain’s martial artists would welcome an unprecedented Dark Age if Knight Leveaux successfully became the next Master and fended off the Koreans’ assault!

‘And I must prevent that at any cost!’

Wilson clenched his teeth hard. Even though he knew his “crime” was about to get an upgrade from betrayal to treason, he couldn’t see any other way to fix this situation.

He faced two possible options. One was to change his mind now, command the Garter Knight Order, and fight Wiggins and his comrades off. The other option was to assist Wiggins to the best of his abilities and return the Master to his rightful position.

Could Wilson choose the first option?

‘No. That will only get us killed.’

Besides, he couldn’t choose that even if he wanted to.

The knights of the Garter had already prepared themselves to die but were granted an unexpected opportunity to live on. In that case, could Wilson order them to die again?

It’d be a minor miracle if these knights didn’t start a mutiny on the spot!

If there hadn't been someone the knights could cling to, then maybe Wilson could've ordered them around. However, with Wiggins right next to them, someone was bound to disobey Wilson and stick to the former Knight of the Round Table.

Just one person choosing to side with Wiggins would trigger the majority to switch sides, too. And then… it'd be all over for Wilson.

Since that was the case, Wilson realistically had only one option to choose from.

He turned to face Wiggins and spoke solemnly. “Sir Wiggins, please promise me this one thing.”

“Mm? Promise you what?”

“I will take full responsibility for what’s about to happen.”

Wiggins furrowed his brow. “…!”

“When you fulfill your objective tonight, I beg of you to look after my subordinates. They are blameless in this affair.”

“But the Master will…”

Wilson shook his head. “No, sir. The Master can’t protect us. Even if we’re trying to help him, the Master has no choice but to be beholden to the opinions of other Knights. And they will not accept perceived traitors in their ranks. That is why you must give me your word, sir. Promise me that these warriors will not be harmed in the ensuing fallout.”

Wiggins glanced behind him and saw Kang Jin-Ho coolly nod away. Now that he got this confirmation, Wiggins looked back at Wilson and spoke reassuringly. “I give you my word. I will ensure that they are well looked after.”

“Thank you. Then, well…!”

Clang!

Wilson unsheathed his sword and spoke loudly.

“We shall be your sword from this moment on!”

Wiggins smiled gently. “I welcome you to our team, Wilson. Let us make haste, then. It’s time to turn things back to how it should be.”

“What will be our goal, sir?”

“Of course, it will be Knight Leveaux’s head.”

“Understood. We’ll take the lead.” Wilson nodded, then stormed forward in a hurry.

Wiggins shrugged casually at this sight. “You still take your time making up your mind, don’t you?”

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