<h4>Side Story Chapter 62 - Happy End? (4)</h4>


    Oh Kang-Woo sank into a bottomless swamp, embraced by darkness.


    "Aaaahh."


    He was familiar with the environment; it was the Abyss, a ce he had been stuck inside for so long he had gotten sick of it. The souls of demons filled the endless ck sea.


    <i>''Looks like I''m back.''</i>


    He had left with the determination that he would nevere back but had ended up back in the Abyss after not even half a year.


    <i>''Well...''</i> Kang-Woo smirked as he floated in the darkness. <i>''The situation is a little differentpared to before.''</i>


    The Abyss had already submitted to him once before; facing a loser a second time would be far easier than the first time.


    <i>''Not only that, but my mind is clear.''</i>


    Unlike how clouded his mind had been the first time he was stuck in the Abyss, it was almost as clear as usual, likely because he was not significantly injured. It would be a piece of cake for him to escape the Abyss in his current state.


    <i>''That aside.''</i> Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. <i>''This is probably because of that Light of Akart or whatever it is.''</i>


    He couldn''t think of any other reason why he suddenly fell unconscious along with immense pain and sank into the Abyss.


    <i>''Tsk, what a pain in the ass.''</i>


    Akart could disintegrate the Demonic Sea; he was far more of a dangerous opponent than Kang-Woo had thought.


    <i>''That''s a Titan for you.''</i>


    They were not the creators of the universe for nothing. Not even Kang-Woo, who had be one with the Demonic Sea, could take them lightly.


    <i>''I need to regain my powers as soon as... Hm?''</i>


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. The vengeful demons who should be attacking him by now were nowhere in sight.


    "Where the hell are they?"


    He looked around and saw them cowering in fear from a distance. They screamed in terror once they met eyes with Kang-Woo and scattered.


    [G-Go away, you monster!!]


    [Aaaaaaahhhh!! I don''t want to be like Satan!!!]


    [Save meeeeeeeeeeee!!!]


    The demons of the Abyss were screaming as they ran away from Kang-Woo.


    "The fuck? Why are you the ones running? You should be charging at me and getting your asses beaten likest time. Sheesh."


    Kang-Woo chuckled as he chased after the demons.


    <i>''It''ll take me longer to get out of here if they don''te to me.''</i>


    He had nned on stimting the Demonic Sea as he fought against the Demons trapped in the Abyss, but he couldn''t stimte it at this rate.


    "WHY ARE YOU RUNNING? WHY ARE YOU RUNNING?!"


    [Gaaaaaaaahhh!! R-Ruuuuuun!!]


    [A demon!! A demon has appeared!]


    "You guys are demons too."


    <i>''The hell is with these guys?''</i>


    "Hm?"


    As Kang-Woo chased the demons running for their lives, he saw Satan among them.


    "PARTNER—!!! SO THIS IS WHERE YOU WERE!!!" he shouted in extraordinary joy as he chased after Satan. "SATAN—!!!"


    [GAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!! WHY?! WHY IS IT ME AGAIN?!]


    "Where are you going, partner—?! Have you forgotten our oath of friendship?! About how we fought the monster as one body, one soul?!"


    [GO AWAY!! PLEASE STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!!!] screamed Satan as he bawled his eyes out.


    Kang-Woo was happy to see Satan so lively after being reduced to rags in their previous battle against the monsters.


    [Hm? What''s all this noise about?]


    A demon in the form of a boy walked out from the crowd of running demons as Kang-Woo was chasing after Satan.


    "Bael?"


    [Oh, fuck.]


    "LORD BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEL!! IT''S BEEN A LONG TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIME!!!"


    It was Bael, Kang-Woo''s lord whom he had served with undying loyalty for a time.


    [Gaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!! Why the fuck is the Demon King here?!] Bael screamed as he also ran away.


    "Where are you going, Lord Bael—?!"


    [S-Stay away—!!]


    "I''ll lick your feet, so let''s fight!"


    [STAY THE FUCK AWAY—!!]


    <i>''These sons of bitches have no intention of fighting. Man, it''s gonna take too long at this rate.''</i>


    He would have no choice but to do nothing and watch the Demonic Sea''s natural regenerative capabilities slowly flush out the Light of Akart from his system. Kang-Woo gave up on chasing the demons and sighed in frustration. Even if he caught up with all the demons, it was pointless if they had no intention of fighting.


    "Is there no other w— huh?" Just then, an unknown power pulled Kang-Woo. "H-Huuuuhhh?"


    He slowly rose into the air, getting further away from the Abyss.


    <i>''What is this? What''s going on?''</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn''t help but be curious. He looked down to see the demons cheering as he was sent out from the Abyss.


    "What the fuck is— Kurgh!"


    Two dark, wet walls that felt as if they were made of flesh pressured him from both sides.


    "Gah, ugh!"


    Inexplicable pleasure instead of pain swept over him, causing Kang-Woo to panic rather than be happy.


    "I-It''s getting sucked out...!"


    Kang-Woo''s strength was getting sucked out of his body. The dark walls crushing him squirmed as if they were alive.


    <i>''Shit!''</i>


    He could easily endure pain since he had gotten so used to it but enduring pleasure was a different beast. His strength was getting sucked so quickly he was on the verge of passing out.


    "I-I''m... gonna die...!"


    Kang-Woo wondered if this was what it felt like to have the water in one''s body sucked out with a syringe. The pleasure grew stronger as he was drying up into a mummy.


    "Kurgh! <i>Huff! Huff!</i>"


    The dark walls crushing him disappeared but as to give him no time to rest, a dark mushy substance wrapped around him like a snake.


    <i>''Wh-What is it now?''</i>


    Unlike the powerful pleasure the walls gave him, the squirming snake-like darkness amplified a ticklish yet pleasurable feeling. A sticky liquid doused him from head to toe and the darkness wiggled up and down like a tongue as if it couldn''t wait to eat him. Chills ran down Kang-Woo''s spine; it felt like he was inside a colossal monster''s mouth.


    "I''m... getting eaten!"


    It was different from getting ferociously devoured into tiny pieces like what the Authority of Predation did; it was like he was inside a Venus flytrap and getting slowly digested. He was like a candy rolled around in a mouth and slowly melted by saliva. The amplified pleasure was turning his head nk.


    "<i>Gasp!!</i>"


    He struggled with all his might to escape the feeling of getting melted but the darkness wrapping around him sucked something out of him with immense absorptive force. Immense fatigue swept over him after the surging pleasure, but it did not end there. A new form of darkness, of a different texture and pleasure, wrapped around Kang-Woo as if they were taking turns, not giving him time to rest.


    "Shit..."


    The hellish pleasure seemed like it wouldst forever. Kang-Woo realized for the first time that pleasure was harder to endure than pain. The fear of death traveled throughout his body. Not even he could smile ecstatically as he had during his battle against Akart''s subordinate since he had no idea what the cause of his fear was.


    "No..."


    He extended his hand as his consciousness grew fainter but couldn''t grab anything. Time that felt like an eternity continued as his energy continued to be sucked out.


    ***


    "Huuu."


    Balrog shook his leg anxiously. This was the tenth day since Han Seol-Ah began to spam powerful curse magic on the unconscious Kang-Woo nonstop.


    <i>''I can only hope the king has awoken.''</i>


    Balrog prayed as he took the elevator up to Kang-Woo''s house. Of course, he was using the pendant Vaal Zahak gave him because his true form wouldn''t fit in the elevator.


    <i>ck.</i>


    He entered through the front door and saw Echidna sitting on the living room couch.


    "Young dragon," he called.


    "Hi, Balrog..."


    Echidna was lifeless, unlike her cheerful self, likely due to Kang-Woo being unconscious.


    "How is the king?"


    "He''s still unconscious." Echidna shook her head, teary-eyed.


    Balrog sighed again. Even he was feeling the effects of his king''s absence, so he could only imagine what Echidna was going through.


    "Do not worry too much, young dragon." Balrog patted Echidna''s head. "Even if he has yet to awaken, he is guaranteed to wake up within three months."


    "Yeah, you''re right. I''ve waited three years... three months is nothing!"


    Echidna regained her energy and stood up with her fists clenched.


    "That aside, where''s Lilith?" Balrog asked.


    "She''s been in the room for the past few days to help Seol-Ah."


    "She has...?"


    Balrog tilted his head in confusion. Lilith was indeed talented in information-gathering and mind-control magic such as illusions and hypnosis, but she was considerably weak inbat prowess. Not only would she be of no help in threatening the king''s life, but she would only get in the way.


    "Wouldn''t the red-haired woman have been a better fit?" Balrog asked.


    "Yeon-Joo... went in and ran out after a bit."


    "Hmm."


    The red-haired woman seemed to havecked the will to brutally attack the sleeping Kang-Woo. Balrog nodded and sat on the couch.


    "I wonder how long it will take."


    The System said there was no threat to his life but that didn''t stop Balrog from being anxious.


    <i>RUMBLE—!!</i>


    "Wha—!"


    Just then, immense demonic energy surged from inside Kang-Woo''s room.


    <i>''This power!''</i>


    Balrog had felt this thick demonic energy many times during his training with Kang-Woo; it was the demonic energy from the Abyss.


    <i>''How powerful...!''</i>


    It couldn''te close to Kang-Woo''s power when he battled Bael, but it far surpassed Kang-Woo''s power when he asked Balrog to help him train for the first time.


    <i>''With this much power...''</i>


    Balrog was unsure if he could defeat Kang-Woo in his current state.


    "Young dragon!"


    "Hm! I felt it too!"


    Echidna snorted fiercely and trotted toward Kang-Woo''s room.


    "Ahh, my king!" Balrog shook, his emotions surging.


    <i>''The queen did it!''</i>


    She had stimted the Demonic Sea by threatening its existence.


    "Hehehe. I''m excited to see how powerful he has be."


    Balrog couldn''t contain hisughter from imagining how powerful his king, who would confidently walk out of the room, would be. His king had gotten one step closer to bing even more powerful than his past self.


    "MY KIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!" Balrog shouted, unable to handle the wait any longer.


    <i>ck.</i>


    The door slowly opened.


    "Gurrrr... Kuh. U-Urrrrrhhh."


    Kang-Woo, as dry as a mummy, walked out of the room.


    "M-My king?"


    Balrog approached Kang-Woo in shock due to his unexpected appearance.


    "Fufu. Stop overreacting, Balrog."


    "It''s because he only just woke up."


    Lilith and Seol-Ah, each embracing one of Kang-Woo''s arms as if helping him up, smiled widely.


    "Mm. I-I see."


    Balrog stared at the two women in wonder. Seol-Ah''splexion was great; one wouldn''t believe she had used curse magic continuously for ten days straight. Rather, her skin had be more glossy and healthy than it had been ten days ago. Lilith was also more cheerful than before.


    "Bal...rog..." Kang-Woo called lifelessly.


    "Yes, my king."


    "Sa...ve... m—"


    "Let''s get you washed up, Kang-Woo. You haven''t bathed for ten whole days."


    "Come to think of it, we didn''t get to bathe togetherst time, did we? Fufu. I''ll call Yeon-Joo over, so let''s all get in together ?"


    "N-Not now..."


    "Now, now~ I''ll clean you up as the tub fills~"


    "Hello? Yeon-Joo? Come up to our house right now. Yes, the king woke up."


    Kang-Woo was dragged into the bathroom by Lilith and Seol-Ah.


    "Hmm..." Balrog groaned as he watched Kang-Woo getting dragged away and scratched his head. "I mean, I guess it''s all good since he woke up."


    Riiing!


    [This is what I call a true happy end!!]


    A blue message window popped up with a bell chime.