Descent of the Demon Master

‘Something doesn’t feel right.’

Even the coffee tasted bland and flat to Knight Leveaux.

It wasn’t as if he had suddenly developed a problem with his sense of taste. After all, he could definitely pick up on the rich aroma of the coffee by concentrating just a little. But that taste would dissipate oh-so-hollowly like a mirage as soon as his focus drifted away to something else.

“Fuu-woo…”

Knight Leveaux rubbed his face slowly. At least, he tried to. Unfortunately, the mask on his face blocked his hand from getting any closer to his skin.

‘How cumbersome…!’

The first thing a Knight must familiarize himself with after earning this prestigious position was living with this mask. Leveaux's journey as the representative Knight of France also began by learning to become one with this cumbersome mask. After all these years, he figured it had become a part of his life, but now…

What a laughable thing this was. The mask that felt like an extension of his body became a burden from a certain moment on. How many times did Leveaux feel the temptation to take this bloody thing off his face whenever he was alone?

As a martial artist, he shouldn’t have any significant issues living his life with a mask on his face. So, rather than a physical problem, this had to be psychological.

A strange smirk crept up on Knight Leveaux's lips. A mask was supposed to be a tool to hide one's face. So, getting used to constantly wearing a mask meant one was now used to hiding behind a facade.

However, Knight Leveaux now felt uncomfortable with wearing this mask. Didn't that mean he wished to stop hiding who he was?

‘That makes sense, doesn’t it?’

Just how dedicated was Leveaux in hiding his true self until now?

The Round Table was supposed to be an organization of fairness. But it never was fair. What this organization valued the most wasn't its agent's abilities but how well said agent hid their true nature and acclimatized to the organization's rules and regulations.

In that regard, one could say Knight Leveaux was a success story. Of course, that success wasn’t perfect. After all, weren’t the Master and Wiggins deeply suspicious of Leveaux from the get-go?

However, so what if they did? As long as the result was good, who cared about the process of getting there? And now, Knight Leveaux had no reason to hide his true nature. Not anymore, at least!

After all, the Round Table would soon become his. And then he would…!

Knight Leveaux’s grip on his mask strengthened just a little. The mask hiding his face began bending precariously as if it’d snap in half.

‘No… Not yet! It’s not the time yet.’

Knight Leveaux barely managed to calm his pounding heart down.

One of the valuable life lessons he learned while “protecting” the Round Table all this time was the simple truth of… Whether it was a battle of wits or something else, nothing was over until it truly was over!

The Master and Wiggins didn’t learn that lesson, and that was why they lost the Round Table’s control. However, Knight Leveaux would never commit such a stupid mistake!

‘Just one more day!’

Indeed. One more day, and everything would fall into…

BANG!

That was when the office door was suddenly shoved open.

Knight Leveaux scowled unhappily. “What are you doing!”

The subordinate rushing inside the office urgently cried out, “K-Knight, sir! It’s an emergency! Enemies are assaulting the HQ!”

“...Say what?!” Knight Leveaux blinked his eyes, his mask failing to hide his fluster. “Enemies? Did I hear that right?”

“Yes, sir! They are quickly approaching the HQ as we speak!”

“Who are they?!"

“We are trying to figure that out, sir!”

“What…!” Knight Leveaux hurriedly got up. Enemies? How was that even possible! “What happened to all the guards?!”

“Sir! We still haven't received any in-depth report from them yet! However, considering the astonishing speed of the enemy's advance, the guards seemed to have failed to stop the…”

“Those useless English bastards!”

BOOM!

Knight Leveaux slammed his fist down on his wooden table, splitting it in half and sending the cup of aromatic coffee into the air.

“Even though I told them so, so many times to pay utmost attention to our security! Those… Those incompetent sons of b*tches!”

The subordinate nervously swallowed his saliva. Technically, the British didn't fail at guarding the HQ but at stopping the enemy's advances. In that case, the poor guards should not be blamed, but the subordinate didn't have the balls to point that out to an irate superior officer.

“The location of the enemies?”

“They are closing in on the HQ’s entrance, sir!”

“Then… Position the Chevaliers at the entrance, now!”

“Sir!” The subordinate saluted, then hurriedly rushed outside.

However, before he could reach the doorway, Knight Leveaux stopped him first. “Wait!”

“Sir?”

“You said we still don’t know who the enemies are, didn’t you?”

“...Yes, sir. But we'll find out soon, sir!"

“How about their numbers, then? Do we know that much, at least?”

“It's not confirmed yet, but we do not believe we're dealing with a large group of enemies, sir! At most, it should be around three hundred!”

Knight Leveaux slowly nodded. “I see. Got it.”

“Sir!”

After the subordinate hurriedly dashed out of the office, Knight Leveaux clutched at his mask again.

‘It… has to be Wiggins!’

He couldn’t think of anyone else. Only Wiggins would do something as insane as raiding the Round Table’s HQ at this delicate timing.

‘Master, you… That old man’s prediction was right again?’

Irritation quickly filled Leveaux’s heart after remembering the Master’s repeated warnings.

That old fart warned that Wiggins would come. And he also said that…

‘...Kang Jin-Ho!'

...That Wiggins would show up with that man!

Leveaux dismissed that warning as a last-gasp threat of an old man suffering from mental decline. So, to think it would really happen!

‘However, are they insane?’

Knight Leveaux couldn’t understand it. Wiggins was obviously not a moron. And he must know how powerful the Round Table’s forces were. In that case, what madness drove him to attack the Round Table’s HQ personally like this?

‘No, no. Wait. He knows. And that’s why he’s here!’

After all, now would be the only window of opportunity for the foreseeable future.

Leveaux hadn't officially acquired all the authority the Master of the Round Table enjoyed. Which meant he'd have to convene a meeting of the Knights in order to deploy the organization's full military might.

The only combatants he could mobilize would be his direct subordinates, plus the defenders already present in the HQ.

Knight Leveaux had to admit that now was the best time to attack. Even then…

‘...Only three hundred? Really?’

Since that was the upper end of the estimate, there could be an even fewer number of enemies. And such a piffling number was trying to raid the Round Table’s HQ?

“Hah… It seems you were in too much of a hurry, Wiggins.”

A strange smirk floated up on Knight Leveaux’s face.

This situation shouldn't matter in the grand scheme of things. After all, didn't Leveaux already guess that Wiggins might take advantage of this opening? He hadn't prepared countermeasures against this possibility not because he let his guard down. No, he was confident of winning regardless of who dared to come after him!

The true identity of Leveaux's current emotion was fluster, not despair!

“Indeed, indeed… I won’t be the one despairing, Wiggins. It will be you and your foolish friends!”

Knight Leveaux grunted, then leisurely stepped outside his office.

***

“Hmm. Looks like we’re more or less done here…” Wiggins also grunted, then casually shrugged. “My lord? Looks like this is the best we can do.”

Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow. “...Kinda unconvincing, no?”

“I assure you that this magic binding's performance is top-notch. Besides…” Wiggins glanced at all the British agents of the Round Table “tied up” in shining magic ropes and grinned affably. “Even if these folks have the ability to free themselves, they won't. That wouldn't be a good look for them, after all. Our success tonight will ultimately be a good result for them. And being tied up like this will give them a good excuse later in case we fail our quest for some reason. Wouldn't you agree, Kendrick?”

“...Yes, sir.” Kendrick cautiously replied. Why did it sound like Wiggins was telling these POWs how to act, even though he was supposedly explaining the situation to his boss?

Although this arrangement looked a bit suspect, that logic should help these guards dodge the blame later on.

What Wiggins had done was herd the survivors to a side, then used his magic to tie them all up. Obviously, such a magic spell wouldn't have enough energy to keep these people tied up forever. Still, it should be enough for its intended role.

While making a somewhat dissatisfied face, Kang Jin-Ho scanned the tied-up people. “You know, Wiggins… I could've just knocked them out.”

“...They will die if you do that, my lord.”

“A man must be prepared to accept some losses in life, Wiggins.”

Kendrick's complexion paled as he listened to this riveting exchange of ideas. "S-sirs! We will never try to free ourselves! I swear!”

“...Hmm.” Kang Jin-Ho slowly shook his head, then glanced at Wiggins. “Fine. Do whatever you want.”

“Thank you, my lord.”

“Still, I can't help but think you're still too soft.”

“Our methods can’t be completely the same, my lord. That’d be unnatural. Besides, that would also not be great for the Assembly overall.”

Kang Jin-Ho shrugged nonchalantly again. “I don't mind if that's what you've decided to do.”

Wiggins grinned brightly while watching Kang Jin-Ho walk ahead. Then, he shifted his attention back to the tied-up people, specifically Kendrick. “I know things are confusing right now. However, wait for a bit longer. Everything will be over before the sunrise.”

“But, Knight Wiggins!” Despite knowing Wiggins shouldn’t be addressed as such, Kendrick still ended up blurting that out. “Are you… coming back to us, sir?”

“No,” Wiggins calmly shook his head. “I can’t. I’ve already left the Round Table. Going back now wouldn’t look great for everyone involved. Besides…”

Wiggins' expression grew rueful as he stared at the cold, unmoving figures of those who had fallen tonight.

“...I don’t want to trample on their honor.”

He was merely doing what needed to be done. But that didn’t change the fact that he had a hand in killing his former comrades.

Wiggins solemnly turned back to face Kendrick and Co. “I’m only here to correct this twisted turn of events. And then, we’ll leave again. That will be all.”

“…!”

“Then, goodbye.”

Wiggins coolly turned around to leave, prompting his comrades on standby to follow him.

Kendrick sighed deeply at this sight. He still wasn’t sure what happened and what would happen soon, but… Watching this spectacle filled him with untold frustration.

***

Vator grunted. “So, correcting the twisted turn of events, eh?”

Wiggins frowned. “...Sir Vator, I’d prefer if you stop being fluent in English when it’s convenient for you. That goes for you as well, my lord!”

“That’s the advantage of a global official language, Wiggins,” Vator smirked. “Besides, you seem rather skilled at nicely repackaging events. Keep this up, and some people might really think you’re a hero who couldn’t tolerate the Round Table’s corruption anymore and came home after a bout of profound soul-searching.”

Wiggins wryly grinned in silence.

‘You didn't have to openly point that out, though.'

After coughing to clear his throat, Wiggins tried to defend himself. “Sir Vator, please don’t forget that a favorable public image is an important facet of life in this day and age.”

“And that image is of a con man, I presume?”

“...Yes, I won't deny that. However, to paraphrase a famous saying, all that ends well is well, wouldn't you agree? I’ve given those folks hope, which is good. And we walked away with some benefits from this deal, too. Which is also good.”

“Hah… Remind me never to negotiate with you,” Vator chuckled ruefully.

Wiggins didn’t come here to fulfill some kind of a duty to justice. No, he was strictly here for business. But he still couldn’t resist using a few suave words to turn himself into a prodigal son coming home to fulfill his destiny.

“And those fellas fell for it like naive idiots,” Vator grunted.

“They didn’t fall for it, Sir Vator,” said Wiggins.

“Mm? Then, what happened?”

“It's just that they desperately want to believe,” Wiggins smirked deeply. “The best way to con people is to let them hear what they want to hear. Whatever the actual truth turns out to be, they most likely want to believe that I'm here to liberate them. So, that’s the part I’ll play.”

“And most people call that a scam, no?”

“No, Sir Vator. This isn’t a scam. That is when one side suffers a loss while the other side benefits from the deal. However, I’m not harming those fellas, now am I? After all, what I want to acquire here will fall into Leveaux’s hands if left alone, so what would these poor guards be losing by us snatching it away before that happened? That’s why this is no scam, sir. The correct term should be…”

That was when Kang Jin-Ho suddenly butted in a flat voice. “Charlatan.”

“Yes. Charla… I’m sorry?” Wiggins blinked his eyes in a hurry.

“That’s what people will say. That you’re a charlatan.”

“…”

“Ku-hahahahaha!” Vator laughed uproariously while clutching at his gut.

Wiggins' face had turned beet-red from what Kang Jin-Ho said. But he seemed unable to find the right counter this time 'round and could only frown deeply. And that greatly amused Vator to no end!

“…Please don’t laugh too loudly, Sir Vator. We’re in the middle of the enemy camp.”

“Hah! They already know we’re here, so who cares?”

“Even so.”

“Kekekeke! Alright, fine. How about I laugh quietly, then? Like this? Kekeke!”

“Urgh…” Wiggins helplessly shook his head. The more he tried to defend himself, the deeper the hole he dug for himself! “Anyways… We’re here, my lord.”

Wiggins stopped and pointed at a massive opening in the forest.

“Mm? It's… here?”

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. All he could see was an open space, with the only notable feature being several boulders the size of a person dotting this empty landscape.

This was the Round Table’s HQ?

That was when Wiggins smiled meaningfully. “To be precise, it’s not here, but…”

His finger slowly pointed downward.

“...Below the surface, my lord.”

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